Futile treatment in hospital: Doctors' intergroup language
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Description
Treatment that will not provide significant net benefit at the end of a person’s life (called futile treatment) is considered by many people to represent a major problem in the health sector, as it can waste resources and raise significant ethical issues. Medical treatment at the end of life involves a complex negotiation that implicates intergroup communication between health professionals, patients, and families, as well as between groups of health professionals. This study, framed by intergroup language theory, analyzed data from a larger project on futile treatment, in order to examine the intergroup language associated with futile treatment. Hospital doctors (N = 96) were interviewed about their understanding of treatment given to adult patients at the end of life that they considered futile. We conducted a discourse analysis on doctors’ descriptions of futile treatment provided by themselves and their in-group and out-group colleagues. Results pointed to an intergroup context, with patients, families, and colleagues as out-groups. In their descriptions, doctors justified their own decisions using the language of logic, ethics, and respect. Patients and families, however, were characterized in terms of wishing and wanting, as were outgroup colleagues. In addition, out-group doctors were described in strongly negative intergroup language.
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ID Code: | 84813 | ||||||||
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Item Type: | Contribution to Journal (Journal Article) | ||||||||
Refereed: | Yes | ||||||||
ORCID iD: |
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Measurements or Duration: | 15 pages | ||||||||
Keywords: | end of life decision-making, futility, intergroup health communication, linguistic intergroup bias, withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1177/0261927X15586430 | ||||||||
ISSN: | 1552-6526 | ||||||||
Pure ID: | 32882284 | ||||||||
Divisions: | Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Faculty of Health Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Faculty of Law Past > Institutes > Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation Current > Schools > School of Law Current > Research Centres > Australian Centre for Health Law Research |
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Copyright Owner: | Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters | ||||||||
Copyright Statement: | This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the document is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au | ||||||||
Deposited On: | 16 Jun 2015 22:32 | ||||||||
Last Modified: | 19 Jun 2024 23:44 |
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