Department of Medical- Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
BMC Med Ethics. 2024 Nov 15;25(1):130. doi: 10.1186/s12910-024-01131-y.
Ethical decision making is a complex issue because it strongly depends on the religion, beliefs, traditional laws and moral views of each society. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of Iranian family caregivers of end stage cancer patients about ethical decision making.
This qualitative study is based on van Manen's method of hermeneutic phenomenology. In-depth interviews were carried out to collect data. Participants were 12 caregiver. Audiotapes were transcribed and analyzed for common themes that represented the participants' experiences. Trustworthiness of the findings was established using the Lincoln and Guba's criteria.
Three themes reflected the essence of caregivers' lived experience including; fluctuating between hope and despair, wandering dilemma, and ethical decision making. Each of these themes consisted of several subthemes.
The present study revealed that, the caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients need different information about prognosis and end of life decision making process. Our perception of how families negotiate ethical issues in their decision-making is still developing. Opportunities should be created to empowering caregivers to talk about their uncertainties and concerns.
伦理决策是一个复杂的问题，因为它强烈依赖于每个社会的宗教、信仰、传统法律和道德观念。本研究的目的是探讨伊朗晚期癌症患者家庭照顾者在伦理决策方面的体验。
本定性研究基于范梅南的解释现象学方法。采用深入访谈收集数据。参与者为 12 名照顾者。对录音带进行转录，并对代表参与者体验的共同主题进行分析。使用林肯和古巴的标准来确定研究结果的可信度。
三个主题反映了照顾者生活体验的本质，包括：在希望和绝望之间波动、徘徊的困境和伦理决策。每个主题都包含几个子主题。
本研究表明，终末期癌症患者的照顾者需要了解有关预后和临终决策过程的不同信息。我们对家庭如何在决策中协商伦理问题的看法仍在发展中。应该创造机会，增强照顾者谈论不确定性和关注的能力。
