This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Brinchmann, B. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Brinchmann, B. S. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Premature Babies Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

‘They have to Show that they can Make it’: Vitality as a Criterion for the Prognosis of Premature Infants

Centre for Medical Ethics, University of Oslo, Norway, Berit.Stoere.Brinchmann{at}hibo.no

In this article, the vitality of premature infants will be described and discussed. Vitality was one of the main factors in a grounded theory study in which the aim was to generate knowledge concerning the ethical decision-making processes with which nurses and physicians are faced in a neonatal unit. Which assessments underlie decisions about whether to start, continue or stop medical treatment of very sick premature babies?

A descriptive study design, including 120 hours of field observations and 22 qualitative in-depth interviews with doctors and nurses, was chosen. Strauss and Glaser’s comparative method was used to analyse the field observations and interviews.

The findings indicate that life-and-death decisions are somewhat ambivalent; experience does not always make them easier. In situations of ambiguity, decisions also seem to be based upon the vitality of the babies concerned.

Key Words: decision making • ethics • nursing • premature babies • vitality

Nursing Ethics, Vol. 7, No. 2, 141-147 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/096973300000700207


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. Store Brinchmann, R. Forde, and P. Nortvedt What Matters to the Parents? a qualitative study of parents' experiences with life-and-death decisions concerning their premature infants Nursing Ethics, July 1, 2002; 9(4): 388 - 404. [Abstract] [PDF]