[Vitality as a criterion of the prognosis in the treatment of premature children?].

The aim of this study was to generate knowledge about the ethical decision-making processes nurses and physicians are faced with in a neonatal unit. What are the ethical assessments underlying decisions about whether to start, continue or stop medical treatment of very sick premature babies? The theoretical framework was deontological ethics, utilitarianism, Aristotelian virtue ethics theory and an ethics of proximity. A descriptive study design with 120 hours of field observations and 22 qualitative in-depth interviews was chosen. Strauss & Glaser's comparative method, grounded theory, was used to analyze the field observations and interviews. The findings seem to indicate that ethical decisions are somewhat ambivalent. Experience does not always make these decisions easier. There are indications that nurses and physicians use elements from all the different ethical positions. In situations of ambiguity, decisions are also based upon the vitality of the babies.