Ethical Consequences of Technological Mediation on Parental Decision-Making Experiences in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Qual Health Res 2023 Mar;33(4):259-269
Date
01/28/2023Pubmed ID
36704925DOI
10.1177/10497323231151816Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85147454085 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)Abstract
The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a morally charged space in which parents may be confronted with difficult decisions about the treatment of their newborns, decisions often complicated and created by the increasing use of technologies. This paper adopts a postphenomenological approach to explore the ethical consequences of technological mediation on parental treatment decision-making in the NICU. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of children who received invasive technological support in the NICU to better understand how they made treatment decisions or decisions about specific interventions during their child's hospitalization. The findings suggest that technological mediation-or the various ways in which humans can interact with their world via technologies-contributes to experiences of ambiguity, ambivalence, and alienation in parental decision-making. The ambiguity of invasive NICU technologies can create uncertainty in a decision, which can then lead to internal ambivalence about which decision to make. Ultimately, this ambiguity and ambivalence may lead to alienation from one's child, as parents are disconnected physically and emotionally from the decision and thus their child. Articulating the effects of technological mediation on parental decision-making is a key step in addressing decisional conflict in neonatal intensive care settings and better supporting parents in their decision-making roles.
Author List
Friedrich ABAuthor
Annie B. Friedrich PhD Assistant Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
ChildDecision Making
Emotions
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Intensive Care Units, Neonatal
Intensive Care, Neonatal
Parents
Uncertainty
