Pediatricians' attitudes affecting decision-making in defective newborns

Title

Pediatricians' attitudes affecting decision-making in defective newborns

Creator

Todres ID; Krane D; Howell MC; Shannon DC

Publisher

Pediatrics

Date

1977

Subject

Female; Humans; infant; Male; Parental Consent; Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Withholding Treatment; Questionnaires; Middle Aged; Age Factors; Sex Factors; Religion; Ethics; Medical; Empirical Approach; decision making; Newborn; ICU Decision Making; Pediatrics/standards; Abnormalities/therapy

Description

A questionnaire designed to identify the factors that influence the resolution of ethical dilemmas was returned by 230 (57% of the total) Massachusetts pediatricians. The decision to recommend surgery for an infant with Down's syndrome with duodenal atresia when the parents had refused surgery was influenced by religious affiliation (P less than .01), religious activity (P less than .04), and sex (P=.05). Of those favoring surgery, 40.2% would pursue a court order. The decision to recommend surgery for an infant with severe meningomyelocele when the parents' position was not stated was influenced by age (P less than .01), religious activity (P less than .02), and specialization (P less than .008). When the parents' wishes were expressed, the majority of the pediatricians modified their decision in accord with these wishes. In response to general ethical questions, 79.6% of all pediatricians thought that parents should have the right to withold consent for surgery. Equal numbers thought that psychosocial reasons justified witholding lifesaving procedures. Among a variety of factors, they thought that willingness of the parents to care for the child would influence the decision to take heroic measures. There were 90.4% who thought that ethics should be part of medical education; 55.7% indicated this need throughout their careers.
1977

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Type

Journal Article

Citation List Month

Backlog

Citation

Todres ID; Krane D; Howell MC; Shannon DC, “Pediatricians' attitudes affecting decision-making in defective newborns,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed March 28, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/12477.