Withdrawal of Artificial Nutrition at the End of Life (PERCEPAL)

Palliative Care Nursing Clinical Trial

— PERCEPAL  

Official title:

Caregivers Confronted With the Withdrawal of Artificial Nutrition at the End of Life: Perception and Experienced Difficulties

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02900573
• Other study ID #: 2010-01Obs-CHRMT
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: August 26, 2016
• Last updated: September 9, 2016
• Start date: May 2010
• Est. completion date: August 2010

Study information

• Verified date: August 2016
• Source: Centre Hospitalier Régional Metz-Thionville
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: France: Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertésFrance: Comité consultatif sur le traitement de l'information en matière de recherche dans le domaine de la santé
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

Withdrawing artificial nutrition in palliative care is an issue that often leads to ethical dilemmas among health care providers, despite clinical guidelines.

Description:

The benefit of artificial nutrition in terminally ill patients has been a highly debated issue for the past 30 years, and abundant data are available regarding its effects on patients. Several clinical guidelines have specified the criteria to be considered before initiating artificial nutrition or hydration. If these guidelines appear consensual in theory, the situation is much less straightforward in practice. The attitude of physicians appeared very variable when it came to prescribing or withholding artificial nutrition or hydration, and the lack of training, among other parameters, seemingly encouraged health care professionals to prescribe artificial nutrition or hydration. Furthermore, the decision of the care provider is unconsciously complicated due to figurative representations associated with food regarding, among other aspects, the mother-child relationship, social cohesion, or religious beliefs.

These differences are more important since the opinion of physicians and nurses is the one that carries the most influence on the patients' decision when deciding to initiate artificial nutrition and because artificial nutrition and hydration are a common source of ethical dilemmas in health care teams. Furthermore, stopping artificial nutrition or hydration could be misconstrued as euthanasia.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 289
• Est. completion date: August 2010
• Est. primary completion date: August 2010
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• nurses, and nurses' aides working in medicine, surgery, and palliative care departments of the regional hospital of Metz-Thionville

Exclusion Criteria:

• Care providers working in pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics, psychiatry, and emergency departments

Study Design

Observational Model: Cohort, Time Perspective: Prospective

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Palliative Care Nursing

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
France	CHR Metz-Thionville	Metz Cedex 03

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Centre Hospitalier Régional Metz-Thionville

Country where clinical trial is conducted

France, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Experience of health care providers confronted with the withdrawing of artificial nutrition at the end of life	Cross-sectional survey questionnaire	month 4	No
Secondary	Experienced difficulties	Cross-sectional survey questionnaire	month 4	No