Clinical Ethics Support Provided to Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Teams in Quebec: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Rehabilitation is a health care service focusing on the restoration and maintenance of function and is often undertaken by interdisciplinary teams. Rehabilitation care providers encounter ethical issues and concerns that require attention and resolution. Clinical ethics services (CES)...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Julien Déry, Jamila Amirova, Sina Kardan, Noémie Tito, Zun Zhu, Matthew Hunt, Anne Hudon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Programmes de bioéthique, École de santé publique de l'Université de Montréal 2025-04-01
Series:Canadian Journal of Bioethics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cjb-rcb.ca/index.php/cjb-rcb/article/view/762
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849311771695775744
author Julien Déry
Jamila Amirova
Sina Kardan
Noémie Tito
Zun Zhu
Matthew Hunt
Anne Hudon
author_facet Julien Déry
Jamila Amirova
Sina Kardan
Noémie Tito
Zun Zhu
Matthew Hunt
Anne Hudon
author_sort Julien Déry
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Rehabilitation is a health care service focusing on the restoration and maintenance of function and is often undertaken by interdisciplinary teams. Rehabilitation care providers encounter ethical issues and concerns that require attention and resolution. Clinical ethics services (CES) provided by ethics consultants aim to support teams facing ethical challenges. The objective of this study was to explore the experiences and perspectives of individuals providing CES to interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams in Quebec health care centres. Methods: We conducted a qualitative descriptive study and interviewed individuals who provide CES in all 22 integrated health care centres in the province of Quebec. Interview transcripts were examined using constant comparative techniques and inductive thematic analysis. Results: Rehabilitation teams requested CES to address a range of issues, from conflicts between upholding patient autonomy and promoting safety to challenges arising due to structural gaps in care trajectories. However, ethics requests from rehabilitation teams were described as much less frequent than those received from teams working in acute care settings. Forms of CES provided to rehabilitation teams included accompaniment, ethical deliberation and mediation. Participants highlighted challenges providing ethics support, such as limited visibility of their services amongst rehabilitation teams and insufficient resources available to extend the reach of CES. Conclusion: Despite encountering challenges, ethics consultants offer diverse forms of support to interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams in Quebec. Further research is needed to better understand the range of ethical issues arising in rehabilitation, as well as the impact that CES support can have on how situations unfold and how they are experienced by all involved.
format Article
id doaj-art-8fea09f3aef54fbab72683c7b932eed7
institution Kabale University
issn 2561-4665
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Programmes de bioéthique, École de santé publique de l'Université de Montréal
record_format Article
series Canadian Journal of Bioethics
spelling doaj-art-8fea09f3aef54fbab72683c7b932eed72025-08-20T03:53:17ZengProgrammes de bioéthique, École de santé publique de l'Université de MontréalCanadian Journal of Bioethics2561-46652025-04-0181-210.7202/1117869arClinical Ethics Support Provided to Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Teams in Quebec: A Qualitative StudyJulien Déry0Jamila Amirova1https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3614-0152Sina Kardan2https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7174-743XNoémie Tito3Zun Zhu4https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6164-558XMatthew Hunt5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4190-0163Anne Hudon6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7259-0343École de réadaptation, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal; Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR); Institut universitaire sur la réadaptation en déficience physique de Montréal (IURDPM); CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, CanadaSchool of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, CanadaSchool of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, CanadaPhysiocare at home, WPC HealthFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, CanadaCentre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR); School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, CanadaÉcole de réadaptation, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal; Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR); Institut universitaire sur la réadaptation en déficience physique de Montréal (IURDPM); CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada Introduction: Rehabilitation is a health care service focusing on the restoration and maintenance of function and is often undertaken by interdisciplinary teams. Rehabilitation care providers encounter ethical issues and concerns that require attention and resolution. Clinical ethics services (CES) provided by ethics consultants aim to support teams facing ethical challenges. The objective of this study was to explore the experiences and perspectives of individuals providing CES to interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams in Quebec health care centres. Methods: We conducted a qualitative descriptive study and interviewed individuals who provide CES in all 22 integrated health care centres in the province of Quebec. Interview transcripts were examined using constant comparative techniques and inductive thematic analysis. Results: Rehabilitation teams requested CES to address a range of issues, from conflicts between upholding patient autonomy and promoting safety to challenges arising due to structural gaps in care trajectories. However, ethics requests from rehabilitation teams were described as much less frequent than those received from teams working in acute care settings. Forms of CES provided to rehabilitation teams included accompaniment, ethical deliberation and mediation. Participants highlighted challenges providing ethics support, such as limited visibility of their services amongst rehabilitation teams and insufficient resources available to extend the reach of CES. Conclusion: Despite encountering challenges, ethics consultants offer diverse forms of support to interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams in Quebec. Further research is needed to better understand the range of ethical issues arising in rehabilitation, as well as the impact that CES support can have on how situations unfold and how they are experienced by all involved. https://cjb-rcb.ca/index.php/cjb-rcb/article/view/762rehabilitationsupportethical challengesinterviewsclinical ethics services
spellingShingle Julien Déry
Jamila Amirova
Sina Kardan
Noémie Tito
Zun Zhu
Matthew Hunt
Anne Hudon
Clinical Ethics Support Provided to Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Teams in Quebec: A Qualitative Study
Canadian Journal of Bioethics
rehabilitation
support
ethical challenges
interviews
clinical ethics services
title Clinical Ethics Support Provided to Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Teams in Quebec: A Qualitative Study
title_full Clinical Ethics Support Provided to Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Teams in Quebec: A Qualitative Study
title_fullStr Clinical Ethics Support Provided to Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Teams in Quebec: A Qualitative Study
title_full_unstemmed Clinical Ethics Support Provided to Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Teams in Quebec: A Qualitative Study
title_short Clinical Ethics Support Provided to Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Teams in Quebec: A Qualitative Study
title_sort clinical ethics support provided to interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams in quebec a qualitative study
topic rehabilitation
support
ethical challenges
interviews
clinical ethics services
url https://cjb-rcb.ca/index.php/cjb-rcb/article/view/762
work_keys_str_mv AT juliendery clinicalethicssupportprovidedtointerdisciplinaryrehabilitationteamsinquebecaqualitativestudy
AT jamilaamirova clinicalethicssupportprovidedtointerdisciplinaryrehabilitationteamsinquebecaqualitativestudy
AT sinakardan clinicalethicssupportprovidedtointerdisciplinaryrehabilitationteamsinquebecaqualitativestudy
AT noemietito clinicalethicssupportprovidedtointerdisciplinaryrehabilitationteamsinquebecaqualitativestudy
AT zunzhu clinicalethicssupportprovidedtointerdisciplinaryrehabilitationteamsinquebecaqualitativestudy
AT matthewhunt clinicalethicssupportprovidedtointerdisciplinaryrehabilitationteamsinquebecaqualitativestudy
AT annehudon clinicalethicssupportprovidedtointerdisciplinaryrehabilitationteamsinquebecaqualitativestudy