'A band of brothers'-an exploration of the range of medical ethical issues faced by British senior military clinicians on deployment to Afghanistan: a qualitative study.

AIMS: To identify and explore features of ethical issues that senior clinicians faced as deployed medical directors (DMDs) to the British Field Hospital in Afghanistan as well as to determine the ethical training requirements for future deployments. METHOD: A qualitative study in two phases conducted from November 2014 to June 2015. Phase 1 analysed 60 vignettes of cases that had generated ethical dilemmas for DMDs. Phase 2 included focus groups and an interview with 13 DMDs. FINDINGS: Phase 1 identified working with limited resources, dual conflict of meeting both clinical and military obligations and consent of children as the most prevalent ethical challenges. Themes found in Phase 2 included sharing clinical responsibilities with clinicians from other countries and not knowing team members' ways of working, in addition to the themes from Phase 1. DISCUSSION: This study has drawn together examples of scenarios to form a repository that will aid future training. Recommendations included undertaking ethics training together as a team before, during and after deployment which must include all nationalities who are assigned to the same operational tour, so that different ethical views can be explored beforehand.

A qualitative study of the use of the four quadrant approach to assist ethical decision-making during deployment.

AIM: The aim of the study was to explore how useful clinicians deployed to the Field Hospital in Afghanistan found using the four quadrant approach (4QA) as a tool to aid ethical decision-making. In addition, the study aimed to determine whether the 4QA needed to be amended to make it more effective in assisting the ethical decision-making process for military health professionals on deployment. METHOD: A qualitative pilot study in two phases was undertaken between September 2012 and January 2013. In Phase I, senior deployed clinicians completed a pro forma of the 4QA on cases that potentially raised ethical issues. Thirteen pro formas were submitted on four cases; the Deployed Medical Director submitted a log of 14 cases that had involved using the 4QA. Phase II consisted of interviews with five senior clinicians who had recently returned from deployment in Afghanistan to discuss their experiences and perceptions of using the 4QA. RESULTS: Phase I identified a variation in the level of detail recorded and where that information was placed on the quadrant. Four themes were generated from Phase II. These included the characteristics of ethical decisions; the processes used to make ethical decisions; use, usefulness and limitations of the 4QA; and views about training in ethics. The findings suggested that amendments to the pro forma may improve its utility. CONCLUSIONS: The 4QA is a useful tool within an operational setting but amending its diagrammatic presentation could improve its effectiveness. Pre-deployment training should include practising using the quadrant as described in Clinical Guidelines for Operations. This is particularly important as the participants relied heavily on experience to help them make ethical decisions, and this experience may not be available in future operations outside Afghanistan.