Understanding doctors' decisions about life-sustaining treatment for critically ill children

Doctors in intensive care units face difficult decisions every day about whether to continue, limit, or stop treatments that keep critically ill children alive. This research study wants to understand how doctors in Sweden and other Nordic countries think through these deeply complex and emotional decisions, what challenges they face, and what factors influence their choices.

While doctors across Europe may think similarly about end-of-life care, each country's culture and values shape how these decisions are made. Sweden has its own distinct approach to healthcare ethics and patient autonomy, but there is little research about how Swedish intensive care doctors specifically navigate the question of when to stop or limit life-sustaining treatments for children.