Korean Journal of Medical Ethics
The Korean Society for Medical Ethics
Article

암환자의 의학적 의사결정과정*

이상목1,*, 김성연2, 이형식3
Sang-Mok Lee1,*, Seongyeon Kim2, Hyung-Sik Lee3
1동아대학교 윤리문화학과
2동아대학교 경영정보과학부
3동아대학교 방사선종양학과
1Department of Ethics, College of Humanities, Dong-A University
2Department of Management Information System, College of Business, Dong-A University
3Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine, Dong-A University
*교신저자: 이상목. 동아대학교 윤리문화학과. 051-200-7145. leesm@dau.ac.kr

ⓒ Copyright 2009 The Korean Society for Medical Ethics. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published Online: Mar 31, 2009

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the perception and attitudes of cancer patients regarding medical decision-making.

Method: A clinical survey was conducted using questionnaires consisting of 8 items for cancer patients and 11 items for dependents. Both patients and dependents were interviewed. Two hundred and ninety-four people (147 pairs) participated in this survey. The results of the survey were evaluated to see how attitudes concerning medical decision-making differ.

Results: The majority of both patients and dependents (more than 90% for each group) gave positive answers to the question of whether the doctor explained the patient’s condition. Also, the majority of both patients and dependents (approximately 90%) were informed about treatment options. Fifty eight percent of the patients and 73% of dependents think that the family is entitled to be informed about the course of treatment and treatment options. In response to the question of which person should decide the course of treatment in the case of disagreement, about 47% of patients and dependents think that the patient should decide, but 14% and 22%, respectively, think that the family should. When making decisions regarding treatment, both patients and dependents consider that improvement in health is the main consideration, followed by the alleviation or avoidance of pain. The lack of information and the pain of the patient are the source of most difficulties.

Conclusion: The survey results show that the majority of both cancer patients and their family members think that family members are entitled to be informed of treatment options and have a right to make decisions regarding treatment. The survey also indicates that the majority of patients and family members believe that patients themselves should make treatment decisions in the event of disagreements between patients and family members.

Keywords: 의학적 의사결정; 가족결정; 치료결정; 설명동의
Keywords: Medical decision-making; Family decision-making; Informed consent; Treatment decisions