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Cited by 80Ethics in medical practiceEthics and bioethics in healthcareDisaster Response and Management

Experiences of pre-hospital emergency medical personnel in ethical decision-making: a qualitative study

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Torabi, Mohammad, Borhani, Fariba, Abbaszadeh, Abbas, Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, Foroozan·2018·BMC Medical Ethics
DOI 10.1186/s12910-018-0334-xPMC PMC6299934
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Emergency care providers regularly deal with ethical dilemmas that must be addressed. In comparison with in-hospital nurses, emergency medical service (EMS) personnel are faced with more problems such as distance to resources including personnel, medico-technical aids, and information; the unpredictable atmosphere at the scene; arriving at the crime scene and providing emergency care for accident victims and patients at home. As a result of stressfulness, unpredictability, and often the life threatening nature of tasks that ambulance professionals have to deal with every day, ethical decision-making (EDM) has become an inevitable challenge. METHODS: The content analysis approach was used to conduct the present qualitative study in Iran. The participants consisted of 14 EMS personnel selected through purposive sampling, which continued until the data became saturated. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed concurrently with their collection through the constant comparison method. RESULTS: The process of data analysis resulted in the emergence of 3 main categories "respecting client's values", "performing tasks within the professional manner", "personal characteristic", and the emergence of eight (8) sub-categories signifying participants' experiences with regard to EDM. CONCLUSION: According to the results, when EMS personnel are faced with ethical dilemmas, they consider the client's values and professional dignity, and perform the assigned tasks within the framework of the regulation. The findings also suggest that pre-hospital care providers assess legal consequences before making any decision. Further studies should be conducted regarding the experiences of the subordinates and other related parties.

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  • Ethical problems can lead to compromised moral integrity and generate moral distress.

    “This, in turn, might lead to compromised moral integrity and generate moral distress [11, 15, 16], as these reactions result from acting or not acting on the basis of one's own sense of right and wrong [17].”

    From Ethics education to support ethical competence learning in healthcare: an integrative systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as [15]

    The Results (Personal characteristic; page unavailable) describe conflicts between EMS personnel’s conscience, patients’ values, and organizational rules. The Discussion (page unavailable) also describes conflicting values, but neither passage says these problems compromise moral integrity or generate moral distress. Searches for those outcomes found the term “moral distress” only in reference titles, not in a finding reported by this paper. (LLM, conf=0.73)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Torabi, M., Borhani, F., Abbaszadeh, A., & Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F.
Affiliations
  • Hamedan University of Medical Sciences (IR)
  • Shahid Beheshti University (IR)
  • Bam University of Medical Sciences (IR)
Corresponding author
Borhani, Fariba
ORCID
Venue
BMC Medical Ethics
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2018-12
Volume
19
Issue
1
Pages
95-95
ISSN
1472-6939 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12910-018-0334-x
PMC
PMC6299934
OpenAlex
W2904196595
Cited by
80
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2
FWCI
6.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Medical Ethics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Nursing & Midwifery School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Ethics in medical practice
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics and bioethics in healthcare
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Emergency Medical Services › Disaster Response and Management
Keywords
ethical decision-making, prehospital care, emergency medical services, ambulance personnel, ethical dilemmas, professional values, professional dignity, legal consequences, occupational stress
MeSH terms
Respect, Adult, Confidentiality, Decision Making, Emergencies, Emergency Medical Services, Ethics, Medical, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Social Values, Qualitative Research

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