Reconsidering the Language of Serious Illness

Jacqueline M Kruser; Justin T Clapp; Robert M Arnold

doi:10.1001/jama.2023.11409

Reconsidering the Language of Serious Illness

JAMA. 2023 Aug 15;330(7):587-588. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.11409.

Authors

Jacqueline M Kruser¹, Justin T Clapp^{2

3}, Robert M Arnold⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Public Health and Medicine, Madison.
² Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.
³ Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.
⁴ Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

PMID: 37486663
PMCID: PMC11075000 (available on 2024-08-15)
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.11409

No abstract available

Plain language summary

This Viewpoint expresses how use of certain language complicates decision-making for critically ill patients, and it highlights alternative phrasing for effective communication.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Communication*
Critical Illness* / psychology
Critical Illness* / therapy
Decision Making*
Humans
Language*

Grants and funding

K23 HL146890/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States