Nurses' attitude toward futile treatment and its relationship with missed care at the end of life.

Abstract

Background: Avoiding futile treatment for patients at the end of life is among one of the care challenges of nurses in intensive care units (ICUs).

Aims: This study aimed to determine the attitude of intensive care unit nurses toward futile treatment and its relationship with missed care for patients at the end of life.

Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 307 ICU nurses. Eleven teaching hospitals were selected from three Iranian provinces, Zanjan Province, East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, in 2021. The data were collected using The Attitudes Toward Futile Treatment Scale (ATFTS) and The Missed Nursing Care Survey (MISSCARE Survey) as self-reports.

Results: According to the obtained results, 94.8% of the nurses agreed that futile treatment should not be performed. However, 97.7% of the nurses reported that missed care occurs less for patients at the end of life. The correlation between the MISSCARE Survey's total scale and the ATFTS's total scale was positive and statistically significant (r =.11).

Conclusion: This research contributes to understanding nurses' attitudes toward futile treatment. Nurses oppose futile treatment, so obstacles to avoiding it should be eliminated. This attitude does not have a significant impact on nursing care quality or missed care for patients at the end of life, but it can lead to enduring distress for nurses. It is recommended to study the reasons for futile treatment, and its link to nurses' mental and physical health.