End-of-life decision-making in the emergency department and intensive care unit: Health professionals' perspectives on and knowledge of the law in Queensland

Jayne Hewitt; Nemat Alsaba; Katya May; Evelyn Kang; Colleen Cartwright; Lindy Willmott; Ben White; Andrea P Marshall

doi:10.1111/1742-6723.14377

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End-of-life decision-making in the emergency department and intensive care unit: Health professionals' perspectives on and knowledge of the law in Queensland

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End-of-life decision-making in the emergency department and intensive care unit: Health professionals' perspectives on and knowledge of the law in Queensland

Jayne Hewitt, Nemat Alsaba, Katya May, Evelyn Kang, Colleen Cartwright, Lindy Willmott, Ben White and Andrea P Marshall

Emergency medicine Australasia, Vol.36(3), pp.429-435

15/02/2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.14377

PMID: 38361400

Appears in Recent Faculty of Health Publications

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Abstract

withholding treatment

medical record audit

advance health directive

end-of-life decision-making

substitute decision-maker

Objective To investigate ED and intensive care unit healthcare professionals' perspectives and knowledge of the law that underpins end-of-life decision-making in Queensland, Australia. Methods An online survey with questions about perspectives, perceived, and actual, knowledge of the law was distributed by the professional organisations of medical practitioners, nurses and social workers who work in Queensland EDs and intensive care units. Results The survey responses of 126 healthcare professionals were included in the final analysis. Most respondents agreed that the law was relevant to end-of-life decision-making, but that clinician and family consensus mattered more than following the law. Generally, doctors' legal knowledge was higher than nurses'; however, there were significant gaps in the knowledge of all respondents about the operation of advance health directives in Queensland. Conclusions The legal framework that supports end-of-life decision-making for adults who lack decision-making capacity has been in place for more than two decades. Despite frequently being involved in making or enacting these decisions, gaps in the legal knowledge of healthcare professionals who work in EDs and intensive care units in Queensland are evident. Further research to better understand how to improve knowledge and application of the law is warranted.

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Title: End-of-life decision-making in the emergency department and intensive care unit: Health professionals' perspectives on and knowledge of the law in Queensland
Creators: Jayne Hewitt - Griffith University
Nemat Alsaba - Bond University
Katya May - Gold Coast University Hospital
Evelyn Kang - Griffith University
Colleen Cartwright - Southern Cross University
Lindy Willmott - Queensland University of Technology
Ben White - Queensland University of Technology
Andrea P Marshall - Gold Coast University Hospital
Publication Details: Emergency medicine Australasia, Vol.36(3), pp.429-435
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Grant note: RGS2020044 / Gold Coast Health Collaborative Research Grant Scheme
Identifiers: 991013167992102368
Copyright: © 2024 The Authors. Emergency Medicine Australasia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. Open access publishing facilitated by Griffith University, as part of the Wiley - Griffith University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
Academic Unit: Office of the Vice Chancellor; Faculty of Health
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

End-of-life decision-making in the emergency department and intensive care unit: Health professionals' perspectives on and knowledge of the law in Queensland

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