Reflections on the ethical dilemmas involved in promoting self-management (original) (raw)

Self-management support: A qualitative study of ethical dilemmas experienced by nurses

Patient Education and Counseling, 2015

Policymakers increasingly focus their attention on stimulating patients' self-management. Critical reflection on this trend is often limited. A focus on self-management does not only change nurses' activities, but also the values underlying the nurse-patient relationship. The latter can result in ethical dilemmas. Methods: In order to identify possible dilemmas a qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews was conducted. Six experts on self-management and medical ethics and 15 nurses participated. Results: Nurses providing self-management support were at risk of facing three types of ethical dilemmas: respecting patient autonomy versus reaching optimal health outcomes, respecting patient autonomy versus stimulating patient involvement, and a holistic approach to self-management support versus safeguarding professional boundaries. Conclusion: The ethical dilemmas experienced by nurses rest on different views about what constitutes good care provision and good self-management. Interviewed nurses had a tendency to steer patients in a certain direction. They put great effort into convincing patients to follow their suggestions, be it making the 'right choice' according to medical norms or becoming actively involved patients. Practice implications: Because self-management support may result in clashing values, the development and implementation of self-management support requires deliberation about the values underlying the relationship between professionals and patients.

Shared Decision-Making after Implementation of the Chronic Care Model (CCM)—An Evaluative Approach

Open Journal of Nursing, 2014

Background: In paternalistic models, healthcare providers' responsibility is to decide what is best for patients. The main concern is that such models fail to respect patient autonomy and do not promote patient responsibility. Aim: To evaluate mental healthcare team members' perceptions of their own role in encouraging elderly persons to participate in shared decision-making after implementation of the CCM. The CCM is not an explanatory theory, but an evidence-based guideline and synthesis of best available evidence. Methods: Data were collected from two teams that took part in a focus group interview, and the transcript was analysed by means of qualitative thematic analysis. Results: One overall theme emerged-Preventing the violation of human dignity based on three themes, namely, Changing understanding and attitudes, Increasing depressed elderly persons' autonomy and Clarifying the mental healthcare team coordinator's role and responsibility. The results of this study reveal that until recently, paternalism has been the dominant decision-making model within healthcare, without any apparent consideration of the patient perspective. Community mental healthcare can be improved by shared decision-making in which team members initiate a dialogue focusing on patient participation to prevent the violation of human dignity. However, in order to determine how best to empower the patient, team members need expert knowledge and intuition.

Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration during Discharge of Depressed Older Persons: A Norwegian Qualitative Implementation Study

Nursing Research and Practice, 2013

In order to deliver effective care, it is necessary to organise interdisciplinary activities for older persons who suffer from depressive disorders. This paper evaluated the interdisciplinary team members’ perceptions of cooperation in the discharge planning of depressed older persons based on the Chronic Care Model (CCM). A qualitative implementation design was used, data were collected by means of multistage focus groups, and a thematic analysis was performed. Three themes emerged: lack of effective team leadership in the community, the need to change the delivery system, and enhancing self-management support for depressed older persons as well as the participation of their families. It was concluded that nurse managers must find ways of supporting the depressed older persons by better structuring the care, increasing cooperation with organisational leadership, and creating an environment characterised by trust and mutual respect. Distrust can have serious implications for dischar...

‘There should be something gained’: Carers’ ethical reasoning about using a common staff approach in psychiatric in-care

Nordic Journal of Nursing Research, 2017

Thirteen carers were interviewed about their ethical reasoning when using a common staff approach to restricting smoking for a psychiatric in-patient. A constructed case structure and a vignette method were used in the interviews, and manifest content analysis of the texts exposed five ethical positions adopted by the carers: ‘best for the person’, ‘best for the patient’, ‘best for others involved with the person/patient’, ‘best for me as a carer’, and ‘best according to rules and regulations’. A second manifest content analysis of language showed terms that expressed value judgments in regard to the carers’ personal experiences. Some carers argued at first from one ethical position, but when the question was changed, they argued from an opposite ethical position. Results may be understood in light of dialog philosophy; ethical reasoning during use of a common staff approach tends to focus either on relations with others or with oneself.

Understanding and Improving Quality of Care in the Context of Depressed Elderly Persons Living in Norway

Open Journal of Nursing, 2014

Effective leadership plays an important role in safe patient care. The aim of this paper was to understand and improve the implementation outcomes identified by empirical studies based on Proctors et al.'s key concepts, acceptability appropriateness, feasibility and fidelity, and to propose recommendations for further research. Methods: An interdisciplinary approach using mixed methods. Results: A total of twenty papers based on data from this interdisciplinary study have been published. Overall, our published empirical studies revealed that the CCM intervention had positive results due to staff members' engagement to improve care, their awareness of the need for collaboration and willingness to assume responsibility for patient care. From the perspective of the depressed elderly persons the results of the research project indicated their need for support to increase self-management. In conclusion, an improved understanding of the implementation outcomes will have an impact on best practice for depressed elderly persons and dissemination purposes. Quality management and highly action-oriented involvement are necessary in implementation research. These will also affect the professional development of interdisciplinary teams as well as constitute a basis for further research on understanding and improving the care of depressed elderly individuals.

Care-managers’ professional choices: ethical dilemmas and conflicting expectations

BMC Health Services Research, 2017

Background: Care-managers are responsible for the public administration of individual healthcare decisions and decide on the volume and content of community healthcare services given to a population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the conflicting expectations and ethical dilemmas these professionals encounter in their daily work with patients and to discuss the clinical implications of this. Methods: The study had a qualitative design. The data consisted of verbatim transcripts from 12 ethical reflection group meetings held in 2012 at a purchaser unit in a Norwegian city. The participants consist of healthcare professionals such as nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and social workers. The analyses and interpretation were conducted according to a hermeneutic methodology. This study is part of a larger research project. Results: Two main themes emerged through the analyses: 1. Professional autonomy and loyalty, and related subthemes: loyalty to whom/what, overruling of decisions, trust and obligation to report. 2. Boundaries of involvement and subthemes: private or professional, care-manager or provider and accessibility. Conclusions: Underlying values and a model illustrating the dimensions of professional responsibility in the care-manager role are suggested. The study implies that when allocating services, healthcare professionals need to find a balance between responsibility and accountability in their role as care-managers.

Between knowing and doing person-centredness: A qualitative examination of health professionals’ perceptions of roles in self-management support

Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine

Self-management is a contemporary model of chronic condition care that places expectations on, and roles for, both patients and health professionals. Health professionals are expected to form partnerships with their patients, and patients are expected to be active participants in their own care. In these new roles, control and responsibility for self-management are shared between people with chronic conditions and their health professionals. We still have limited knowledge about how these new roles are enacted in self-management support. In this article, we examine how health professionals perceive the roles of patients and professionals in chronic condition self-management, drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of field, doxa and capital. In this qualitative study, 32 in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 health professionals in Sydney, Australia. Data were analysed thematically. Three themes were derived. First, there was incongruence between how participants characterised and enact...