A national survey of anaesthetists' preferences for their own end of life care.
Br J Anaesth
; 125(6): 1088-1098, 2020 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32951843
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To describe individual views, wishes, and preferences for end of life care and to report UK anaesthetists' personal perspectives.METHODS:
The 'bigconversations' questionnaire was developed by modifying an existing framework for end of life discussions. An online cross-sectional survey of UK anaesthetists was then conducted using the questionnaire in January 2019.RESULTS:
The bigconversations questionnaire was validated as measuring the important aspects of end of life care by an expert panel and was found to have moderate test-retest reliability. Responses were received from 760/1913 (40%) of those invited to take part. Overall, 698/760 (92%) of respondents wished to be well informed about their condition and prognosis and 518/760 (68%) wanted to be heavily involved in decision-making about their health. Meanwhile, 639/760 (84%) of respondents would choose to forego treatment aimed at prolonging life should that life be of poor quality. The desire to spend time with family was a theme which arose from the qualitative analysis.CONCLUSION:
This study provides the first systematic description of UK doctors', specifically anaesthetists', personal preferences for end of life care. Broad trends were identified to be well informed; to avoid high-intensity medical treatments if terminally unwell; to spend remaining time with family and friends; and to be symptom-free and well cared for. However, a substantial minority expressed different, indeed opposite, opinions. This variation highlights that good quality end of life care must be driven by discussion of an individual's values, wishes, and preferences.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Assistência Terminal
/
Inquéritos e Questionários
/
Preferência do Paciente
/
Anestesistas
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Br J Anaesth
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article