Improving Decision Making for Patients with Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation |
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| Project Period: 07/01/2012 - 06/30/2018 | PI: Douglas White, MD, MAS |
| Funding Source: NIH R01 | |
| Researchers: Christopher E. Cox, MD, Duke University (Co-PI) | |
| Decisions about providing prolonged life support for critically ill patients can be very difficult. A web-based decision aid was proposed as an innovative way to improve the quality of decision making, reduce surrogates' pyschological distress, and reduce patients' health care costs over 6-month follow-up. Four hundred and twenty one (421) participants were enrolled across five sites. Initial pilot studies found the decision aid was feasible, acceptable, and associated with both improved decision-making quality and less resource utilization. The randomized clinical trial will allow for researchers to future investigate the decision aid's effectiveness and its impact on long-term outcomes. | |
Publications
- Cox CE, Lewis CL, Hanson LC, Hough CL, Kahn JM, White DB, Song MK, Tulsky JA, Carson SS. Development and pilot testing of a decision aid for surrogates of patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation. Crit Care Med. 2012;40(8):2327-34.