South African critical care nurses' views on end-of-life decision-making and practices.

Care of patients at the end-of-life (EOL) may be influenced by the experiences, attitudes and beliefs of nurses involved in their direct care. To investigate South African critical care nurses' experiences and perceptions of EOL care. Cross-sectional survey. South African critical care nurses completed a modified version of the 'VENICE' survey tool. Data were collected concerning: attitudes towards EOL care; involvement in EOL decision-making; and beliefs about EOL practices. Of 149 surveys distributed, 100 were returned (response rate 67%). Seventy-six percent stated that they had had direct involvement in EOL care of patients, but a minority (29%) had participated in EOL decision-making processes. Whilst most nurses (86%) were committed to family involvement in EOL decisions, less than two thirds (62%) reported this as routine practice. When withdrawing treatment, around half (54%) of the respondents indicated they would decrease the inspired oxygen level to room air, and the majority (84%) recommended giving effective pain relief. Continued nutritional support (84%) and hydration (85%) were advocated, with most nurses (62%) indicating that they were against keeping patients deeply sedated. Most respondents (68%) felt patients should remain in intensive care at the end of life, with the majority (72%) supporting open-visiting, no restriction on number of family members visiting (70%), and the practising of religious or traditional cultural EOL rituals (93%). The involvement of Johannesburg critical nurses in EOL care discussions and decisions is infrequent despite their participation in care delivery and definite views about the process. Use of formal guidelines and education is recommended to increase the nurses' involvement in and their confidence in participating in EOL decisions. Educators, managers, senior nurses and other members of the multi-disciplinary team should collaborate to enable critical care nurses to become more involved in EOL care.

Langley G ，Schmollgruber S ，Fulbrook P ，Albarran JW ，Latour JM ... -  《-》

EfCCNa survey: European intensive care nurses' attitudes and beliefs towards end-of-life care.

Latour JM ，Fulbrook P ，Albarran JW 《-》

Certainty and uncertainty about end of life care nursing practices in New Zealand Intensive Care Units: a mixed methods study.

With end-of-life (EOL) central to the nursing role in intensive care, few studies have been undertaken to explore EOL care in the context of New Zealand (NZ) intensive care nursing. To investigate NZ intensive care nurses' experiences of, and attitudes towards EOL care. Sequential mixed methods study using cross sectional survey with follow-on focus groups. NZ intensive care nurses (N=465) across four large tertiary intensive care units (ICUs) were contacted to complete a 43-item web-based survey. A follow-on focus group was conducted in each of the sites to explore specific aspects of the survey findings. 203 fully completed surveys were returned (response rate 44%) from the four ICUs. Over half of nurses surveyed (55%, n=111) disagreed that withholding and withdrawing life support treatment were ethically the same. 78% (n=159) of nurses stated that withholding treatment was ethically more acceptable than withdrawing it. Whilst nurses generally supported reducing inspired oxygen to air for ventilated patients at EOL (71%, n=139) this was also an area that demonstrated one of the highest levels of uncertainty (21%, n=41). Just under a quarter of respondents were also uncertain about the use of continued nutritional support, continued passive limb exercises and use of deep sedation during EOL. The 18 nurses who participated in follow-on focus groups detailed the supportive, culturally sensitive, collaborative environment that EOL was conducted in. However diverse opinions and understandings were held on the use of passive limb and use of fluids at EOL. Whilst results from this NZ study broadly align with European studies, uncertainty about specific areas of EOL practices highlight that further guidance for nurses is required.

Coombs M ，Fulbrook P ，Donovan S ，Tester R ，deVries K ... -  《Australian Critical Care》

Turkish critical care nurses' views on end-of-life decision making and practices.

Life-sustaining treatments are increasingly used in intensive care units (ICUs) for EOL care, but the decision to use these may cause ethical issues. The aim of this study was to investigate the views and practices of critical care nurses in Turkey on the end-of-life (EOL) care. This was a cross-sectional study. The research was conducted in 32 second- and third-level ICUs of 19 Ministry of Health research hospitals in Turkey. The Views of European Nurses in Intensive Care on EOL Care tool was used for data collection. The total sample size was 602. While half of the nurses stated that the withholding and withdrawal of life support were ethically different decisions, 40% felt both decisions were unethical. The expected quality of life as viewed by the patient, the medical team, the family and the nursing team (90·4%, 85·4%, and 83·4%, respectively) was an important factor in EOL decision making. The majority of the nurses (75·7%) were not directly involved in the EOL decision making and 78·4% of nurses were committed to family involvement in EOL decisions. When withdrawing treatment, 87·2% of ICU nurses agreed that the patient and family members should perform their final religious and spiritual duties. Further results showed that after withdrawing treatment, a majority of nurses (86%) agreed to continue pressure sore prevention, effective pain relief (85·5%), nutritional support (77·6%) and hydration (64·8%). Almost half (48·2%) indicated that keeping the patients in the ICU was unnecessary. ICU nurses expressed a range of experiences and practices regarding EOL care. ICU nurses should be more involved in the decision-making process about EOL care. Due to their unique relationship with patients, nurses should be involved in EOL care decision making; however, patients, families or nurses are not often involved in the decision-making process in Turkey.

Badır A ，Topçu İ ，Türkmen E ，Göktepe N ，Miral M ，Ersoy N ，Akın E ... -  《-》

Negotiated reorienting: a grounded theory of nurses' end-of-life decision-making in the intensive care unit.

Intensive care units (ICUs) focus on treatment for those who are critically ill and interventions to prolong life. Ethical issues arise when decisions have to be made regarding the withdrawal and withholding of life-sustaining treatment and the shift to comfort and palliative care. These issues are particularly challenging for nurses when there are varying degrees of uncertainty regarding prognosis. Little is known about nurses' end-of-life (EoL) decision-making practice across cultures. To understand nurses' EoL decision-making practices in ICUs in different cultural contexts. We collected and analysed qualitative data using Grounded Theory. Interviews were conducted with experienced ICU nurses in university or hospital premises in five countries: Brazil, England, Germany, Ireland and Palestine. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 nurses (10 in Brazil, 9 in England, 10 in Germany, 10 in Ireland and 12 nurses in Palestine). They were purposefully and theoretically selected to include nurses having a variety of characteristics and experiences concerning end-of-life (EoL) decision-making. The study used grounded theory to inform data collection and analysis. Interviews were facilitated by using key questions. The comparative analysis of the data within and across data generated by the different research teams enabled researchers to develop a deeper understanding of EoL decision-making practices in the ICU. Ethical approval was granted in each of the participating countries and voluntary informed consent obtained from each participant. The core category that emerged was 'negotiated reorienting'. Whilst nurses do not make the 'ultimate' EoL decisions, they engage in two core practices: consensus seeking (involving coaxing, information cuing and voice enabling); and emotional holding (creating time-space and comfort giving). There was consensus regarding the core concept and core practices employed by nurses in the ICUs in the five countries. However, there were some discernible differences regarding the power dynamics in nurse-doctor relationships, particularly in relation to the cultural perspectives on death and dying and in the development of palliative care. The research suggests the need for culturally sensitive ethics education and bereavement support in different cultural contexts.

International Nurses’ End-of-Life Decision-Making in Intensive Care Research Group ，Gallagher A ，Bousso RS ，McCarthy J ，Kohlen H ，Andrews T ，Paganini MC ，Abu-El-Noor NI ，Cox A ，Haas M ，Arber A ，Abu-El-Noor MK ，Baliza MF ，Padilha KG ... -  《-》