| Evolution of hospital clinical ethics committees in Canada. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20211990 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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To investigate the current status of hospital clinical ethics committees (CEC) and how they have evolved in Canada over the past 20 years, this paper presents an overview of the findings from a 2008 survey and compares these findings with two previous Canadian surveys conducted in 1989 and 1984. All Canadian hospitals over 100 beds, of which at least some were acute care, were surveyed to determine the structure of CEC, how they function, the perceived achievements of these committees and opinions about areas with which CEC should be involved. The percentage of hospitals with CEC in our sample was found to be 85% compared with 58% and 18% in 1989 and 1984, respectively. The wide variation in the size of committees and the composition of their membership has continued. Meetings of CEC have become more regularised and formalised over time. CEC continue to be predominately advisory in their nature, and by 2008 there was a shift in the priority of the activities of CEC to meeting ethics education needs and providing counselling and support with less emphasis on advising about policy and procedures. More research is needed on how best to define what the scope of activities of CEC should be in order to meet the needs of hospitals in Canada and elsewhere. More research also is needed on the actual outcomes to patients, families, health professionals and organisations from the work of these committees in order to support the considerable time committee members devote to this endeavour. |
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Authors:
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Alice Gaudine; Linda Thorne; Sandra M LeFort; Marianne Lamb |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of medical ethics Volume: 36 ISSN: 1473-4257 ISO Abbreviation: J Med Ethics Publication Date: 2010 Mar |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-03-09 Completed Date: 2010-08-10 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7513619 Medline TA: J Med Ethics Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 132-7 Citation Subset: E; IM |
Affiliation:
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School of Nursing, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's NL A1B 3V6, Canada. |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Attitude of Health Personnel Canada Committee Membership Ethics Committees, Clinical / organization & administration*, trends Hospital Administration / trends* Hospital Bed Capacity Humans Questionnaires |
| Grant Support | |
ID/Acronym/Agency:
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//Canadian Institutes of Health Research |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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