Patient and healthcare professional factors influencing end-of-life decision-making during critical illness: a systematic review.

The need for better understanding of end-of-life care has never been greater. Debate about recent U.S. healthcare system reforms has highlighted that end-of-life decision-making is contentious. Providing compassionate end-of-life care that is appropriate and in accordance with patient wishes is an essential component of critical care. Because discord can undermine optimal end-of-life care, knowledge of factors that influence decision-making is important. We performed a systematic review to determine which factors are known to influence end-of-life decision-making among patients and healthcare providers. DATA SOURCES, SELECTION, AND ABSTRACTION: We conducted a structured search of Ovid Medline for interventional and observational research articles incorporating critical care and end-of-life decision-making terms.