Opinions of intensive care professionals about futile treatment

Abstract

Objective: The study was conducted to determine the views of nurses and physicians working at intensive care units on the concept of futile treatment. Methods: The sample of the descriptive study included 176 individuals. The data were obtained with the futile treatment questionnaire developed by the researchers. The research data were evaluated with the percentage calculation and chi-square significance test. Results: Based on the statistical analysis of the findings, it was determined that 55.1% of the nurses and physicians said that futile treatment was provided for some patients in the intensive care units and 67.6% were knowledgeable about the futile treatment concept. Of the health professionals, 61.4% stated that futile treatment should not be administered in intensive care units, 58.0% stated that physicians played an important role in making decisions to provide futile treatment, and 60.8% experienced ethical dilemmas in futile treatment practices. Conclusions: A great majority of the nurses and physicians stated that some patients received futile treatment in intensive care units but futile treatment should not be provided in intensive care units. It is suggested that institutional and legal policies should be established on the administration of futile treatment in clinical settings in Turkey

Keywords

• Treatment,futile treatment,health professionals,intensive care

Yoğun bakım çalışanlarının nafile tedaviye ilişkin görüşleri

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışma, yoğun bakım ünitesinde çalışan hemşirelerin ve hekimlerin nafile/boşuna tedavi kavramına yönelik görüşlerini belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Yöntem: Bu tanımlayıcı araştırmanın örneklemini 176 birey oluşturmuştur. Veriler araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen nafile tedavi anketi ile elde edilmiştir. Araştırma verileri, yüzde hesaplama ve ki-kare önemlilik testi ile değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Bulguların istatistiksel değerlendirmesi sonucu hemşire ve hekimlerin %55,1’ine göre yoğun bakım ortamında bazı hastalara nafile tedavi uygulandığı, %67,6’sının nafile tedavi kavramını bildikleri belirlendi. Sağlık profesyonellerinin %61,4’ünün yoğun bakım ortamlarında nafile tedavinin uygulanmaması gerektiğini belirttikleri, %58,0’inde nafile tedaviyi uygulama kararında hekimin önemli rol oynadığı ve sağlık çalışanlarının %60,8’inin nafile tedavi uygulamalarında etik ikilem yaşadıkları belirlenmiştir. Sonuç: Hemşire ve hekimlerin büyük çoğunluğu yoğun bakım ortamında bazı hastalara nafile tedavi uygulandığını, yoğun bakım ortamlarında nafile tedavinin yapılmaması gerektiğini belirtmiştir. Bu bağlamda ülkemizde klinik ortamlarda nafile tedavinin uygulanmasına ilişkin kurumsal ve yasal politikaların oluşturulması önerilir

Keywords

• Tedavi,nafile tedavi,sağlık çalışanları,yoğun bakım

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