Nurse Involvement in End of Life Decision Making in the Intensive Care Unit: A Literature Review

Abstract

This article reviews the evidence related to nurse involvement in the end of life (EOL) decision making in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This study was conducted by analyzing 53 scholarly papers which met the inclusion criteria. Data were searched through CINAHL, Science Direct, ProQuest, Wiley Online Library, and PubMed. The keywords used were “ICU Nurse”, combined with “end of life”, “decision making” and “end of life decision making”. The databases of PubMed, ProQuest, CINAHL, Wiley Online, Ovid, and Science Direct were used to search for the relevant articles. The results of the analysis present the definition of end of life decision making, type of end of life decision making, persons involved in end of life decision making in the ICU, process of end of life decision making in the ICU, a nurse’s role in end of life decision making, and factors influencing end of life decision making in the ICU. The results of this study are important to develop an understanding regarding nurse involvement in end of life decision making in the ICU.