Article
Critical Care Medicine
Adeline L. Goss, Rachel Rutz Voumard, Ruth A. Engelberg, J. Randall Curtis, Claire J. Creutzfeldt
Summary: During the early phase of severe acute brain injury, surrogate decision-makers face prognostic uncertainty when making treatment decisions. The lack of evidence-based strategies to communicate uncertainty and support decision-making in this population prompted this study, which aimed to understand surrogate experiences and needs during the active decision-making period.
CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Rachael L. Spalding, Barry Edelstein
Summary: This study examined the impact of surrogate characteristics on surrogate decision making and intervention selections. The results showed that anxiety levels in surrogates significantly influenced their choice of interventions. These findings can contribute to the development of decision-making interventions and support surrogates in the stressful context of COVID-19 and future pandemics.
PATIENT EDUCATION AND COUNSELING
(2022)
Review
Psychology, Applied
Rachael Spalding
Summary: Studies suggest poor agreement between patients and surrogates on medical decisions, and surrogates are generally poor predictors of patient preferences. However, inconsistencies in methodological quality and limited generalisability of findings are concerns. Future research should focus on standardised hypothetical decision-making protocols and triangulated data collection methods to improve confidence in surrogate decision-making process.
APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY-HEALTH AND WELL BEING
(2021)
Editorial Material
Health Care Sciences & Services
J. Andre Knottnerus, Bart J. Knottnerus
Summary: This article discusses the feasibility of assessing patient-important health outcomes in intervention research, the role of surrogate endpoints, and the scientific basis for related decisions. Ethical, methodological, and practical reasons may justify decision-making based on surrogate endpoints, but challenges arise in dealing with these endpoints. Key aspects of appropriately handling surrogate endpoints include evaluating their predictive value, transparency, updating knowledge, balancing perspectives and values, and monitoring for necessary adjustments.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Lauren J. Van Scoy, Michael J. Green, Theresa Smith, Erika VanDyke, Andrew J. Foy, Laurie Badzek, Benjamin H. Levi
Summary: This study examines how patient spokespersons differentiate between surrogate decision-making and patient advocacy. The findings reveal substantial variability in how spokespersons conceptualize these roles, which may have implications for accurately assessing the association between ACP and outcomes.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Roswitha Merle, Alina M. Kueper
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the impact of veterinarian characteristics on their attitudes towards animal owners seeking self-information, particularly focusing on shared decision-making, age, and gender. It was found that veterinarians who viewed therapy failure as related to themselves had higher rates of shared decision-making, while those who attributed therapy failure to the animal owners had lower rates. Additionally, veterinarians who advised against self-information and perceived it as leading to uncertainty tended to have lower shared decision-making values.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Marc Serramia, Maite Lopez-Sanchez, Stefano Moretti, Juan A. Rodriguez-Aguilar
Summary: Decision makers face challenges in comparing and ranking elements based on multiple criteria and personal preferences. This study introduces a new decision-making framework and presents a new method for ranking single elements. It is also proven that the contributions of this study generalize recent results in the field of social choice. The findings are illustrated through a case study on ethical decision-making.
INFORMATION SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Normadiah Mahiddin, Zulaiha Ali Othman, Azuraliza Abu Bakar, Nur Arzuar Abdul Rahim
Summary: The nature of decision making in healthcare is complex and crucial. A proposed intelligent decision support system model based on data mining aims to improve decision-making accuracy by utilizing knowledge from previous and following treatment stages. The experiment results show improved accuracy and practicality as a healthcare solution.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Rimsha Rana, Angelette Pham, Nina Laing, Michael Pottash
Summary: The study found that hospital visitation restrictions during COVID have affected surrogate decision-making. These restrictions hindered decision-making, disrupted grief and healing processes, and made connection difficult, despite the presence of policies and technology.
PATIENT EDUCATION AND COUNSELING
(2023)
Editorial Material
Ethics
Dominic Wilkinson, Thillagavathie Pillay
Summary: Care of critically ill newborns involves parental support and regular updates on the clinical condition of the baby. Discussions around life-sustaining decisions can be challenging, especially when the birth mother is critically unwell. In cases of surrogacy, ethical, moral, and legal uncertainties may arise due to severe maternal and neonatal illness.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ETHICS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Qiuran Wang, Silvia Guerra, Bianca Bonato, Valentina Simonetti, Maria Bulgheroni, Umberto Castiello
Summary: Finding a suitable support is crucial for climbing plants, as it affects their performance and fitness. Previous studies have focused on the mechanistic details of support-searching and attachment, while fewer have considered the ecological significance and influencing factors. This study investigates the influence of support diameter on pea plants' movement and reveals a preference for thinner supports. These findings shed further light on how climbing plants make decisions regarding support-searching and demonstrate their ability to adapt to environmental scenarios.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Micah Y. Baum, Joseph J. Gallo, Marie T. Nolan, Kenneth M. Langa, Scott D. Halpern, Mario Macis, Lauren Hersch Nicholas
Summary: Cognitively impaired older adults with spouses involved in end-of-life treatment decisions were less likely to receive life-sustaining treatments compared to those with children involved, but did not show differences in other potentially burdensome end-of-life care measures.
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Respiratory System
Angela O. Suen, Rachel A. Butler, Robert M. Arnold, Brad Myers, Holly O. Witteman, Christopher E. Cox, Jennifer Gonzalez McComb, Praewpannanrai Buddadhumaruk, Anne-Marie Shields, Noah Morse, Amanda Argenas, Douglas B. White
Summary: The study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of an interactive web-based tool to support communication and shared decision-making for surrogates in ICUs, with results showing that the tool was highly usable, acceptable, and effective as rated by surrogates and clinicians.
ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Giulia Coccia, Filippo La Greca, Monica Di Luca, Diego Scheggia
Summary: Social decision-making requires the ability to balance self-interest and the interests of others, and empathy plays a crucial role in regulating such interactions. Oxytocin is deeply involved in modulating key components of social decision-making and its impact has raised considerable interest in clinical relevance.
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Julian A. Nasello, Benoit Dardenne, Adelaide Blavier, Jean-Marc Triffaux
Summary: This study investigates moral decision-making using two versions of the Trolley-like Problem and explores the role of age, gender, and empathy in predicting people's choices. The findings suggest that scenario, gender, and empathy all play a significant role in influencing Utilitarian Choices (UC) in Trolley-like Problems.
CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)