Family Decision-Making to Withdraw Life-Sustaining Treatment for Terminally-Ill Patients in an Unconscious State.
- Author:
Myung Hee KIM
1
;
Eun Hee KANG
;
Mi Young KIM
Author Information
1. College of Nursing, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Terminally ill;
Family;
Withholding treatment;
Qualitative research
- MeSH:
Counseling;
Decision Making;
Frustration;
Hospices;
Humans;
Palliative Care;
Qualitative Research;
Terminally Ill;
Unconscious (Psychology);
Unconsciousness;
Withholding Treatment
- From:Korean Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
2012;15(3):147-154
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to understand family members' experience of deciding to withdraw life-sustaining treatments for terminally-ill patients in an unconscious state. METHODS: Data were collected by performing an in-depth interview with eight terminally-ill patients' family members who decided to withdraw life-sustaining treatments. Colaizzi's phenomenological method was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Questions were classified into 12 groups and finally into five categories. The five categories were about family members' frustration with patient's condition, emotional preparation for the patient's death upon medical professionals' recommendation, patient's wishes, exhaustion due to caring and past experiences related to life-sustaining treatment. CONCLUSION: Using the five categories, hospice and palliative professionals could better understand family members' decision making experience of withdrawing life-sustaining treatments for terminally-ill patients. Based on that, the family members could be provided with appropriate counseling and care, which in turn could improve hospice and palliative care intervention.
