ArticleBMC nursing2025
How is caring paternalism feasible in the intensive care unit? - an ethnographic study.
Article in BMC nursing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe intensive care unit (ICU) is characterized by critically ill patients and strict medical management, which has fostered a model of medical paternalism. Although these practices are often justified to protect patients' "best interests," they frequently neglect individuals' emotional needs and autonomy. The ethics of care is an ethical framework that emphasizes relationality, empathy, and responsiveness to patients' lived experiences. Unlike traditional risk-centered medical models, it focuses on the patient's authentic needs within their specific context. This study analyzes ICU paternalism through the lens of the ethics of care, exploring how compassionate, patient-centered strategies can be integrated with clinical safety to balance risk management with individualized care.
methodsAn ethnographic approach was employed from September 2022 to April 2023 in the ICU of a large general hospital in China. Data were collected through participant observation and both semi-structured and informal interviews with healthcare professionals and patients. A total of 23 participants were interviewed, including 9 physicians, 6 nurses, and 8 patients. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis, guided by a theoretical framework rooted in the ethics of care.
resultsThe study revealed that medical paternalism in the ICU manifested in diverse, interconnected ways, including strict restrictions on personal belongings, the implementation of restricted visitation policies, and limitations on patients' ability to participate in decision-making or express their needs. These practices not only led to patients' emotional isolation and diminished autonomy but also exposed a profound structural tension between paternalistic management approaches and patient-centered care principles within the ICU setting.
conclusionsWhile medical paternalism in the ICU may be justified for clinical safety, its traditional approach inadequately addresses patients' psychological and emotional needs. From the perspective of the ethics of care, the study advocates for integrating compassionate, individualized care strategies into clinical interventions to create an ICU model that is both scientifically robust and humane.
trial registrationNot applicable. This study does not involve a healthcare intervention or a clinical trial.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.