Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36943825›Full record

ArticlePloS one2023

Coaching doctors to improve ethical decision-making in adult hospitalised patients potentially receiving excessive treatment: Study protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial.

Dominique D Benoit, Stijn Vanheule, Frank Manesse, Frederik Anseel, Geert De Soete, Katrijn Goethals, An Lievrouw, Stijn Vansteelandt, Erik De Haan, Ruth Piers and 1 more

Registry-linked trialFull text readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07327450 (Coaching Doctors and Nurses to Improve Ethical Decision-making in Team), which is not on this map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT07327450 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Coaching Doctors and Nurses to Improve Ethical Decision-making in Team: a Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial in 10 Departments of the Ghent University Hospital

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity Hospital, GhentRan2026 to 2028Enrolled360ConditionsDecision Making ,Shared, Leadership, End of Life Communication, End of Life Decision MakingArmsUsual Care Group, CODE II intervention
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Article
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

11 authors.

Dominique D BenoitGhent University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Gent, Belgium.
Stijn VanheuleGhent University Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Gent, Belgium.
Frank ManesseIndependent, Conversio, Gent, Belgium.
Frederik AnseelGhent University Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Gent, Belgium.
Geert De SoeteGhent University Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Gent, Belgium.
Katrijn GoethalsUniversity Hospital Ghent Human Resources, Gent, Belgium.
An LievrouwIntensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Ghent, Gent, Belgium.
Stijn VansteelandtFaculty of Applied Mathematics, Computer Sciences and Statistics, Ghent University Faculty of Sciences, Gent, Belgium.
Erik De HaanHult International Business School Ashridge Centre for Coaching, Berkhamsted, United Kingdom.
Ruth PiersGhent University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Gent, Belgium.
CODE study group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFast medical progress poses a significant challenge to doctors, who are asked to find the right balance between life-prolonging and palliative care. Literature indicates room for enhancing openness to discuss ethical sensitive issues within and between teams, and improving decision-making for benefit of the patient at end-of-life.

methodsStepped wedge cluster randomized trial design, run across 10 different departments of the Ghent University Hospital between January 2022 and January 2023. Dutch speaking adult patients and one of their relatives will be included for data collection. All 10 departments were randomly assigned to start a 4-month coaching period. Junior and senior doctors will be coached through observation and debrief by a first coach of the interdisciplinary meetings and individual coaching by the second coach to enhance self-reflection and empowering leadership and managing group dynamics with regard to ethical decision-making. Nurses, junior doctors and senior doctors anonymously report perceptions of excessive treatment via the electronic patient file. Once a patient is identified by two or more different clinicians, an email is sent to the second coach and the doctor in charge of the patient. All nurses, junior and senior doctors will be invited to fill out the ethical decision making climate questionnaire at the start and end of the 12-months study period. Primary endpoints are (1) incidence of written do-not-intubate and resuscitate orders in patients potentially receiving excessive treatment and (2) quality of ethical decision-making climate. Secondary endpoints are patient and family well-being and reports on quality of care and communication; and clinician well-being. Tertiairy endpoints are quantitative and qualitative data of doctor leadership quality. DISCUSSION: This is the first randomized control trial exploring the effects of coaching doctors in self-reflection and empowering leadership, and in the management of team dynamics, with regard to ethical decision-making about patients potentially receiving excessive treatment.

Indexed as

MentoringPhysiciansAdultAttitude of Health PersonnelHumansPalliative CareRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID36943825
PMCPMC10030010

What OpenQuestion holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
measurements read74
identifiers read8
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.