Factors influencing multidisciplinary clinical decision-making in the critical care unit: a systematic review and mixed-methods meta-synthesis

Abstract

Background

The intensive care unit (ICU) is a dynamic environment that necessitates daily clinical decisions regarding organ support treatments. The decision-making process varies significantly between clinicians (i.e. doctors, nurses, and allied healthcare practitioners), even where internationally accepted treatment guidance exists. The factors and the processes influencing clinical decision-making are poorly understood. This systematic review aims to generate a decision-making model by evaluating current evidence on the decision-making process and the factors that affect decisions on organ support treatments in the ICU.

Methods

We conducted a systematic search on three databases (PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL) including all papers exploring factors that influenced organ support decisions (PROSPERO: CRD42021283290). A mixed-methods meta-synthesis was performed to enable the generation of distinct themes and subthemes used to generate the decision-making model.

Results

After screening 8967 records, 33 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. The mixed-method interpretation of the data found that decision-making can be linear and primarily dictated by patient factors (i.e. patient’s clinical parameters). However, the analysis identified 11 factors that can influence and strain clinician’s decision-making. Four themes: 1) human, 2) team, 3) system, and 4) patient emerged as the potential modifiable factors to optimise the decision-making process.

Conclusions

Decision-making surrounding organ support treatment is complex and dynamic. However, there are four distinctive potentially modifiable themes that influence the multidisciplinary decision-making process. Further studies should focus on understanding interventions to improve decision-making and if different decision-making processes directly affect patients’ outcomes.

Systematic review protocol

PROSPERO (CRD42021283290).