Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Pediatrics

Effects of Description of Options on Parental Perinatal Decision-Making

By: Marlyse F. Haward, Leslie K. John, John M. Lorenz and Baruch Fischhoff
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Objective: To examine whether parents' delivery room management decisions for extremely preterm infants are influenced by (a) the degree of detail with which options-comfort care (CC) or intensive care (IC)-are presented or (b) their order of presentation. Methods: 309 volunteers, 18-55 years old, were each randomized to one of 4 groups: 1. detailed descriptions, CC presented first; 2. detailed descriptions, IC presented first; 3. brief descriptions, CC presented first; and 4. brief descriptions, IC presented first. Each received the description of a hypothetical delivery of a 23-week gestation infant and chose either IC or CC. Open-ended and structured questions elicited reasoning. Data were analyzed by chi-square and logistic regression analysis. Results: Neither degree of detail, comparing groups 1+2 with 3+4 (37% v 41%, OR=0.85, 95%CI=0.54-1.34, p=0.48), nor order, comparing groups 1+3 with 2+4 (40% v 37 %, OR=0.88, 95%CI=0.56-1.39; p=0.59), influenced the likelihood of choosing IC. Participants choosing IC were more likely to invoke sanctity of life and religiosity as personal values. Additional reasons for choosing IC were experiences with infants born at later gestational ages, giving the baby a chance, not watching their baby die, and equating CC with euthanasia. Some choosing CC wanted to avoid infant suffering. Conclusions: The degree of detail and order of presentation had no effect on treatment decisions, suggesting that individuals bring well-articulated preexisting preferences to such decisions. Understanding beliefs and attitudes motivating these preferences can assist physicians in helping parents make informed decisions consistent with their values.

Keywords

Decision Making; Values And Beliefs; Personal Characteristics; Attitudes; Motivation And Incentives; Family And Family Relationships; Health Care And Treatment

Citation

Haward, Marlyse F., Leslie K. John, John M. Lorenz, and Baruch Fischhoff. "Effects of Description of Options on Parental Perinatal Decision-Making." Pediatrics 129, no. 5 (May 2012): 891–902.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Leslie K. John

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • November–December 2020
    • Marketing Science

    Lifting the Veil: The Benefits of Cost Transparency

    By: Bhavya Mohan, Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John
    • 2020
    • Faculty Research

    The Bulletproof Glass Effect: When Privacy Notices Backfire

    By: Aaron R. Brough, David A. Norton and Leslie John
    • 2020
    • Faculty Research

    Exploration in Behavioral Science

    By: Hanne Collins, A.V. Whillans and Leslie John
More from the Authors
  • Lifting the Veil: The Benefits of Cost Transparency By: Bhavya Mohan, Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John
  • The Bulletproof Glass Effect: When Privacy Notices Backfire By: Aaron R. Brough, David A. Norton and Leslie John
  • Exploration in Behavioral Science By: Hanne Collins, A.V. Whillans and Leslie John
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College