Ethical Dilemmas in Clinical Practice: A Survey of European Physicians

NCT00352573 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 02024702-CC-0247
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 1,357
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will survey a random sample of 2,100 general medicine physicians in Europe and in the U.S. about ethical difficulties they face in their practice of medicine. The participants will complete a questionnaire designed to meet the following study objectives:

• Identify the types of ethical dilemmas physicians report that they face in their practice and approaches they find helpful in responding to these situations
• Determine what ethical support physicians would find useful in dealing with ethically problematic situations
• Explore physicians experience with 'bedside rationing', due to economic or societal constraints, what procedures they forgo as a result, and what criteria they use in their rationing decisions
• Explore physicians perceptions of the equity of the health care system they work in
• Determine what interventions directed at limiting health care costs physicians would find acceptable. Physicians in Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom who practice direct patient care for at least 20 percent of their time may enroll in this study. The practice of medicine sometimes involves situations where important values come into conflict. The refusal of life-saving treatment, the concern that telling the truth could have problematic consequences, acceptable ways of facing a request to die all are examples of dilemmas that can arise in the practice of medicine. The absence of clear-cut 'right answers' to questions raised by these situations have led to the development of support services, such as ethics consultations, to help in decision-making concerning ethical problems that arise in clinical settings. Information from this survey can provide input into the continuing development of ethics support services by establishing an evidence base regarding the ethical difficulties encountered by physicians and the type of support they would consider useful in resolving these dilemmas.

Conditions

Ethics

Keywords

Instrument; Physicians; Resources; Microallocation; Ethics; Natural History

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Explore ethical dilemmas at the bedside and micro-allocation of resources

  Evaluate ethical dilemmas at the bedside and micro- allocation of resources via surveys after data have been collected.

  6 years

Study Arms (1)

Normal Volunteers

Adults over 21 years old

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 21 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Physicians in four European countries, Asia, Africa and the U.S.@@@

You may qualify if:

• Physicians in Italy, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, and the U.S.
• Clinical activity in Primary Care or Internal Medicine.

You may not qualify if:

• Physicians who are not in direct patient care for at least 20% of their time.
• Physicians who have not been in direct patient care for at least one year immediately prior to the study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC): lead

Study Sites (1)

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

Location

Related Links

• NIH Clinical Center Detailed Web Page

Study Officials

• Marion Danis, M.D.

  National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: NIH
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 13, 2006
• First Posted: July 14, 2006
• Study Start: September 1, 2002
• Primary Completion: July 14, 2014
• Study Completion: July 14, 2014
• Last Updated: January 3, 2022

Record last verified: 2021-12

Locations

US (1)