Factors related to futile care and its consequences in intensive care units: A narrative review

Futile care includes not only end-of-life care but any care that cannot cause the patient to survive and be discharged from the hospital or preserve the quality of life is also called futile care. Providing futile care comes with many challenges. Therefore, this review was conducted to assess futile care and its related factors in intensive care units. This study was conducted as a narrative review. The factors related to the perception of futile care included individual and organizational factors. The consequences of futile care on nurses include increasing moral distress, decreasing job satisfaction, high levels of depersonalization of negative caring behavior, and weakening healthcare professionals’ morale. According to the findings, nursing officials should reduce unnecessary care in special departments by increasing nurses’ knowledge and supporting strategies, and designing effective care programs.