Perception of futile care of nurses in intensive care units

Rostami, Somaye; Esmaeali, Ravanbakhsh; Jafari, Hedayat; Yazdani charati, Jamshid; Shorofi, Seyed Afshin

Volume 10 - IJMEHM 2017, 10 - : 155-164 | Back to browse issues page

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Rostami S, Esmaeali R, Jafari H, Yazdani charati J, Shorofi S A. Perception of futile care of nurses in intensive care units. IJMEHM 2017; 10 :155-164
URL: http://ijme.tums.ac.ir/article-1-5762-en.html

Perception of futile care of nurses in intensive care units

Somaye Rostami¹

, Ravanbakhsh Esmaeali¹

, Hedayat Jafari ^*

², Jamshid Yazdani charati¹

, Seyed Afshin Shorofi¹

1- Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
2- Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran , hjafari@mazums.ac.ir

Abstract: (6475 Views)

Futile medical care is considered as the care or treatment that does not benefit the patient. Thus, perception of the clinical team regarding futile care is of great importance and it has an important role in the quality of nursing care and health of clinical team. This study aimed to determine the relationship between perception of nurses regarding futile medical care and their caring behaviors toward patients in the final stages of life admitted to intensive care units. This correlational, analytical study was performed on 181 nursing staff of the intensive care units (ICUs) of health centers affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Mazandaran, Iran. The data collection tool included a two-part questionnaire containing demographic characteristics form, perception of futile care questionnaire, and caring behaviors inventory. To analyze the data, statistical tests and central indices of tendency and dispersion were used. Pearson’s correlation coefficient, partial correlation, t-test, and ANOVA tests were performed to assess the relationship between the variables. Findings illustrated that the majority of nurses (65.7%) had a moderate perception of futile care. In addition, it was only the mean working hours per week among the demographic variables that had a statistically significant relationship with perception of futile care (P<0.05). Given the moderate perception of nurses concerning futile care, implementing suitable interventions for minimizing the frequency of futile care and its resulting tension seems to be mandatory. It is imperative to train nurses on adjustment mechanisms and raise their awareness as to situations resulting in futile care.

Keywords: Intensive care unit, Nurses, End-of-life care, Futile care

Full-Text [PDF 2538 kb] (2061 Downloads)

Type of Study: Research |
Received: 2016/06/10 | Accepted: 2018/01/14 | Published: 2018/03/17