Abstract
Background Surrogate decision-making is expected to become more prevalent in Japanese clinical practice. In recent years, activities to promote advanced care planning (ACP) have gathered momentum ,which may potentially affect the ways in which judgments are made in surrogate decision-making. The purpose of this study is to clarify the current judgment grounds on which surrogate decisions are made in Japan. Methods We adopted a qualitative research method that was based on semi-structured interviews to reveal the judgement grounds in surrogate decision-making involving critical, life-related choices in acute hospitals. Results We interviewed 15 participants. We analyzed the content of the 14 transcribed texts, eliminating one text that does not meet the inclusion criteria. We extracted a total of 4 core categories, 17 categories, 35 subcategories, and 55 codes as an analysis results of interviews regarding the judgment grounds in surrogate decision-making. The four categories are as follows: type 1“Patient preference-oriented factor”, type2“Patient interest-oriented factor”, type3“Family preference-oriented factor”,and type4 “Balanced patient/family preference-oriented factor”. Conclusions This study revealed the current status of surrogate decision-making in Japan: when making decisions about important matters related to a patient’s life, surrogate decision-makers base their decisions not only on the preferences and best interests of the patient, but on their own preferences as well. Included in the preferences of surrogate decision-makers were their own views of life and death, their values, and care burden. Given the cultural and social backgrounds in Japan, it remains unclear whether ACP can be properly reflected in judgment grounds in surrogate decision-making. It would be undesirable to base judgments solely on the principle of respect for autonomy or the principles of surrogate decision-making. In the future, we believe that surrogate decisions-makers will be required to consider the judgment grounds from a more diverse perspective and that such attitudes should be ethically accepted.