Do Advance Directives Direct?

An Evolutionary Concept Analysis of the "Fighter" in the Intensive Care Unit

The purpose of this article was to analyze the concept of "the fighter in the intensive care unit (ICU)" per the scientific literature and the impact this mentality has on care administered in the ICU. A literature review and a concept analysis based on Rodger's evolutionary method were performed to identify surrogate terms, antecedents, attributes, and consequences pertaining to the "fighter" in the ICU. Thirteen articles with a focus on "the fighter" were included in this analysis. There is a strong desire to remain optimistic and maintain high spirits as a coping mechanism in the face of extreme prognostic uncertainty. Themes that emerged from the literature were the need to find inner strength and persist in the face of adversity. The concept of "the fighter in the ICU" can serve as either adaptive or maladaptive coping, depending on the larger clinical picture. Patient experiences in the ICU are fraught with physical and psychological distress. How the patient and family unit cope during this anxiety-provoking time is based on the individual. Maintaining optimism and identifying as a fighter can be healthy ways to adapt to the circumstances. This concept analysis highlights the importance of holistic care and instilling hope particularly as patients may be nearing the end of life.

Escalation and Withdrawal of Treatment for Patients on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Qualitative Study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to describe decisions about the escalation and withdrawal of treatment for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA

Interventions premised on facilitating patient autonomy have proven problematic in guiding treatment decisions in intensive care units (ICUs). Calls have thus been made to better understand how decisions are made in critical care. ECMO is an important form of cardiac and respiratory support, but care on ECMO is characterized by prognostic uncertainty, varying time course, and high resource use. It remains unclear how decisions about treatment escalation and withdrawal should be made for patients on ECMO and what role families should play in these decisions.

METHODS

We performed a focused ethnography in 2 cardiothoracic ICUs in 2 US academic hospitals. We conducted 380 hours of observation, 34 weekly interviews with families of 20 ECMO patients, and 13 interviews with unit clinicians from January to September 2018. Qualitative analysis used an iterative coding process.

RESULTS

Following ECMO initiation, treatment was escalated as complications mounted until the patient either could be decannulated or interventional options were exhausted. Families were well-informed about treatment and prognosis but played minimal roles in shaping the trajectory of care.

CONCLUSIONS

Discussion between clinicians and families about prognosis and goals was frequent but did not occasion decision-making moments. This study helps explain why communication interventions intended to maintain patient autonomy through facilitating surrogate participation in decisions have had limited impact. A more comprehensive understanding of upstream factors that predispose courses of critical care is needed.

Family members' perceptions of surrogate decision-making in the intensive care unit: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

A better understanding of the perceptions of family members in making surrogate decisions for loved ones during intensive care is needed to inform the development of targeted supportive interventions.

OBJECTIVE

To examine and synthesize qualitative data on family members' perceptions of surrogate decision-making in the intensive care unit.

DESIGN

We conducted a systematic review and qualitative data synthesis. Eligible studies contained family members' quotes about surrogate decision-making experiences and perceptions in adult intensive care units, published in English or Chinese, in a peer-reviewed journal up to February 2022. Data sources included Embase, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Biomedical Literature Service System, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, and VIP Journal.

METHODS

The searches yielded 5974 identified articles, of which 23 studies were included. At least two different reviewers independently assessed the study quality and extracted data into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. A thematic synthesis was performed by classifying all text units into one of the broad themes and subsequently analyzed to inductively develop the first-, second-, and third-order themes. Six family members with experience in intensive care unit surrogate decision-making contributed to the analysis.

RESULTS

The qualitative data synthesis resulted in five major themes. The following key new insights into family members' perceptions of surrogate decision-making in the intensive care unit were obtained: in individual systems, family members suffered from emotional distress and psychological stress; different cognitive styles emerged; some family members reshaped a new order of life in the disruption; in family systems, the family as a whole was closely connected with each other; and in medical systems families perceived asymmetry in relationships with clinicians, many factors influencing trust, the necessity for role-specific mediators and issues with operations and environments not being sufficiently humanized.

CONCLUSION

This qualitative synthesis showed that individuals' emotions and cognition underwent complex processes during surrogate decision-making. The family as a whole, with disparate functional states, also faced different processes and outcomes under the crisis situation. At a broader level, the decision-making process reflected society's perceptions of the medical system. Future studies should use these insights to further explore and optimize the many aspects of surrogate decision support measures for families of critically ill patients and include the measurement of outcomes after interventions at multiple layers of the individual, family, and medical systems.

REGISTRATION NUMBER

The protocol was prospectively published on International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO)-CRD42022316687.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

Families of critically ill patients undergo a complex interactional process within the individual, family, and medical systems during surrogate decision-making.

How widowhood status relates to engagement in advance care planning among older adults: does race/ethnicity matter?

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated whether and to what extent widowhood status is related to engagement in advance care planning (ACP), and further whether race/ethnicity moderated the relation.

METHODS

We analyzed a total of 11,257 older Americans from the Health and Retirement Study using random-effect regression models after controlling for covariates and year-fixed effects.

RESULTS

We found that both being a widow/widower ever and having been widowed for a longer period of time were associated with a higher probability of engagement in ACP. Specifically, we found that a one-year increase in the number of years since spousal death was associated with 1.02 (p < 0.05, 95% CI = 1.00, 1.03) changes in the odds ratios of informal ACP; however, inclusion of a quadratic term indicated that this association reversed after the peak. Moreover, our findings suggested a moderating effect of race/ethnicity on the relations of the length of time since spousal loss with engagement in ACP. Specifically, the odds of widowed non-Hispanic Blacks discussing with someone the care or medical treatment (informal ACP) and having a living will (formal ACP) were 0.96 (p < 0.05, 95% CI = 0.93, 1.00) and 0.88 (p < 0.05, 95% CI = 0.79, 0.97) times that of non-widowed non-Hispanic Whites. Compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts, widowed non-Hispanic Blacks were less likely to engage in ACP, and the negative relations were exacerbated when they became widows/widowers.

CONCLUSION

We elaborated on these findings and discussed their implications for understanding the moderating effect of race/ethnicity on the relation between late-life widowhood and engagement in ACP. In order to develop programs that enhance engagement in ACP and reduce racial/ethnic disparities, research must incorporate intersectionality theory with attention to motivations and decision-making style among diverse widows/widowers. The findings from this study could help inform policy makers when developing public health programs and health care reimbursement programs that enhance engagement in ACP among widows/widowers.

Advance Care Planning and Transitions to Comfort Measures after Stroke

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) is recommended to align treatment with patient goals, although there has been little study of the impact of ACP on in-hospital stroke treatment. Objective: To examine the association between ACP and transitions to comfort measures after stroke. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting/Subjects: Hospitalized stroke patients 45 years and older and surrogate decision makers from a population-based study in Corpus Christi, TX. Measurements: Surrogates were interviewed to assess presence of patient prestroke ACP, categorized as none, informal conversations only, or formal documentation. Patient records were reviewed for time from admission to transition to comfort measures only (CMO) (defined as in-hospital comfort measures or discharge with hospice services). Cox proportional-hazards models assessed the relationship between ACP and time to transition to CMO. Results: Of 148 included stroke patients, 37% transitioned to CMO (median time five days). For ACP, 44% had only informal conversations, 38% had formal documentation (98% of which also reported informal conversations), and 18% had neither. After adjustment for age, severity, and baseline disability, informal conversations alone (hazard ratio [HR] 3.55; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.35-9.33) and formal documentation (HR 2.85; 95% CI: 1.05-7.72) were associated with earlier transition to comfort measures compared to no ACP. There was no difference between formal documentation and informal conversations on time to comfort measures (HR 0.80, 95% CI: 0.40-1.63). Conclusions: There was no additional association of formal ACP documentation over informal conversations on time to transition to comfort measures after stroke. Further study of formal ACP is warranted.

Dementia, Treatment Decisions, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities. A New Framework for Old Problems

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been at the center of considerable debate in the field of mental health. The discussion has caught up in particular after the publication of General Comment No. 1 in which the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities proposes a particularly radical interpretation of Article 12 of the Convention. Such a document has triggered skeptic and at times hostile reactions especially by psychiatrists, together with some positive comments. In this context, there is sometimes the tendency to focus only on the problematic aspects of the rights and support based model proposed by the CRPD and its Committee, forgetting that also "pre-CRPD" legislations on legal capacity present significant shortcomings. In this contribution I focus on the paradigmatic case of treatment decisions of people living with dementia with the aim to show how a number of provisions emerging from the CRPD and General Comment No. 1 can contribute to overcome the issues characterizing the traditional model of legal capacity and consent to treatment. First, I provide a brief overview of the provisions contained in the CRPD and General Comment No.1, summarizing the debate in this area. Then, I move to the case of treatment decisions of people living with dementia, analysing the main issues posed by the traditional model of capacity still characterizing European legislations. I will show how such problems and the solutions previously advanced by academics and practitioners resound in many ways with those identified by the CRPD and its Committee. In the second part, I analyse one by one the main provisions proposed by the CRPD and the Committee, studying how they can be applied in the area of treatment decisions of people living with dementia. In this context I point out the possible interpretations of the various provisions and their pros and cons, also referring to ongoing initiatives providing an insight on how such norms might work in practice.

Cultural Aspects of End-of-Life Care Planning for African Americans: An Integrative Review of Literature

Advance directive completion rates among the general population are low. Studies report even lower completion rates among African Americans are affected by demographic variables, cultural distinctives related to patient autonomy, mistrust of the health care system, low health literacy, strong spiritual beliefs, desire for aggressive interventions, importance of family-communal decision making, and presence of comorbidities. An integrative review was conducted to synthesize nursing knowledge regarding cultural perspectives of end-of-life and advance care planning among African Americans. Twenty-four articles were reviewed. Nurses educate patients and families about end-of-life planning as mandated by the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1991. Implementation of advance directives promote patient and family centered care, and should be encouraged. Clinicians must be sensitive and respectful of values and practices of patients of diverse cultures, and initiate conversations with open-ended questions facilitating patient trust and sharing within the context of complex beliefs, traditions, and lifeways.

Older Adults More Likely to Discuss Advance Care Plans With an Attorney Than With a Physician

Adults are encouraged to discuss their end-of-life health care preferences so that their wishes will be known and hopefully honored. The purpose of this study was to determine with whom older adults had communicated their future health care wishes and the extent to which respondents themselves were serving as a surrogate decision maker. Results from the cross-sectional online survey with 294 persons aged 50 and older reveal that among the married, over 80% had a discussion with their spouse and among those with an adult child, close to two thirds (64%) had. Over a third had discussed preferences with an attorney and 23% with a physician. Close to half were currently serving as a surrogate decision maker or had been asked to and had signed papers to formalize their role. 18% did not think that they were a surrogate but were not sure. More education is needed to emphasize the importance of advance care planning with a medical professional, especially for patients with advanced chronic illness. More education and research about the role of surrogate medical decision makers is called for.