Table 2.

Ethical case description and related open-ended question

Case Report

Middle aged male with advanced cancer arrived in the Emergency Department (ED) with respiratory distress requiring intubation. He was with his family. His advance directives (AD) states not for prolonged life sustaining support, however his wife and daughters plead with the physicians to save his life in order to end the suffering caused by the respiratory distress, and take time to prepare them for a more peaceful death.

Open-ended question

Participants were asked to write down what they would do in the same circumstance, taking into consideration the ethical and moral distress faced by ED health care professionals.