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Real-world ethics in palliative care: Protocol for a systematic review of the ethical challenges reported by specialist palliative care practitioners in their clinical practice

Schofield, Guy; Brangan, Emer; Dittborn, Mariana; Huxtable, Richard; Selman, Lucy

Authors

Guy Schofield

Mariana Dittborn

Richard Huxtable

Lucy Selman



Abstract

Introduction
Ethical issues arise daily in the delivery of palliative care. Despite much (largely theoretical) literature, evidence from specialist palliative care practitioners (SPCPs) about real-world ethical challenges has not previously been synthesised. This evidence is crucial to inform education and training and adequately support staff. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesise the evidence regarding the ethical challenges which SPCPs encounter during clinical practice.

Methods and Analysis
We will conduct a systematic review with narrative synthesis of empirical studies that use inductive methods to describe the ethical challenges reported by SPCPs. We will search multiple databases (MEDLINE, Philosopher’s Index, EMBASE, PsycINFO, LILACS, WHOLIS, Web of Science and CINAHL) without time, language or geographical restrictions. Keywords will be developed from scoping searches, consultation with information specialists, and reference to key systematic reviews in palliative care and bioethics. Reference lists of included studies will be hand-searched. 10% of retrieved titles and abstracts will be independently dual screened, as will all full text papers. Quality will be dual assessed using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool (2018). Narrative synthesis following Popay et al (2006) will be used to synthesise findings. The strength of resulting recommendations will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach for qualitative evidence (GRADE-CERQual).

Ethics and Dissemination
As this review will include only published data, no specific ethical approval is required.We anticipate that the systematic review will be of interest to palliative care practitioners of all backgrounds, and educators in palliative care and medical ethics. Findings will be presented at conferences and published open access in a peer-reviewed journal.

Citation

Schofield, G., Brangan, E., Dittborn, M., Huxtable, R., & Selman, L. (2019). Real-world ethics in palliative care: Protocol for a systematic review of the ethical challenges reported by specialist palliative care practitioners in their clinical practice. BMJ Open, 9, e028480. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028480

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 2, 2019
Online Publication Date May 27, 2019
Publication Date May 27, 2019
Deposit Date Sep 26, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal BMJ Open
Electronic ISSN 2044-6055
Publisher BMJ Publishing Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 9
Pages e028480
DOI https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028480
Keywords empirical ethics, ethical challenges, medical ethics, palliative care, systematic review
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/3241070

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Real-world ethics in palliative care: protocol for a systematic review of the ethical challenges reported by specialist palliative care practitioners in their clinical practice (304 Kb)
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Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.




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