Experts' attitudes towards medical futility: an empirical survey from Japan
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The current debate about medical futility is mostly driven by theoretical and personal perspectives and there is a lack of empirical data to document experts and public attitudes towards medical futility.</p> <p>Methods&l...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2006-06-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Ethics |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/7/8 |
| _version_ | 1818178135568416768 |
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| author | Asai Atsushi Bagheri Alireza Ida Ryuichi |
| author_facet | Asai Atsushi Bagheri Alireza Ida Ryuichi |
| author_sort | Asai Atsushi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The current debate about medical futility is mostly driven by theoretical and personal perspectives and there is a lack of empirical data to document experts and public attitudes towards medical futility.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To examine the attitudes of the Japanese experts in the fields relevant to medical futility a questionnaire survey was conducted among the members of the Japan Association for Bioethics. A total number of 108 questionnaires returned filled in, giving a response rate of 50.9%. Among the respondents 62% were healthcare professionals (HCPs) and 37% were non-healthcare professionals (Non-HCPs).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of respondents (67.6 %) believed that a physician's refusal to provide or continue a treatment on the ground of futility judgment could never be morally justified but 22.2% approved such refusal with conditions. In the case of physiologically futile care, three-quarters believed that a physician should inform the patient/family of his futility judgment and it would be the patient who could decide what should be done next, based on his/her value judgment. However more than 10% said that a physician should ask about a patient's value and goals, but the final decision was left to the doctor not the patient. There was no statistically significant difference between HCPs and Non-HCPs (<it>p </it>= 0.676). Of respondents 67.6% believed that practical guidelines set up by the health authority would be helpful in futility judgment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results show that there is no support for the physicians' unilateral decision- making on futile care. This survey highlights medical futility as an emerging issue in Japanese healthcare and emphasizes on the need for public discussion and policy development.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T20:43:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5a89cea5774c4e2c876557d14950ba5b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6939 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T20:43:10Z |
| publishDate | 2006-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Ethics |
| spelling | doaj.art-5a89cea5774c4e2c876557d14950ba5b2022-12-22T00:51:26ZengBMCBMC Medical Ethics1472-69392006-06-0171810.1186/1472-6939-7-8Experts' attitudes towards medical futility: an empirical survey from JapanAsai AtsushiBagheri AlirezaIda Ryuichi<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The current debate about medical futility is mostly driven by theoretical and personal perspectives and there is a lack of empirical data to document experts and public attitudes towards medical futility.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To examine the attitudes of the Japanese experts in the fields relevant to medical futility a questionnaire survey was conducted among the members of the Japan Association for Bioethics. A total number of 108 questionnaires returned filled in, giving a response rate of 50.9%. Among the respondents 62% were healthcare professionals (HCPs) and 37% were non-healthcare professionals (Non-HCPs).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of respondents (67.6 %) believed that a physician's refusal to provide or continue a treatment on the ground of futility judgment could never be morally justified but 22.2% approved such refusal with conditions. In the case of physiologically futile care, three-quarters believed that a physician should inform the patient/family of his futility judgment and it would be the patient who could decide what should be done next, based on his/her value judgment. However more than 10% said that a physician should ask about a patient's value and goals, but the final decision was left to the doctor not the patient. There was no statistically significant difference between HCPs and Non-HCPs (<it>p </it>= 0.676). Of respondents 67.6% believed that practical guidelines set up by the health authority would be helpful in futility judgment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results show that there is no support for the physicians' unilateral decision- making on futile care. This survey highlights medical futility as an emerging issue in Japanese healthcare and emphasizes on the need for public discussion and policy development.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/7/8 |
| spellingShingle | Asai Atsushi Bagheri Alireza Ida Ryuichi Experts' attitudes towards medical futility: an empirical survey from Japan BMC Medical Ethics |
| title | Experts' attitudes towards medical futility: an empirical survey from Japan |
| title_full | Experts' attitudes towards medical futility: an empirical survey from Japan |
| title_fullStr | Experts' attitudes towards medical futility: an empirical survey from Japan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experts' attitudes towards medical futility: an empirical survey from Japan |
| title_short | Experts' attitudes towards medical futility: an empirical survey from Japan |
| title_sort | experts attitudes towards medical futility an empirical survey from japan |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/7/8 |
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