Developing Morally Sensitive Policy in the NICU: Donation after Circulatory Determination of Death

Authors

Michael van Manen, University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and DentistryFollow
Nicole Kain, University of Alberta

Abstract

Policy development is an important activity for the practice of healthcare. Policies, after all, may cultivate common practices and ensure that best available evidence is employed in clinical decision making. Qualitative research and individuals with expertise in qualitative research methods have much to offer policy makers. We were confronted with the situation of developing policy for donation after circulatory death (DCD) for our newborn intensive care program. Due the moral-ethical complexities surrounding DCD, and the limited experience with DCD in this context, we approached policy development from an iterative design perspective employing qualitative methods. We describe our experience in employing this approach and the methodological implications of design as a method for policy development.

Keywords

Design, Policy, NICU

Author Bio(s)

Michael van Manen, MD, FRCPC(Peds,NICU,CIP), PhD, is a clinician researcher in neonatal-perinatal medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: michaelv@ualberta.ca.

Nicole Kain, RN, PhD(c) is a graduate student in the School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Publication Date

1-2-2017

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2589

Recommended APA Citation

van Manen, M., & Kain, N. (2017). Developing Morally Sensitive Policy in the NICU: Donation after Circulatory Determination of Death. The Qualitative Report, 22(1), 20-32. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2589