Main challenges in utilization of the consultations services of hospital ethics committees: a systematic review of the literature
Abstract Background : To responding ethical issues in clinical practice, hospital ethics committees (HEC) provide the ethics consultation for healthcare professionals. There are numerous challenges in the consultations services of HEC that can impact healthcare professionals and patients, families in the health care setting. This review aimed to identifies main challenges in utilization the consultations services of HEC and proposed possible solutions.Methods : This systematic review was conducted through searching electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, ProQuest and Embase. Inclusion criteria included studies related to the purpose of the review, publish in English language, were published in a peer-reviewed journal, from 2000 to 2019 and clearly defined the design, method and results of study. Studies selection, quality assessments, data extraction and analysis were completed on all included studies by two researchers independently. Quality assessment was based on the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) checklist. Finally, thematic analysis method was used to analyses the data.Results : The search originally yielded 1204 articles and 6 of these included to evidence analyses. After analyses the included studies, challenges were categorized in 9 themes: (a) personal views and believes in healthcare professionals, (b) sense of fear in the healthcare professionals, (c) medical culture, (d) environmental factors, (e) managerial and structural factors, (f) characteristics of HEC members, (g) factors related to HEC, (h) problematic process for HEC consultations, and (i) weakness in knowledge about HEC. Accordingly, proposed solutions were organized according to five themes of reforms in the HEC executive processes, creating the appropriate communications, developing awareness about HEC, improving the competences of HEC members, and (e) supporting from HEC consultations.Conclusions : This review highlights that proposed solutions serve as instances of strategies that attempted to solve challenges related in utilization the consultations services of HEC by healthcare professionals.