Neonatologists and neonatal nurses have positive attitudes towards perinatal end-of-life decisions, a nationwide survey.
Attitude questionnaire
Attitudes of neonatologists and neonatal nurses
End-of-life decisions
Perinatal death
Termination of pregnancy
Journal
Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
ISSN: 1651-2227
Titre abrégé: Acta Paediatr
Pays: Norway
ID NLM: 9205968
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
03 2020
03 2020
Historique:
received:
22
11
2018
revised:
06
02
2019
accepted:
25
03
2019
pubmed:
29
3
2019
medline:
15
5
2021
entrez:
29
3
2019
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Perinatal death is often preceded by an end-of-life decision (ELD). Disparate hospital policies, complex legal frameworks and ethically difficult cases make attitudes important. This study investigated attitudes of neonatologists and nurses towards perinatal ELDs. A survey was handed out to all neonatologists and neonatal nurses in all eight neonatal intensive care units in Flanders, Belgium in May 2017. Respondents indicated agreement with statements regarding perinatal ELDs on a Likert-scale and sent back questionnaires via mail. The response rate was 49.5% (302/610). Most neonatologists and nurses found nontreatment decisions such as withholding or withdrawing treatment acceptable (90-100%). Termination of pregnancy when the foetus is viable in cases of severe or lethal foetal problems was considered highly acceptable in both groups (80-98%). Physicians and nurses do not find different ELDs equally acceptable, e.g. nurses more often than physicians (74% vs 60%, p = 0.017) agree that it is acceptable in certain cases to administer medication with the explicit intention of hastening death. There was considerable support for both prenatal and neonatal ELDs, even for decisions that currently fall outside the Belgian legal framework. Differences between neonatologists' and nurses' attitudes indicate that both opinions should be heard during ELD-making.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
494-504Commentaires et corrections
Type : CommentIn
Informations de copyright
©2019 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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