Patient Interviews About ECT Information/Informed Consent: New Study From Norway

Recipients' experience with information provision for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Coman A.BMC Psychiatry. 2022 Feb 4;22(1):86. doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-03720-w.PMID: 35120485


The abstract is copied below:
Background: Despite improvements, studies continue to report unsatisfactory provision of information before, during and after electroconvulsive treatment (ECT).

Aims: The study explores participants' experiences with information provision about ECT.

Methods: In-depth interviews with 21 participants (21- 65 year-old) were conducted. Thematic analysis resulted in identification of four themes: pre-treatment knowledge, experience of informed consent, the need for information depth and life after ECT. The study includes user involvement.

Results: Although some participants were satisfied with information provision, the majority experienced an education deficit throughout the treatment period. Their consent was based mostly on oral information, insufficient and unvaried information on official health websites and media. Further, patients reported a lack of follow-up services that can attend to (neuro) psychological concerns.

Conclusions: Better access to updated factual and narrative information should support patient 
education and autonomy. Active use of diary writing, better follow-up and more varied representations of experience with ECT in media and health information sites are necessary to educate, improve consent processes and reduce stigma.

The article is here.


And from the text:



And about the author:

This is a small survey from Norway of ECT patients' comments on how information about ECT was presented to them. While it is crucial to listen to patient opinions and concerns, this paper has a distinctly anti-ECT tone, despite the author's claim to impartiality; the participants were recruited by advertisement, and may be a skewed group. The idea that ECT is "controversial" is played up, and the veracity of the scientific evidence base is downplayed. 
There is little new here, but I still recommend a full read, in order to know what is out there, ~15 minutes.

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