Metasynthesis: withdrawing life-sustaining treatments: the experience of family decision-makers

Futile life-sustaining treatment in the intensive care unit - nurse and physician experiences: meta-synthesis

BACKGROUND

Continuing futile life-sustaining treatment prolongs patients' suffering and family members' and medical staff's psychological distress. Additionally, continuing futile treatment is inefficient in healthcare resource distribution. Although the withdrawal of futile life-sustaining treatment is ideal, the prevalence is variable.

OBJECTIVE

To synthesise nurses' and physicians' experiences with continuing futile life-sustaining treatment in the intensive care unit.

DESIGN

This meta-synthesis was conducted following the thematic synthesis. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses and Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research statement were used in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research statements.

METHODS AND DATA SOURCES

A systematic search was conducted following the inclusion and exclusion criteria in APA PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed and Web of Science in May 2023. Two reviewers independently screened and extracted the data. The extracted data were analysed using thematic analysis of qualitative research.

FINDINGS

A total of 16 studies were finally included, and 141 quotes were extracted and analysed. The main findings were categorised into four themes: (1) contextual and cultural diversity, (2) perceptions of futile treatment, (3) professional roles and responsibilities, and (4) emotional distress.

CONCLUSION

The study highlights the influence of culture, religion and family members, as well as perceptions of futile treatment among clinicians, on continuing futile life-sustaining treatment. Also, nurses' awareness of their roles and responsibilities in ensuring patients' comfort at end of life was revealed. This study informs future research to explore the experiences of futile life-sustaining treatment across various contexts.

Predictors of Surrogate Decision Makers Selecting Life-Sustaining Therapy for Severe Acute Brain Injury Patients: An Analysis of US Population Survey Data

BACKGROUND

Patients with a severe acute brain injury admitted to the intensive care unit often have a poor neurological prognosis. In these situations, a clinician is responsible for conducting a goals-of-care conversation with the patient's surrogate decision makers. The diversity in thought and background of surrogate decision makers can present challenges during these conversations. For this reason, our study aimed to identify predictive characteristics of US surrogate decision makers' favoring life-sustaining treatment (LST) over comfort measures only for patients with severe acute brain injury.

METHODS

We analyzed data from a cross-sectional survey study that had recruited 1588 subjects from an online probability-based US population sample. Seven hundred and ninety-two subjects had randomly received a hypothetical scenario regarding a relative intubated with severe acute brain injury with a prognosis of severe disability but with the potential to regain some consciousness. Seven hundred and ninety-six subjects had been randomized to a similar scenario in which the relative was projected to remain vegetative. For each scenario, we conducted univariate analyses and binary logistic regressions to determine predictors of LST selection among available respondent characteristics.

RESULTS

15.0% of subjects selected LST for the severe disability scenario compared to 11.4% for the vegetative state scenario (p = 0.07), with those selecting LST in both groups expressing less decisional certainty. For the severe disability scenario, independent predictors of LST included having less than a high school education (adjusted OR = 2.87, 95% CI = 1.23-6.76), concern regarding prognostic accuracy (7.64, 3.61-16.15), and concern regarding the cost of care (4.07, 1.80-9.18). For the vegetative scenario, predictors included the youngest age group (30-44 years, 3.33, 1.02-10.86), male gender (3.26, 1.75-6.06), English as a second language (2.94, 1.09-7.89), Evangelical Protestant (3.72, 1.28-10.84) and Catholic (4.01, 1.72-9.36) affiliations, and low income (< $25 K).

CONCLUSION

Several demographic and decisional characteristics of US surrogate decision makers predict LST selection for patients with severe brain injury with varying degrees of poor prognosis. Surrogates concerned about the cost of medical care may nevertheless be inclined to select LST, albeit with high levels of decisional uncertainty, for patients projected to have severe disabilities.

Choosing and Doing wisely: triage level I resuscitation a possible new field for starting palliative care and avoiding low-value care - a nationwide matched-pair retrospective cohort study in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

The association between palliative care and life-sustaining treatment following emergency department (ED) resuscitation is unclear. This study aims to analyze the usage of palliative care and life-sustaining treatments among ED triage level I resuscitation patients based on a nationally representative sample of patients in Taiwan.

METHODS

A matched-pair retrospective cohort study was conducted to examine the association between palliative care and outcome variables using multivariate logistic regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. Between 2009 and 2013, 336 ED triage level I resuscitation patients received palliative care services (palliative care group) under a universal health insurance scheme. Retrospective cohort matching was performed with those who received standard care at a ratio of 1:4 (usual care group). Outcome variables included the number of visits to emergency and outpatient departments, hospitalization duration, total medical expenses, utilization of life-sustaining treatments, and duration of survival following ED triage level I resuscitation.

RESULTS

The mean survival duration following level I resuscitation was less than 1 year. Palliative care was administered to 15% of the resuscitation cohort. The palliative care group received significantly less life-sustaining treatment than did the usual care group.

CONCLUSION

Among patients who underwent level I resuscitation, palliative care was inversely correlated with the scope of life-sustaining treatments. Furthermore, triage level I resuscitation status may present a possible new field for starting palliative care intervention and reducing low-value care.

Humanity behind the intention of primary caregiver to choose withdrawing life-sustaining treatment for terminating patients

OBJECTIVE

Mechanical ventilation, a measure of life-sustaining treatment (LST), may not be helpful and can be devastating for patients with terminal illness. We explored the effects of demographic characteristics, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on the behavioral intentions of primary caregivers to withdraw LST of long-term ventilator-dependent patients.

METHODS

Primary caregivers of ventilator-dependent patients in the respiratory care units of six hospitals participated in the study. A cross-sectional design including the domains of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention was adopted.

RESULTS

Valid data for 99 participants were analyzed using logistic regression. Religious belief, a spousal relationship with the patient, item 5 in subjective norms, and item 5 in perceived behavioral control positively influenced the intention to withdraw patient LST.

CONCLUSIONS

Religious beliefs, a spousal relationship, perceived behavioral control (confidence in relieving patient suffering), and the opportunity of current favorable subjective norms are major determinants of the intention to withdraw patients' LST.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Shared decision-making with the kin and primary caregivers of long-term ventilator-dependent patients at the end of life is crucial.

Concerns of surrogate decision makers for patients with acute brain injury: A US population survey

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether groups of surrogates for patients with severe acute brain injury (SABI) with poor prognosis can be identified based on their prioritization of goals-of-care (GOC) decisional concerns, an online survey of 1,588 adults recruited via a probability-based panel representative of the US population was conducted.

METHODS

Participants acted as a surrogate for a GOC decision for a hypothetical patient with SABI and were randomized to 1 of 2 prognostic scenarios: the patient likely being left with a range of severe functional disability (SD) or remaining in a vegetative state (VS). Participants prioritized a list of 12 decisional concerns via best-worst scaling. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to discover decisional groups.

RESULTS

The completion rate was 44.6%; data weighting was conducted to mitigate nonresponse bias. For 792 SD respondents, LCA revealed 4 groups. All groups shared concerns regarding respecting patient wishes and minimizing suffering. The 4 groups were otherwise distinguished by unique concerns that their members highlighted: an older adult remaining severely disabled (34.4%), family consensus (26.4%), doubt regarding prognostic accuracy (20.7%), and cost of long-term care (18.6%). For the 796 VS respondents, LCA revealed 5 groups. Four of the 5 groups had similar concern profiles to the 4 SD groups. The largest (29.0%) expressed the most prognostic doubt. An additional group (15.8%) prioritized religious concerns.

CONCLUSIONS

Although surrogate decision makers for patients with SABI are concerned with respecting patient wishes and minimizing suffering, certain groups highly prioritize other specific decisional factors. These data can help inform future interventions for supporting decision makers.

Experiences of caregivers desiring to refuse life-prolonging treatment for their elderly parents at the end of life

Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the experiences of caregivers desiring to refuse life-prolonging treatment for their elderly parents at the end of life. Methods: A semi-structured interview was performed for four family caregivers who wanted to refuse life-prolonging treatment suggested by the physicians. Results: In this study, four caregivers who refused life-prolonging treatment suggested by the physicians for their elderly parents completed semi-structured interviews. The obtained data were analyzed in relation to the theme "Experiences of caregivers who desire to refuse life-prolonging treatment for their elderly parents at the end of life." As a result, 38 subcategories and 12 categories were extracted. Conclusions: Participants in this study initially had a negative view of life-prolonging treatment. However, they agonized over the decision when they received conflicting advice from the physicians. The participants indicated that physicians' advice and attitudes complicated their decisions to reject life-prolonging treatment for their elderly parents.

Nurses' experience with relatives of patients receiving end-of-life care in nursing homes and at home: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study

AIM

The aim of this study was to explore any differences between nurses working in nursing home and home-based care in their experiences regarding relatives' ability to accept the imminence of death and relatives' ability to reach agreement when deciding on behalf of patients unable to consent.

DESIGN

An electronic questionnaire-based cross-sectional study.

METHOD

An electronically distributed survey to 884 nurses in long-term care in Norway in May 2014. A total of 399 nurses responded (45%), of which 197 worked in nursing homes and 202 in home-based care.

RESULTS

Nurses in home-based care, more often than their colleagues in nursing homes, experienced that relatives had difficulties in accepting that patients were dying. Nurses who often felt insecure about whether life extension was in consistency with patients' wishes and nurses who talked most about life-prolonging medical treatment in communication with relatives more often experienced that relatives being reluctant to accept a poor prognosis and disagreements between relatives in their role as proxy decision makers for the patient.

Thinking about the patient's wishes: practical wisdom of discharge planning nurses in assisting surrogate decision-making

BACKGROUND

The accelerating trend towards shorter hospital stays in Japan has made modes of decision-making essential for effective patient transition from the hospital to recuperation in the regional community, and the ageing of the population has brought a rise in surrogate decision-making by the families of patients lacking decision-making ('self-decision') capacity.

AIM

To verbalise and elucidate the practical wisdom of discharge planning nurses by focusing on the perceptions and judgements, they apply in practice and describing their methodology in concrete terms.

RESEARCH METHOD

Participants were six discharge planning nurses and one person with previous experience as a discharge planning nurse, all working at discharge planning departments of acute care hospitals. Separate, semi-structured, interactive interviews were conducted with each participant. The study design was qualitative descriptive in form with qualitative content analysis. All participants provided written informed consent to participate in the study, which was approved by the study institution.

RESULTS

Three concepts were extracted as the basis for discharge planning nurses' perception and judgement at acute care hospitals: working for mutual envisionment of the available postdischarge options; helping the family act as spokesperson(s) for the patient's wishes; and understanding the family inclusive of the patient as a relationship of strongly interaffecting interests.

CONCLUSION

The practical wisdom of the nurse, working in mutual envisionment with the family, and collaborative decision-making through discussion with those who know the patient, leads to rational discharge assistance.

End-of-life decision making for persons with dementia: Proxies' perception of support

Healthcare proxies need support in making end-of-life decisions for persons with dementia (PWD). This study explored perceptions of support in decision making among proxies of PWD through semi-structured interviews with 20 proxies. Thematic analysis identified three sources of support: family, doctors, and religiosity/spirituality. Family's engagement in care discussions and support for proxies' decisions were viewed helpful while disagreement or criticism, combined with lack of knowledge about PWD's condition and needs, were not. Doctors were viewed supportive when proxies felt doctors respected their opinions and PWD's wishes. Doctor-PWD rapport influenced proxies' views of medical advice from doctors. Although religiosity/spirituality provided guidance and hope, it also presented conflicts when PWD's wishes differed from proxies' beliefs. Therefore, families of PWD should be provided with assistance in reconciling or mediating family conflicts and further education about the illness trajectory as well as risks/benefits of life-sustaining treatments. Assistance should also be provided to address religious/spiritual conflicts.

L’utilisation des échelles de niveaux d’interventions médicales en centre hospitalier

Different care settings in Quebec use levels of medical intervention forms, also called levels of care (LOC), to determine the code status of patients and to improve end-of-life care planning. It is not currently possible to know whether the levels of care in hospitals benefit patients and staff in facilitating the decision making process of treatment options and resuscitation measures. No study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, has been published about LOC, particularly in Quebec and Canada. This literature review was undertaken on levels of care in order to clarify this topic. Relevant articles are discussed under different themes that are pertinent to LOC. The themes addressed in this article include care at the end of life, do-not-resuscitate orders, treatment withdrawal, and decision making at end of life.

Vigilant attentiveness in families observing deterioration in the dying intensive care patient: A secondary analysis study

BACKGROUND

Family support in intensive care is often focussed on what information is communicated to families. This is particularly important during treatment withdrawal and end of life care. However, this positions families as passive receivers of information. Less is known about what bereaved family members actually observe at end of life and how this is interpreted.

AIM

Secondary analysis study was conducted in order to explore the concept of vigilant attentiveness in family members of adult patients dying in intensive care.

METHOD

Secondary analysis of eight interviews sorted from two primary data sets containing 19 interviews with 25 bereaved family members from two intensive care units in England was undertaken. Directed content analysis techniques were adopted.

FINDINGS

Families are observant for physiological deterioration by watching for changes in cardiac monitors as well as paying attention to how their relative looks and sounds. Changes in treatment/interventions were also perceived to indicate deterioration.

CONCLUSION

Families are vigilant and attentive to deterioration, implying that families are active participants in information gathering. By clarifying what families notice, or do not notice during the dying trajectory in ICU, health care professionals can tailor information, helping to prepare families for the death of their relative.

A scoping review of family experience and need during end of life care in intensive care

AIM

To scope systematically and collate qualitative studies on family experience and need during end of life care in intensive care, from the perspective of family members.

DESIGN

Scoping review of qualitative research.

METHODS

Standardized processes of study identification, data extraction and data synthesis were used. Multiple bibliographic databases were accessed during 2011 and updated in 2013.

RESULTS

From an initial 876 references, 16 studies were identified for inclusion. These were predominantly single site, North American studies that explored issues relating to the temporal stages in the end of life trajectory and the requirement for information and emotional support at end of life. With a strong focus on family need and experience during the transition from active treatment to end of life care, more work is required to understand how doctors and nurses can support families from treatment withdrawal through to death.

Conceptualizing surrogate decision making at end of life in the intensive care unit using cognitive task analysis

BACKGROUND

Surrogate decision makers (SDMs) face difficult decisions at end of life (EOL) for decisionally incapacitated intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

PURPOSE

To identify and describe the underlying psychological processes of surrogate decision making for adults at EOL in the ICU.

METHODS

Qualitative case study design using a cognitive task analysis interviewing approach. Participants were recruited from October 2012 to June 2013 from an academic tertiary medical center's ICU located in the rural Northeastern United States. Nineteen SDMs for patients who had died in the ICU completed in-depth semistructured cognitive task analysis interviews.

DISCUSSION

The conceptual framework formulated from data analysis reveals that three underlying, iterative, psychological dimensions (gist impressions, distressing emotions, and moral intuitions) impact an SDM's judgment about the acceptability of either the patient's medical treatments or his or her condition.

CONCLUSION

The framework offers initial insights about the underlying psychological processes of surrogate decision making and may facilitate enhanced decision support for SDMs.

Narratives of aggressive care: Knowledge, time, and responsibility

BACKGROUND

While witnessing and providing aggressive care have been identified as predominant sources of moral distress, little is known about what nurses "know" to be the "right thing to do" in these situations.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to explore what nurses' moral knowledge is in situations of perceived overly aggressive medical care.

RESEARCH DESIGN

A critical narrative approach was used.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 15 graduate nursing students from various practice areas participated.

FINDINGS

Four narrative types were identified, including "Wait and see: medical uncertainty," "Deflected responsibilities to respond to dying, death, or futility," "Divergent understandings, responsibilities, and temporalities," and "Privileged medical understandings and responsibilities."

DISCUSSION

The knowledge of differentially situated persons is acknowledged in dissimilar ways, the time required to determine that enough has been done is perceived differently, and how moral responsibilities are understood also varies.

CONCLUSIONS

A better understanding of how social roles influence how time, knowledge, and responsibility are related to the provision of aggressive care is needed.

Attitudes regarding life-sustaining measures in people born in Japan, China, and Vietnam and living in Texas

Cultural beliefs about and preferences for care at the end of life are diverse and unique in many respects. This descriptive qualitative study presents findings about the attitudes and preferences of people born in Japan, China, and Vietnam and living in the southern part of the USA regarding life-sustaining measures. In-depth personal and focus group interviews were conducted with 46 participants and thematic analysis completed. The findings reflected some similarities and differences among the three groups concerning initiation and discontinuance of artificial nutrition and mechanical ventilation. They also demonstrated the requirement for sensitivity to individual needs when honouring the wishes of patients and surrogate decision makers. Interventional studies should follow that test educational strategies to improve practice outcomes for health-care providers who care for these populations at this vulnerable time of life.

Life-sustaining treatment decisions in the ICU for patients with ESLD: a prospective investigation

We conducted a prospective study in the ICU of life-sustaining treatment and comfort care decisions over time in patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) from the perspectives of patients, family members, and healthcare professionals. Six patients with ESLD, 19 family members, and 122 professionals participated. The overarching theme describing the decision-making process was "on the train." Four sub-themes positioned patients and family members as passengers with limited control, unable to fully understand the decision-making process. Findings suggest that including patients and family members in non-immediate life-saving decisions and verifying early on their understanding may help to improve the decision-making process.

A metaethnography of traumatic childbirth and its aftermath: amplifying causal looping

Integrating results from multiple analytic approaches used in a research program by the same researcher is a type of metasynthesis that has not often been reported in the literature. In this article the findings of one type of qualitative synthesis approach, a metaethnography, of six qualitative studies on birth trauma and its resulting posttraumatic stress disorder from my program of research are presented. This metaethnography provides a wide-angle lens to view and interpret the far-reaching, stinging tentacles of this often invisible phenomenon that new mothers experience. I used Noblit and Hare's seven-step approach for synthesizing the findings of qualitative studies. The original trigger of traumatic childbirth resulted in six amplifying feedback loops, four of which were reinforcing (positive direction), and two which were balancing (negative direction). Leverage points that identify where pressure in the amplifying causal loop can break the feedback loop where necessary are discussed.