Table 2.
Description of clinical ethics committees (n = 109)
| n (%) | |
|---|---|
| Involved in any clinical ethics/medical ethics/bioethics organisations or institutions? | |
| Yes | 79 (72.5) |
| No | 30 (27.5) |
| Do you have an established clinical ethics committee/healthcare ethics service at your institution/organisation? | |
| Yes | 16 (14.7) |
| No | 93 (85.3) |
| *Members on the committee? | |
| 0–5 | 1 (6.3) |
| 6–10 | 9 (56.3) |
| 11–15 | 5 (31.3) |
| 16–20 | 1 (6.3) |
| *Disciplines represented by CEC members (more than one option to choose) | |
| Law | 9 (60) |
| Bioethics | 8 (53.3) |
| Social sciences | 7 (46.7) |
| Health sciences | 13 (86.7) |
| Community | 3 (20) |
| Religious | 6 (40) |
| Management | 6 (40) |
| *Frequency of the committee having scheduled meetings | |
| Weekly | 1 (6.3) |
| Monthly | 6 (37.5) |
| Quarterly | 7 (43.8) |
| Annually | 0 |
| Other | 2 (12.5) |
| *Frequency of the committee meeting for ad hoc consultations (when an urgent dilemma arises) | |
| Less than 10 times a year | 12 (75) |
| Between 10 and 20 times a year | 3 (18.8) |
| Between 21 and 30 times a year | 0 |
| Other | 1 (6.3) |
| *Typical problems referred to the committee (more than one option to choose) | |
| Treatment declined (including Jehovah’s witnesses) | 6 (37.5) |
| Withdrawal of life support | 5 (31.3) |
| Termination of pregnancy | 4 (25) |
| Consent | 11 (68.8) |
| Paediatrics | 6 (37.5) |
| HIV related | 5 (31.3) |
| Social media use | 1 (6.3) |
| Innovative treatment | 8 (50) |
| Traditional treatment | 4 (25) |
| Other | 5 (31.3) |
| Constraints to developing a CEC (more than one option to choose) | |
| Limited resources | 31 (36.9) |
| Understaffed | 22 (26.2) |
| Lack of training | 46 (54.8) |
| Other | 40 (47.6) |
*Represent the number of participants that indicated that they have CECs