Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 24 (1):135-151 (2021)
Abstract |
Clinical Ethics Committees, as distinct from Research Ethics Committees, were originally established with the aim of supporting healthcare professionals in managing controversial clinical ethical issues. However, it is still unclear whether they manage to accomplish this task and what is their impact on clinical practice. This systematic review aims to collect available assessments of CECs’ performance as reported in literature, in order to evaluate CECs’ effectiveness. We retrieved all literature published up to November 2019 in six databases, following PRISMA guidelines. We included only articles specifically addressing CECs and providing any form of CECs performance assessment. Twenty-nine articles were included. Ethics consultation was the most evaluated of CECs’ functions. We did not find standardized tools for measuring CECs’ efficacy, but 33% of studies considered “user satisfaction” as an indicator, with 94% of them reporting an average positive perception of CECs’ impact. Changes in patient treatment and a decrease of moral distress in health personnel were reported as additional outcomes of ethics consultation. The highly diverse ways by which CECs carry out their activities make CECs’ evaluation difficult. The adoption of shared criteria would be desirable to provide a reliable answer to the question about their effectiveness. Nonetheless, in general both users and providers consider CECs as helpful, relevant to their work, able to improve the quality of care. Their main function is ethics consultation, while less attention seems to be devoted to bioethics education and policy formation.
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DOI | 10.1007/s11019-020-09986-9 |
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References found in this work BETA
Ethics Consultation in United States Hospitals: A National Survey.Ellen Fox, Sarah Myers & Robert A. Pearlman - 2007 - American Journal of Bioethics 7 (2):13 – 25.
Impact of Moral Case Deliberation in Healthcare Settings: A Literature Review.Maaike M. Haan, Jelle L. P. van Gurp, Simone M. Naber & A. Stef Groenewoud - 2018 - BMC Medical Ethics 19 (1):85.
Importance of Systematic Deliberation and Stakeholder Presence: A National Study of Clinical Ethics Committees.Morten Magelssen, Reidar Pedersen, Ingrid Miljeteig, Håvard Ervik & Reidun Førde - 2020 - Journal of Medical Ethics 46 (2):66-70.
Clinical Ethics Support for Healthcare Personnel: An Integrative Literature Review.Dara Rasoal, Kirsti Skovdahl, Mervyn Gifford & Annica Kihlgren - 2017 - HEC Forum 29 (4):313-346.
Evaluating Clinical Ethics Support in Mental Healthcare: A Systematic Literature Review.M. H. Hem, R. Pedersen, R. Norvoll & B. Molewijk - 2015 - Nursing Ethics 22 (4):452-466.
View all 48 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Clinical Ethical Practice and Associated Factors in Healthcare Facilities in Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nebiyou Tafesse, Assegid Samuel, Abiyu Geta, Fantanesh Desalegn, Lidia Gebru, Tezera Tadele, Ewnetu Genet, Mulugeta Abate & Kemal Jemal - 2022 - BMC Medical Ethics 23 (1):1-12.
Does Teaching Medical Ethics Ensure Good Knowledge, Attitude, and Reported Practice? An Ethical Vignette-Based Cross-Sectional Survey Among Doctors in a Tertiary Teaching Hospital in Nepal.Suchita Joshi, Sajan Acharya, Shuvechchha Karki, Jasmin Joshi, Ashma Shrestha & Carmina Shrestha - 2021 - BMC Medical Ethics 22 (1):1-16.
Ethical Issues in Oncology Practice: A Qualitative Study of Stakeholders’ Experiences and Expectations.Gabriella Pravettoni, Paolo G. Casali, Virginia Sanchini & Chiara Crico - 2022 - BMC Medical Ethics 23 (1):1-15.
Morisprudence: A Theoretical Framework for Studying the Relationship Linking Moral Case Deliberation, Organisational Learning and Quality Improvement.Niek Kok, Marieke Zegers, Hans van der Hoeven, Cornelia Hoedemaekers & Jelle van Gurp - forthcoming - Journal of Medical Ethics:medethics-2021-107943.
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