The hope and optimism may cloud the judgment ... - Fitness For Health

Even when told that there are many chances of death, relatives of intensive care patients tend to be too optimistic about the chances of recovery, a new study finds.

Because they often have to make treatment decisions on behalf of patients who are too ill to express their own wishes, it is important that family members have a clear understanding of the prognosis of their loved one, said Dr. Douglas White, associate professor of critical care medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh.


?Research has shown that the prognostic information influence treatment decisions near the end of life,? White said in a news release from the university. ?But there is evidence of a disconnect between what the doctor says and what the patient representatives interpreted in terms of meaning.?

The study, published in the March 6 edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine, included 80 representatives of patients for decision-making in three intensive care units (ICUs) in San Francisco, who read statements like ? definitely survive ?,? have 90 percent chance of surviving ?,? has five percent chance of survival ?and? definitely not survive. ?

He asked the participants, who were told the statements were hypothetical and were not related to the prognosis of their loved one, who interpreted the statements about the chances of patient survival.

Participants assessed accurately the odds of survival when the prognosis was generally good, but not so with bad forecasts. 40 percent of participants were too optimistic in their interpretation of a survival probability of 50 percent, and nearly two thirds were too optimistic in their interpretation of a survival probability of 5 percent.

When participants were asked to explain their interpretations overly optimistic, their responses included statements like ?I hold much hope,? ?There is still hope? and ?[The doctors] do not provide an actual figure.?

?Our research indicates that in the field of ICU, family members want to see the glass half full, but in reality it is half empty,? said White. ?They played exactly the claims that gave good predictions, which means that it is not simply misunderstand the figures that explain their misperceptions. Instead, they seem to have a bias for optimism as a coping strategy to handle the situation highly stressful for a loved one is near death. ?

Source: http://corefitnessandhealth.com/2012/03/the-hope-and-optimism-may-cloud-the-judgment-in-the-icu.html

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