In-hospital experiences of families of potential organ donors: A systematic review and qualitative synthesis

Abstract

Information and compassion assist families of potential organ donors to make informed decisions. However, psychological implications of the in-hospital process are not well described with past research focusing on decision-making. To enhance understanding and improve service delivery, a systematic review was conducted. Inductive analysis and synthesis utilised Grounded Theory Methodology within a systems theory framework and contributed to a model proposing that family and staff form a System of Systems with shared responsibility for process outcomes. This model can guide evaluation and improvement of care and will be tested by means of a longitudinal study of family experiences.

Organ Donation at the End of Life: Experiences From the 3 Wishes Project

“…Initiating personalized end-of-life interventions may create a sense of kinship among patients, their families, and clinicians through the celebration of lives, storytelling, and the process of wish elicitation and implementation that may include organ donation. 15 Such activities underscore a shared humanity while bearing witness to family suffering and anticipatory mourning. 16 The goal of this study was to better understand the interface between organ donation and 3WP processes-regardless of which is introduced to families first.…”

A Multicenter Qualitative Investigation of the Experiences and Perspectives of Substitute Decision Makers Who Underwent Organ Donation Decisions

“…15 Most studies examining interventions to support decisionmaking were centered on increasing consent rates rather than empowering families to make their own decision. 1,16 However, the primary purpose of informing and comforting families should not be to increase consent rates. Potential donors and their families should be treated in a manner that is respectful of and responsive to individual families' needs and values, and that, regardless of the families' decision to donate.…”

“…15 In addition, participants emphasized the importance of having family discussion in private settings; hence, holding family meetings in a private setting is modifiable and improves family experience. 16,[21][22][23]…”

A novel approach to studying co-evolution of understanding and research: Family bereavement and the potential for organ donation as a case study

“…Related to the hypothesised layers of global meaning described above, the systematic reviews themselves were conducted independently and need to be viewed together in order to move closer to a consolidated theory. Dicks et al (2017b) describe one way of synthesising the data contained in the systematic reviews. This asynchronous interaction between researchers may be seen as related to Neimeyer et al’s (2014) argument that meaning-making and narrative formation are ongoing social processes.…”