What determinants impact deceased organ donation consent in the adult intensive care unit? An integrative review exploring the perspectives of staff and families.

BACKGROUND: Deceased organ donation saves lives. Donation processes in New Zealand operate under an opt-in system, which requires consent from families of patients diagnosed with brain death or circulatory death while in the intensivecare unit. The donation demand and supply mismatch is a global phenomenon. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to understand the determinants of deceased organ donation decisions in the adult intensive care setting from the perspectives of staff and families. METHODS: An integrative review based on Whittemore and Knafl's approach searched literature through databases CINAHL Plus, SCOPUS, Proquest Medline Ovid, and manual ancestry searches. Inclusion/exclusion criteria screened for pertinent literature, which were reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Selected studies were appraised using a generic scoring tool, and data were systematically extracted and coded onto spreadsheets using inductive, thematic analysis. RESULTS: A total of 21 studies (12 qualitative, seven quantitative, two mixed methods) were included. Publication dates ranged from 1993 to 2021 from multiple countries (18 opt-in, three opt-out systems). Four overarching themes pertaining to families and staff were generated. Important knowledge related to families' knowledge deficits around brain death, the purpose of ventilation, donation procedures, patients' wishes, and staffs' lack of training. Challenging communication highlighted miscommunications due to language choices and interrupted continuity of care during staff-family interactions. Internal determinants explored the cultural, spiritual, and emotional perspectives of families, while staff faced a sense of burden and conflicting values in delivering care between donors and recipients. External determinants related to the clinical environment impacting on grieving families, while for the staff, it explained concerns around resources and organisational processes. CONCLUSIONS: Factors underpinning deceased organ donation are multifaceted and complex. Staff actions and families' decisions are inextricably intertwined. Modifiable factors include a lack of formal training and communicational skills and environmental limitations of an intensive care setting.

Development and initial outcomes of an upper gastrointestinal multidisciplinary clinic.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with upper gastrointestinal cancer are often comorbid and require complex surgical treatments for their cancers, meaning that their preoperative assessment can be based around numerous outpatient assessments with multiple services. A multidisciplinary clinic (MDC) was developed for the assessment of patients with confirmed or suspected upper gastrointestinal cancers. METHODS: Face-to-face meetings were held between stakeholder services at Waitemata District Health Board, and clinic resource allocated. Significant IT modification of existing clinic booking software was required. RESULTS: Between September 2014, and September 2015, there were a total of 165 new patient, and 710 follow-up appointments. All new patients were seen by a surgeon and then other specialties. Of the 165 new patient appointments, 146 (88%) patients had a definitive treatment plan in place and were cleared by anaesthesia and intensive care at the end of the clinic. Staff and patients report high levels of satisfaction for the clinic. CONCLUSION: A dedicated MDC has provided a single forum where complex patients can be reviewed, and a definitive treatment plan formulated in nearly 90% of patients, even when this involves multiple medical and paramedical specialties with high levels of patient and clinician satisfaction.