Abstract
This study is about decision-making at the end-of-life. The aim of the study is to show (1) the dynamics of decision-making after the patient was diagnosed with terminally illness, (2) the process these family members used to make the decisions, and (3) the factors that influenced this process. The methodology was 12 in-depth interviews. Findings included four patterns of ethical decision-making and six influence factors. The patterns were (1) patient decided, (2) family and physician discussed and decided, (3) physician decided, and (4) no direct decision because patient's death not seen as immediate. The factors that influenced these decision-making dynamics were patient and family provided information, patient told wishes clearly to family and physician, patients' personality, family values, family obligations, and family psychological distance from patient. In only two of these patterns did family members talk of the patient experiencing a good death.
