Decision-making ethics in regards to life-sustaining interventions: when physicians refer to what other patients decide.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Health decisions occur in a context with omnipresent social influences. Information concerning what other patients decide may present certain interventions as more desirable than others.

Objectives

To explore how physicians refer to what other people decide in conversations about the relevancy of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or do-not-attempt-resuscitation orders (DNAR).

Methods

We recorded forty-three physician-patient admission interviews taking place in a hospital in French-speaking Switzerland, during which CPR is discussed. Data was analysed with conversation analysis.

Results

Reference to what other people decide in regards to CPR is used five times, through reported speech. The reference is generic, and employed as a resource to deal w

SUBMITTER: Sterie AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9440599 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature