The impact of committee characteristics on the success of healthcare ethics committees.

Despite the increase in number and importance of healthcare ethics committees (HECs), little is known about how successful HECs are and what characteristics contribute to their success. The current study attempted: (1) to examine the effect of respondent backgrounds on the self-reported success and characteristics of HECs, (2) to describe the current success status of HECs, and (3) to explore how committee characteristics are related with the success. Questionnaires on characteristics of respondents and committees as well as the rating of success were distributed to 962 acute care hospitals with 300 beds or more across the United States in the calendar year 2000. A total number of 294 chairpersons and 223 members from 334 ethics committees responded to the survey, yielding a 35% response rate. Statistical analyses on the survey data found that the length of services on committees (seniority) and the size of committees were significant contributors to the perceived success of committees. The significant association of seniority suggests that future studies should control for the effect of seniority, possibly using multivariate modeling methods. The more success perceived by large committees indicates a need for small committees to increase the size of their committees so that they can expand their expertise to resolve the wide variety of current issues.