NDLI: Tough choices: the experience of family members of critically ill patients participating in ECMO treatment decision-making: a descriptive qualitative study

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	Yang, Xiangying Lin, Yao Tang, Amao Zeng, Xiaokang Dai, Weiying Zhang, Qian Ning, Li
Abstract	Background ECMO treatment for critically ill patients mostly requires family members to make surrogate decisions. However, the process and experience of family members’ participation in decision making have not been well described. Purpose To explore the experience of family members of critically ill patients who were asked to consent to ECMO treatment and to gain insight into the factors that promote and hinder their decision-making. Methods A descriptive qualitative study. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview method and analysed using traditional content analysis approaches. The cohort included nineteen family members of critically ill ICU patients from a general hospital in China. Results Eleven family members consented to ECMO treatment, and 8 refused. 4 themes and 10 subthemes emerged: (1) tough choices: the dilemma in the emergency situation, the guilt and remorse after giving up; (2) rationalisation of decision-making: ethics and morality guide decision-making, expected efficacy influences decision making, and past experience promotes decision making; (3) decision-making methods: independent decision-making, group decision-making, decision making based on patient preferences; (4) influencing factors of decision making: information and communication, social support. Conclusion The findings provide insights and a basis for promoting efficient ECMO decision-making in clinical practice. It may be difficult to improve the time it takes to make the decision without sacrificing the quality of the decision. Healthcare professionals should provide timely emotional support, informational support, and comprehensive social support to assist them in making efficient decisions while respecting the treatment preferences of the decision-makers.
Related Links	https://bmcmedinformdecismak.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12911-025-02876-1.pdf
Ending Page	10
Page Count	10
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
ISSN	14726947
DOI	10.1186/s12911-025-02876-1
Journal	BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	25
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2025-02-07
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Health Informatics Information Systems and Communication Service Management of Computing and Information Systems Critical illness Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation Family members Decision making Qualitative research
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Health Informatics Computer Science Applications Health Policy
Journal Impact Factor	3.3/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	3.9/2023

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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