Withdrawal of life-support treatment: the experience of critical care nurses

Thinking about strengths in end-of-life nursing practice: the case of intensive care unit nurses

BACKGROUND

The intensive care unit (ICU) is a care context that is sometimes described as being unconducive to the values and ideals of a good death in end-of-life care. Such assumptions render the ICU emblematic of a troubling discourse about end-of-life care in this clinical context.

AIM

To stimulate a reflective examination of intensive care nursing practice with respect to end-of-life care.

METHODS

The work of contemporary nursing scholar Laurie Gottlieb is used to perform a strengths-based relational ethical examination of previously published literature that describes critical care nurses' experiences of providing end-of-life care in the ICU.

FINDINGS

This literature suggests that the relational ethical value of authentic engagement, which is fundamental to the disciplinary ethos of expert palliative care nursing, is reflected in the everyday practice of intensive care nurses whose patients die while under their care.

CONCLUSION

A strengths-based approach can make visible the relational ethical practice of critical care nurses who care for dying patients and their families in the ICU.

Battling a Tangled Web: The Lived Experience of Nurses Providing End-of-Life Care on an Acute Medical Unit

Meeting the heath care needs of patients at the end of life is becoming more complex. In Canada, most patients with life-limiting illness will die in hospitals, many on medical units. Yet, few studies have qualitatively investigated end-of-life care (EOLC) in this context, or from the perspectives of nurses providing EOLC. The purpose of this study was to seek to understand the lived experience of nurses on a medical unit providing EOLC to patients. Interpretive phenomenology guided the method and analysis. Individual face-to-face interviews were conducted with 10 nurses from 2 hospital medical units. The underlying essence of these nurses' experiences was that of "battling a tangled web." Battling a tangled web represented their struggles in attempting to provide EOLC in an environment that was not always conducive to it. Seven themes were generated from the analysis: caring in complexity, caught in a tangled web, bearing witness to suffering, weaving a way to get there: struggling through the process, creating comfort for the patient, working through the dying process with the family, and finding a way through the web. The findings contribute to an understanding of the experiences of nurses in providing EOLC on a medical unit including perceived facilitators and barriers.

Protocolised Approach to End-of-Life Care in the ICU—The ICU PALCare Pilot Project

International literature on end-of-life care in intensive care units (ICUs) supports the use of ‘protocol bundles’, which is not common practice in our 18-bed adult general ICU in Sydney, New South Wales. We conducted a prospective observational study to identify problems related to end-of-life care practices and to determine whether there was a need to develop protocol bundles. Any ICU patient who had ‘withdrawal’ of life-sustaining treatment to facilitate a comfortable death was eligible. Exclusion criteria included organ donors, unsuitable family dynamics and lack of availability of research staff to obtain family consent. Process-of-care measures were collected using a standardised form. Satisfaction ratings were obtained using de-identified questionnaire surveys given to the healthcare staff shortly after the withdrawal of therapy and to the families 30 days later. Twenty-three patients were enrolled between June 2011 and July 2012. Survey questionnaires were given to 25 family members and 30 healthcare staff, with a high completion rate (24 family members [96%] and 28 staff [93.3%]). Problems identified included poor documentation of family meetings (39%) and symptom management. Emotional/spiritual support was not offered to families (39.1%) or ICU staff (0%). The overall level of end-of-life care was good. The overwhelming majority of families and healthcare staff were highly satisfied with the care provided. Problems identified related to communication documentation and lack of spiritual/emotional support. To address these problems, targeted measures would be more useful than the adoption of protocol bundles. Alternate models of satisfaction surveys may be needed.

Factors influencing the provision of end-of-life care in critical care settings: development and testing of a survey instrument

AIM

To develop and psychometrically test a survey instrument to identify the factors influencing the provision of end-of-life care by critical care nurses.

BACKGROUND

Following a decision to withdraw life-sustaining treatment, critical care nurses remain with the patient and their family providing end-of-life care. Identification of factors influencing the provision of this care can give evidence to inform practice development and support nurses.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional survey of critical care nurses.

METHOD

An online survey was developed, reviewed by an expert panel and pilot tested to obtain preliminary evidence of its reliability and validity. In May 2011, a convenience sample of critical care nurses (n = 392, response rate 25%) completed the survey. The analytical approach to data obtained from the 58 items measured on a Likert scale included exploratory factor analysis and descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

Exploratory factor analysis identified eight factors influencing the provision of end-of-life care: emotional support for nurses, palliative values, patient and family preferences, resources, organizational support, care planning, knowledge and preparedness. Internal consistency of each latent construct was deemed satisfactory. The results of descriptive statistics revealed a strong commitment to the inclusion of families in end-of-life care and the value of this care in the critical care setting.

CONCLUSION

This paper reports preliminary evidence of the psychometric properties of a new survey instrument. The findings may inform practice development opportunities to support critical care nurses in the provision of end-of-life care and improve the care that patients and their families receive.

Factors Influencing Decisions to Withdraw or Continue Life Support and Attitudes towards Treatment of the Critically Ill: A Survey of Registered Nurses in Intensive Care Units

Introduction:

To examine the major determinants influencing the decision to withdraw or continue life support and the attitudes of registered nurses towards the treatments for the critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs).

Methods:

A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a convenience sample of registered nurses working in 4 ICUs of a large teaching hospital in Singapore. The questionnaire consisted of 3 sections. The first section gathered details about the respondent's demographics; the second section required respondents to rate the importance of 18 different factors influencing the decision to withdraw or continue life support (1 = least important, 5 = most important) while the third section elicited responses about management strategy to 2 clinical scenarios from a possible pool of 6 different scenarios.

Results:

Eighty-three nurses responded (response rate: 70%). Patient advance directives (μ =3.63), likelihood of surviving current episode (μ = 3.52) and premorbid cognitive function (μ = 3.49) were the most important consideration factors for the withdrawal of life support. Across various clinical scenarios, the majority (82.6%) reported that “continue with current management” was most likely to be in the patients' best interests. Level of agreement between what the respondents believed to be in the patient's best interest and their responses on what they would do if they encountered a similar case was good (Kappa=0.78).

Conclusion:

Respondents regarded “Patient advanced directives” to be the most important factor in influencing decisions to withdraw or continue life support. In general, nurses were uncomfortable with complete withdrawal of life support. One way to minimise the impact of clinician's social, ethical, moral and religious values on medical decision making is to encourage more Singaporeans to make an Advance Medical Directive.

The Liverpool Care Pathway in intensive care: an exploratory study of doctor and nurse perceptions

The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) provides an evidence-based framework of care for the dying patient and provides guidance on comfort measures, discontinuation of inappropriate interventions, anticipatory prescribing, holistic care and care of the family after death. End-of-life care is becoming an important issue in critical care, and the LCP has been adapted for use in intensive care units in the United Kingdom. A qualitative study using descriptive phenomenology was used to explore doctor and nurse experiences of the impact of the LCP in two intensive care units in a 1000-bed teaching hospital in the north-west Midlands. The staff experience of the LCP was dependent on their role, with mixed reports about frequency of use and level of education received on the LCP. Education and adequate support was identified as being pivotal to the successful implementation of any type of LCP.

Nurses' perceptions of end-of-life care after multiple interventions for improvement

BACKGROUND

Nurses working in intensive care units may lack knowledge and skills in end-of-life care, find caring for dying patients and the patients' families stressful, and lack support to provide this care.

OBJECTIVES

To describe nurses' perceptions of (1) knowledge and ability, (2) work environment, (3) support for staff, (4) support for patients and patients' families, and (5) stress related to specific work situations in the context of end-of-life care before (phase 1) and after (phase 2) implementation of approaches to improve end-of-life care. The approaches were a nurse-developed bereavement program for patients' families, use of a palliative medicine and comfort care team, preprinted orders for the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, hiring of a mental health clinical nurse specialist, and staff education in end-of-life care.

METHODS

Nurses in 4 intensive care units at a university medical center reported their perceptions of end-of-life care by using a 5-subscale tool consisting of 30 items scored on a 4-point Likert scale. The tool was completed by 91 nurses in phase 1 and 127 in phase 2.

RESULTS

Improvements in overall mean scores on the 5 sub-scales indicated that the approaches succeeded in improving nurses' perceptions. In phase 2, most of the subscale overall mean scores were higher than a desired criterion (<2.0, good). Analysis of variance indicated that some improvements occurred over time differently in the units; other improvements occurred uniformly.

CONCLUSIONS

Continued practice development is needed in end-of-life care issues.

Nurses' conceptions of decision making concerning life-sustaining treatment

The aim of this study was to describe nurses' conceptions of decision making with regard to life-sustaining treatment for dialysis patients. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 nurses caring for such patients at three hospitals. The interview material was subjected to qualitative content analysis. The nurses saw decision making as being characterized by uncertainty and by lack of communication and collaboration among all concerned. They described different ways of handling decision making, as well as insufficiency of physician-nurse collaboration, lack of confidence in physicians, hindrances to patient participation, and ambivalence about the role of patients' next of kin. Future research should test models for facilitating communication and decision making so that decisions will emerge from collaboration of all concerned. Nurses' role in decision making also needs to be discussed.

Fruitful or futile: intensive care nurses' experiences and perceptions of medical futility

The study sought to investigate the perceptions and experiences of nurses practising in adult intensive care units (ICUs) with regard to medical futility. A qualitative exploratory descriptive design was used, providing a framework which enabled information to be gathered on a relatively undefined phenomena. Data were gathered via semi-structured interviews with seven intensive care nurses. Findings concluded that there is no 'one size fits all' definition of medical futility. To arrive at the decision whether treatment is futile, participants want to understand patients' views on treatment limitation. In some ICUs, 'the decision' about whether to cease or continue treatment is unilaterally made by medical staff, raising concerns about value laden judgement. Nurses experience frustration with having to administer treatment with which they do not agree and may actually leave intensive care nursing because of their moral conflict. There are opportunities for nurses to have input into 'the decision', but they must have a cogent and articulate approach to be heard. Once treatment is deemed to be futile, nurses play a key role in treatment withdrawal and can have a significant impact on the patient and family experience if they manage the situation well; this nursing role in medically futile situations and treatment withdrawal is detailed. 'Medical futility' is not easily defined. Understanding patients' views about treatment limitation is important in deciding whether treatment is medically futile. To do this, an inclusive decision making process should be developed by ICUs which incorporates nursing and family input. Experienced ICU nurses can have a significant impact on the management of futile cases; they need to share their understanding of the processes surrounding medical futility and assist junior nurses in negotiating the difficult challenges encountered in decision making and treatment withdrawal.

Truth-telling in clinical practice and the arguments for and against: a review of the literature

In general, most, but not necessarily all, patients want truthfulness about their health. Available evidence indicates that truth-telling practices and preferences are, to an extent, a cultural artefact. It is the case that practices among nurses and doctors have moved towards more honest and truthful disclosure to their patients. It is interesting that arguments both for and against truth-telling are established in terms of autonomy and physical and psychological harm. In the literature reviewed here, there is also the view that truth-telling is essential because it is an intrinsic good, while it is argued against on the grounds of the uncertainty principle. Based on this review, it is recommended that practitioners ought to ask patients and patients' families what informational requirements are preferred, and research should continue into truth-telling in clinical practice, particularly to discover its very nature as a cultural artefact, and the other conditions and contexts in which truth-telling may not be preferred.

End-of-life decisions in Swedish ICUs. How do physicians from the admitting department reason?

OBJECTIVE

To study how physicians from the admitting department reason during the decision-making process to forego life-sustaining treatment of patients in intensive care units (ICUs).

DESIGN

Qualitative interview that applies a phenomenological approach.

SETTING

Two ICUs at one secondary and one tertiary referral hospital in Sweden.

PARTICIPANTS

Seventeen admitting-department physicians who have participated in decisions to forego life-sustaining treatment.

RESULTS

The decision-making process as it appeared from the physicians' experiences was complex, and different approaches to the process were observed. A pattern of five phases in the process emerged in the interviews. The physicians described the process principally as a medical one, with few ethical reflections. Decision-making was mostly done in collaboration with other physicians. Patients, family and nurses did not seem to play a significant role in the process.

CONCLUSION

This study describes how physicians reasoned when confronted with real patient situations in which decisions to forego life-sustaining treatment were mainly based on medical--not ethical--considerations.

Intensive care nurses' and physicians' experiences with demands for treatment: some implications for clinical practice

OBJECTIVE

This study was conducted to develop an empiric description of intensive care unit (ICU) physicians' and nurses' (participants) experiences providing life-sustaining treatments at the insistence of family members, treatments that they believed should have been withheld or withdrawn. From this description, steps to minimize or prevent their sources of distress in such situations are suggested.

DESIGN

Semistructured, open-ended interviews. Participants were asked to describe cases in which treatment had been provided primarily in response to demands from family members.

PARTICIPANTS

Six physicians and 6 nurses from 6 university-affiliated ICUs in Canada. All were members of a task force developing a multicenter policy to address demands for treatment, and physician members were heads of their ICUs.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Systematic analysis of interview transcripts and synthesis of findings.

RESULTS

Participants recalled 28 cases in which treatment had been provided at the insistence of family members. Many cases described were very distressing for both medical staff and family members. Consistently problematic areas included: (1) suffering of dying patients, (2) the marked distress of family members, and (3) a breakdown in the relationship between care providers and families.

CONCLUSIONS

Conflict with family members about decisions to limit life-sustaining treatment can be very stressful for health care providers. Three important areas that give rise to distress were identified in this study. These key sources of distress should be looked for. They could be addressed by: (1) identifying to family members the importance of minimizing suffering and ongoing bodily injury of patients at risk for dying, (2) by doing so addressing directly the distress of family members by the provision of emotional support, and when appropriate directed toward helping them accept that the patient is dying, and (3) pursuing efforts to maintain or create a good relationship with family members despite disagreement about the appropriateness of continuing life-sustaining treatment.

How does an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) affect the lives of patients and their families?

This study aimed to identify the lived experience of patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) and their families. The methodology used was interpretative phenomenology. Unstructured interviews were conducted with three family members and three ICD recipients. Using a methodological approach outlined by van Manen, the participants transcribed texts were analysed looking for similar concepts and ideas that developed into themes that explicated the meaning of this phenomena. The themes that emerged were: dependence, which encompassed their perceptions about the life-saving device; the memory of their first defibrillation experience; lifestyle changes, which incorporated modification techniques; lack of control, which highlighted feelings such as fear, anxiety and powerlessness; mind game, which illustrated psychological challenges; and the issue of security, demonstrating how 'being there' and not 'being there' impacted on their everyday lives. The long-term outcomes of living with an ICD are important considerations for all health-care providers. This research highlights the everyday activities of recipients, the lifestyle changes they have made, the emotional significance of the device and the psychological coping strategies that the participants have adopted. The findings of this research will allow health-care professionals to be better prepared to provide education and support for ICD recipients and their families in regards to issues related to insertion of the device during the postinsertion recovery period and for long-term management after hospital discharge.

Exploring family needs during withdrawal of life support in critically ill patients

Withdrawal of life support is a process where medical interventions are taken away from the patient with the expectation that the patient will die. This deliberate decision occurs when it is determined that medical options are exhausted and the prognosis is terminal. With this study, the primary family member of twenty adult patients who had undergone withdrawal of life support was contacted and interviewed by the research team 3-5 weeks after the patients' death. Interview questions related to their experience with the withdrawal of life support process. Specifically, whether or not the situation was anticipated, a description of the events surrounding withdrawal, events that made the process easier, and what they would like to see changed. This information was used to determine if and to what extent family needs are met and to determine if further interventions are required.

Critical incident: reflection on the process of terminal weaning

The article uses critical incident analysis to reflect on the process of terminal weaning. Terminal weaning is defined in the context of withdrawing ventilatory support when the expected outcome is the patient's death. Basic ethical concepts are identified, and the role of the nurse in ethical decision making is discussed in relation to the associated professional and legal issues. Conflict exists between professional and legal accountability in relation to advocacy. Caution is advised with regard to nurses becoming involved in the decision to terminally wean, and its practice.