Ethical issues in termination of resuscitation decision-making: an interview study with paramedics and relatives of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest non-survivors

Non-protocolised ethical considerations are important in paramedic decision-making about terminating CPR in OHCA events. While paramedics use established guidelines and processes to reach decisions that prevent patient harm, they experience moral distress when personal convictions clash with guidelines. Training around ethical reasoning and decision making may help paramedics reduce their moral distress and provide consistent and transparent decisions for patients and their families.