Decision support: helping patients and families to find a balance at the end of life.
Terminally ill patients and their families face many decisions at the end of life that can sometimes be overwhelming. Nurses play a key role in providing decision support so that patients and their families can make timely decisions about their health care that reflect their individual needs and circumstances. The Ottawa Decision Support Framework can help nurses to assess patients' decision-making needs, provide tailored decision support and evaluate the effect of their interventions. The theoretical underpinnings of the model and its implications for palliative care clinical practice are discussed.
Palliative Care Unit, SCO Health Service, 43 Bruyere St, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1N 5C8. mmurray@scohs.on.ca
Mary Ann
MA
Murray
Toba
T
Miller
Valerie
V
Fiset
Annette
A
O'Connor
Mary Jane
MJ
Jacobsen
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D003142:Communication; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003657:Decision Making; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010358:Patient Participation; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology