AI Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how health care professionals in Singapore make decisions about end-of-life care, highlighting key factors that influence their choices.
- A survey conducted with 187 health care practitioners revealed that they prioritize patient wishes, clinical symptoms, and beliefs highly in their decision making.
- Despite a strong inclination to follow patients' wishes, many HCPs indicated they would defer to family wishes when the patient is no longer able to communicate their preferences, suggesting that family dynamics significantly impact care decisions.
Article Abstract
Aim: To explore the importance of factors influencing the end-of-life care decision making of health care professionals (HCPs) in Singapore.
Methods: This cross-sectional survey encompassed facets of patient, family, and HCP-related care considerations. In total, 187 questionnaires were distributed to physicians and nurses and had a response rate of 78.6%.
Results: The respondents rated patients' wishes (96.6%), their clinical symptoms (93.9%), and patients' beliefs (91.1%) very high. In all, 94.6% of the HCPs would respect a competent patient's wishes over the family's wishes when goals conflict. However, 59.9% of HCPs would abide by the family's wishes when the patient loses capacity even if the patient's previously expressed wishes are known.
Conclusion: End-of-life care decision making by HCPs appears largely patient centered, although familial determination still wields significant influence with implications for advance care planning.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1049909112453193 | DOI Listing |
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