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Table 4 Reasons why parents should not directly be involved in decision-making

From: Decision-making at the limit of viability: differing perceptions and opinions between neonatal physicians and nurses

 

Total

Physicians

Nurses

p-value

German speaking area

French speaking area

p-value

Parents might change their minds later and feel guilty

95.4 (88.8–98.2)

92.9 (68.5–98.7)

95.9 (88.6–98.6)

0.622

98.0 (89.7–99.7)

91.7 (78.2–97.1)

0.165

Parents should be spared the burden of such decisions

90.1 (82.3–94.7)

71.4 (45.4–88.3)

93.5 (85.7–97.2)

0.011

84.9 (72.9–92.1)

97.4 (86.5–99.5)

0.051

Parents are not in the right state of mind to take such decisions

76.2 (66.1–84.0)

50.0 (26.8–73.2)

81.4 (70.8–88.8)

0.012

73.9 (59.7–84.4)

78.9 (63.7–88.9)

0.592

Parents cannot fully understand the possible options and consequences

74.1 (63.9–82.2)

35.7 (16.3–61.2)

81.7 (71.2–89.0)

< 0.001

66.7 (52.5–78.3)

83.8 (68.9–92.3)

0.076

The responsibility for such decisions belongs solely to the physician

46.5 (36.3–57.0)

46.2 (23.2–70.9)

46.6 (35.6–57.9)

0.978

36.7 (24.7–50.7)

59.5 (43.5–73.7)

0.038

Parents might change their minds later and sue the physician

35.6 (25.6–47.1)

16.7 (4.7–44.8)

39.3 (28.1–51.9)

0.136

37.2 (24.4–52.1)

33.3 (19.2–51.2)

0.735

Discussing options of limiting care may jeopardize the trust parents have in the health care providers

23.1 (15.1–33.6)

15.4 (4.3–42.2)

24.6 (15.8–36.3)

0.474

32.6 (20.5–47.5)

11.4 (4.5–26.0)

0.029

Once involved, parents may become intrusive and put inappropriate pressure on the staff

20.3 (12.9–30.4)

16.7 (4.7–44.8)

20.9 (12.9–32.1)

0.739

13.3 (6.3–26.2)

29.4 (16.8–46.2)

0.080

  1. Answers to the question: “For which of the following reasons should parents not be directly involved in the decision about whether or not to limit intensive care?” Percentages of respondents who answered “yes” with 95% confidence intervals are shown. Answers are listed in decreasing agreement. Total n = 91