Advance Care Plans and the Potentially Conflicting Interests of Bedside Patient Agents: A Thematic Analysis (original) (raw)

2021, Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare

Aim People diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder often contend with a threat to independence and control, leading some to complete an advance care plan. Advance care plans are commonly associated with treatment limitations; however, key patient agents (such as doctors, allied health, nurses and family) may instead make temporal, best interests or good medical practice decisions on behalf of the patient. Accordingly, there is a need to better understand ancillary decision-maker’s perspectives, particularly of doctors. Purpose To explain how the potentially conflicting interests of bedside patient agents operates as a factor which influences doctors’ application of advance care plans of people with a neurodegenerative disorder. Participants and Methods Using a constructivist grounded theory informed thematic analysis, 38 semi-structured interviews were conducted with hospital-based doctors, allied health, nurses and family of people with a neurodegenerative disorder who had an a...