Impact of training on intensive care providers ’ attitudes and knowledge regarding limitation of life‐support treatment and organ donation after circulatory death

Abstract The limitation of life‐sustaining treatment is common practice in critical care units, and organ donation after circulatory death has come to be included as an option within this care plan. Lack of knowledge and misunderstandings can raise barriers between health‐care providers (e.g., confusion about professional roles, lack of collaboration, doubts about the legality of the process, and not respecting patients' wishes in the decision‐making process). The aim of the present study was to determine the knowledge and attitudes of intensive care physicians and nurses before and after a multidisciplinary online training program. A cross‐sectional study was performed, and comparisons between the two groups were made using a χ2‐test for categorical data and unpaired t‐test or Mann–Whitney rank sum test for continuous data according to its distribution. Training benefited both professional categories, helping nurses to be more open‐minded and willing to collaborate, while physicians became more aware of nurses' presence and the need to collaborate with them.
Source: Nursing and Health Sciences - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: Research Article Source Type: research