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September 16, 2025

The dilemma of surrogate decision-making in the intensive care unit: A focused ethnographic study.

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LWLi-Fen WuPeking University

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Overview

Focused ethnographic study reveals challenges in surrogate decision-making in the ICU, indicating communication barriers hinder patient-centered care.

Key Points

  • Surrogate decision-making quality is hindered by communication barriers and restricted information access, leading to potential misalignment with patient values.
  • ICU spatial isolation and restricted visitation policies resulted in surrogates receiving only fragmented updates, complicating the decision-making process.
  • Thematic content analysis of observations and interviews highlighted trust issues and the influence of non-medical factors on surrogates' decisions.
  • A proposed communication model aims to address identified challenges, emphasizing the need for structured exchanges between surrogates and medical staff.

Cite This Study

Li-Fen Wu (2025) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/68c93fe601120bef803bb071https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330251374393
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  4. 4Shared Decision-Making with a Surrogate for Life-Sustaining Treatment of Critically Ill Patients: A Scoping Review Protocol (Preprint)2025
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