Work

You Can’t Get What You Want: Innovation for End-of-Life Communication in the Intensive Care Unit

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Family meetings to establish care goals for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are inherently challenging due to asymmetries of information between physicians and families, complicated family dynamics, mixed messages from providers, and uncertainty about prognosis and preferences (1, 2). How we communicate during these meetings—specifically the words we choose—may interfere with our ability to determine patient preferences and goals. One word that may be particularly problematic is the use of the word “want.”

Source: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201508-1592oe

Authors: Margaret L. Schwarze, Toby C. Campbell, Thomas V. Cunningham, Douglas B. White, Robert M. Arnold

Institutions: University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh

Language: English

Topic: Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green