Perception of futile care and the reasons behind providing it for the patients at end-of-life stages from the care providers’ perspective

Abstract Background The concept of medical futility has exposed the medical staff to many complicated conflicts. Through identifying some of these conflicts, it will be possible to have control over such situations and make plans for managing them better. The present study was conducted to determine the perception of futile care and the reasons behind it among the patients at end-of-life stages from care providers’ perspective. Methods This research is an analytical descriptive study which was conducted in Dezful in Iran on 308 care providers including physicians, nurses, and medical and nursing interns, in 2022. The data collection tools included 3 areas: demographic variables, investigating the perception of futile care, and investigating the reasons behind futile care. Results The mean score of perception of futile care was 103.20 ± 32.89 and the mean scores of the reasons behind providing futile care, 118.03 ± 26.09. A significant correlation was observed between the mean scores of the questionnaire for perception of futile care and the reasons behind providing futile care among end-of-life patients (P-value = 0.000, r = 0.465). Conclusions Based on the findings, almost half of the care providers had a moderate perception of futile care and the reasons behind providing it. The reasons behind providing futile care mentioned by the participants, as well as the positive relationship between the level of perception and the level of education, point out the need for training courses to become more familiar with the concept of futile care and change care providers’ perspectives and attitudes towards end-of-life care.