Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36212451›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in oncology2022

Negotiating decisions on aggressive cancer care at end-of-life between patients, family members, and physicians - A qualitative interview study.

Markus W Haun, Alina Wildenauer, Mechthild Hartmann, Caroline Bleyel, Nikolaus Becker, Dirk Jäger, Hans-Christoph Friederich, Justus Tönnies

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in oncology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Markus W HaunDepartment of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Alina WildenauerDepartment of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Mechthild HartmannDepartment of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Caroline BleyelDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Nikolaus BeckerDivision of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Dirk JägerDepartment of Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany.
Hans-Christoph FriederichDepartment of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Justus TönniesDepartment of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Heidelberg University · DEGerman Cancer Research Center · DENational Center for Tumor Diseases · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Patients with advanced cancer do receive increasingly aggressive end-of-life care, despite it does often not prolong survival time but entails decreased quality of life for patients. This qualitative study explores the unfolding of aggressive end-of-life care in clinical practice focusing on the decision-making process and the quality of end-of-life care from family members' perspective. Materials and methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 family members (six of cancer patients with and ten without aggressive end-of-life care) at the National Center for Tumor Diseases Heidelberg, Germany. We conducted a content analysis applying a theoretical framework to differentiate between 'decision-making' (process of deciding for one choice among many options) and 'decision-taking' (acting upon this choice). Results: While patients of the aggressive care group tended to make and take decisions with their family members and physicians, patients of the other group took the decision against more aggressive treatment alone. Main reason for the decision in favor of aggressive care was the wish to spend more time with loved ones. Patients took decisions against aggressive care given the rapid decline in physical health and to spare relatives difficult decisions and arising feelings of guilt and self-reproach. Conclusion: Treatment decisions at end-of-life are always individual. Nevertheless, treatment courses with aggressive end-of-life care and those without differ markedly. To account for a longitudinal perspective on the interplay between patients, family members, and physicians, cohort studies are needed. Meanwhile, clinicians should validate patients and family members considering refraining from aggressive end-of-life care and explore their motives. Clinical trial registration: https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00022837, identifier DRKS00022837.

Indexed as

aggressiveness of carecancerchemotherapydecision-makingdecision regretend-of-lifequalitative interview

Identifiers

PMID36212451
PMCPMC9539079
OpenAlexW4296998473

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.