Journal of medical ethics
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Journal of medical ethics · Feb 2014
Multicenter StudyA study of consent for participation in a non-therapeutic study in the pediatric intensive care population.
To document the legal guardian-related barriers to consent procurement, and their stated reasons for non-participation in a paediatric critical care research study. ⋯ Barriers to consent procurement in a non-therapeutic paediatric critical care study appear to occur at many levels with lack of availability of legal guardians, and legal guardians feeling overwhelmed, being the most commonly recorded reasons. Further research into the impact of these findings on the validity and generalisability of the results of such studies is necessary prior to the development and study of future consent models.
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Journal of medical ethics · Feb 2014
Multicenter StudyEthical decision making in intensive care units: a burnout risk factor? Results from a multicentre study conducted with physicians and nurses.
Ethical decision making in intensive care is a demanding task. The need to proceed to ethical decision is considered to be a stress factor that may lead to burnout. The aim of this study is to explore the ethical problems that may increase burnout levels among physicians and nurses working in Portuguese intensive care units (ICUs). A quantitative, multicentre, correlational study was conducted among 300 professionals. ⋯ Ethical problems were reported at different levels by physicians and nurses. The type of ethical decisions made by nurses working in Portuguese ICUs had an impact on burnout levels. This did not apply to physicians. This study highlights the need for education in the field of ethics in ICUs and the need to foster inter-disciplinary discussion so as to encourage ethical team deliberation in order to prevent burnout.