Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2017 , Vol 20, Issue 2
INTENSIVE CARE AND ONCOLOGY NURSES’ PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES WITH ‘FUTILE MEDICAL CARE’ AND ‘PRINCIPLES OF GOOD DEATH’
Ayten DEMIR1, Behire SANÇAR2, Eda Özge YAZGAN3, Sevgi ÖZCAN4, Veli DUYAN5
1Ankara Univ. Faculty of Nursing ANKARA
2Toros Univ. Faculty of Nursing MERSIN
3Ankara Univ. Faculty of Nursing ANKARA
4Çukurova Univ. Faculty of Nursing ADANA
5Ankara Univ. Social Services ANKARA
Introduction: This study aimed to determine nurses’ perceptions and experiences with ‘futile medical care’ and their opinions about ‘principles of good death’.

Materials and Method: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 state hospitals and 3 university hospitals in Ankara, Turkey. It included 856 nurses working in intensive care and oncology units. A questionnaire, which included demographics and futile medical care practices and the ‘Attitudes toward Principles about Dying with Dignity Scale’ were used.

Results: Participants were on average 30.49 ± 6.12 years old 92.3% were women, 61.7% were married and 62.7% had a bachelor’s degree. Nurses defined medical care as futile when it was ‘not affecting quality of life’ (35.4%), ‘not curing the disease’ (46.8%) and ‘prolonging the suffering of the patient’ (42.9%). They stated that futile care was continued because of hospital policy (32.9%), doctor’s decision (54.9%) or patient’s or relative’s decision (29.3%). Three of every four nurses stated that good death principles were not applied at their hospital. We found that attitudes toward death improved as nurses’ education level increased (p = .001), and women had higher scale scores than men (p < .001).

Conclusion: Nurses were generally not satisfied with end-of-life care. Extending life, while ignoring the quality thereof, remains a major ethical dilemma for health professionals. Keywords : Medical Futility; Attitude to Death; Terminal Care; Nurses