Table 5 Opinions on impediment to EOL discussion by stakeholder
Categories | Items | n (%)†| ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total (n = 181) | Attending (n = 94) | Resident (n = 87) | ||
Physicians | Uncertainty of the timing | 94 (26.0) | 50 (26.6) | 44 (25.3) |
Concerns of patient’s disappointment and/or frustration | 76 (21.0) | 40 (21.3) | 36 (20.7) | |
Thought of giving up on patients | 53 (14.6) | 22 (11.7) | 31 (17.8) | |
Inability to explain the situation | 26 (7.2) | 13 (6.9) | 13 (7.5) | |
Time constraint | 25 (6.9) | 10 (5.3) | 15 (8.6) | |
Subtotal | 274 (75.7) | 135 (71.8) | 139 (79.9) | |
Patients | Patients’ incomprehension on the purpose of LST | 14 (3.9) | 8 (4.3) | 6 (3.4) |
Patients’ wish for physicians to decide on their behalf | 11 (3.0) | 7 (3.7) | 4 (2.3) | |
Patients’ reluctance | 9 (2.5) | 5 (2.7) | 4 (2.3) | |
Patients’ incomprehension of the relevant terms | 5 (1.4) | 3 (1.6) | 2 (1.1) | |
Patients’ wish for family members to decide on their behalf | 2 (0.6) | 1 (0.5) | 1 (0.6) | |
Subtotal | 41 (11.3) | 24 (12.8) | 17 (9.8) | |
Family members | Family members’ opposition against open discussion | 20 (5.5) | 10 (5.3) | 10 (5.7) |
Disagreement among family members | 20 (5.5) | 13 (6.9) | 7 (4.0) | |
Family members making decisions for patients | 4 (1.1) | 4 (2.1) | 0 (0.0) | |
Others | 3 (0.8) | 2 (1.1) | 1 (0.6) | |
Subtotal | 47 (13.0) | 29 (15.4) | 18 (10.3) | |
Total | Â | 362 (100.0) | 188 (100.0) | 174 (100.0) |