UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Initiating end-of-life decisions with parents of infants receiving neonatal intensive care

Shaw, C; Connabeer, K; Drew, P; Gallagher, K; Aladangady, N; Marlow, N; (2020) Initiating end-of-life decisions with parents of infants receiving neonatal intensive care. Patient Education and Counseling , 103 (7) pp. 1351-1357. 10.1016/j.pec.2020.02.013. Green open access

[thumbnail of Initiating end-of-life decisions post reviews FINAL ACCEPTED.pdf]
Preview
Text
Initiating end-of-life decisions post reviews FINAL ACCEPTED.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (484kB) | Preview

Abstract

Objective: To investigate whether parent-initiated or doctor-initiated decisions about limiting life-sustaining treatment (LST) in neonatal care has consequences for how possible courses of action are presented. / Method: Formal conversations (n = 27) between doctors and parents of critically ill babies from two level 3 neonatal intensive care units were audio or video recorded. Sequences of talk where decisions about limiting LST were presented were analysed using Conversation Analysis and coded using a Conversation Analytic informed coding framework. Relationships between codes were analysed using Fisher’s exact test. / Results: When parents initiated the decision point, doctors subsequently tended to refer to or list available options. When doctors initiated, they tended to use ‘recommendations’ or ‘single-option’ choice (conditional) formats (p=0.017) that did not include multiple treatment options. Parent initiations overwhelmingly concerned withdrawal, as opposed to withholding of LST (p=0.030). / Conclusion: Aligning parents to the trajectory of the news about their baby’s poor condition may influence how the doctor subsequently presents the decision to limit LST, and thereby the extent to which parents are invited to participate in shared decision-making. / Practice implications: Explicitly proposing treatment options may provide parents with opportunities to be involved in decisions for their critically ill babies, thereby fostering shared decision-making.

Type: Article
Title: Initiating end-of-life decisions with parents of infants receiving neonatal intensive care
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2020.02.013
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2020.02.013
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Decision making, Neonates, End-of-life, Conversation analysis, Parents, Withdrawing, Withholding
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health > Maternal and Fetal Medicine
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health > Neonatology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10092295
Downloads since deposit
0Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item