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Aims and objectives: The purpose of this study was to report the psychometric properties, including validity and reliability, of the decision fatigue scale (DFS). Background: Decision fatigue may impair nurses' ability to make sound clinical decisions and negatively impact patient care. Given the negative impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on psychological well‐being and the workplace environment, decision fatigue may be even more apparent among clinical nurses. Valid assessment of this condition among clinical nurses may inform supportive interventions to mitigate the negative sequelae associated with states of decision fatigue. Design: This study was a secondary analysis of a parent study using a cross‐sectional descriptive design. Methods: A convenience sample of 160 staff nurses was recruited online from across the United States. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and subjective measures of decision fatigue, nursing practice environment scale and traumatic stress. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), correlation coefficients and internal consistency reliability coefficients were computed to examine the DFS's validity and reliability within this sample. Results: The EFA yielded a single factor, 9‐item version of the DFS. The DFS scores were strongly correlated with traumatic stress and moderately correlated with the nursing practice environment, and the scale displayed appropriate internal consistency. Conclusions: This is the first known study to provide evidence of the DFS's validity and reliability in a sample of registered nurses working during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The results of this study provide evidence of a reliable and valid assessment instrument for decision fatigue that can be used to measure the burden of decision‐making among registered nurses. Relevance to clinical practice: Given the relationship between traumatic stress and the nursing work environment, decision fatigue may be a modifiable target for interventions that can enhance the quality of decision‐making among clinical nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intense emotional distress and impaired information processing have been implicated in reducing a surrogate decision maker’s ability to formulate informed health care decisions for a critically ill patient. The heightened intensity of negative emotions, mental effort, and impaired judgment is consistent with the manifestation of decision fatigue. The aim of this article is to describe the validity and reliability of the Decision Fatigue Scale (DFS) among surrogate decision makers of the critically ill. A convenience sample of 101 surrogate decision makers were administered the DFS and a battery of psychosocial instruments at two time points. The DFS was specified as a unidimensional measure with adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s αs = .87, .90) and stability reliability. Discriminant validity was established with measures of emotion regulation, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The DFS is the first subjective measure of decision fatigue for surrogate decision makers of the critically ill that demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining effective decision support strategies that enhance quality of end-of-life decision making in the intensive care unit is a research priority. This systematic review identified interventional studies describing the effectiveness of decision support interventions administered to critically ill patients or their surrogate decision makers. We conducted a systematic literature search using PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane. Our search returned 121 articles, 22 of which met the inclusion criteria. The search generated studies with significant heterogeneity in the types of interventions evaluated and varied patient and surrogate decision-maker outcomes, which limited the comparability of the studies. Few studies demonstrated significant improvements in the primary outcomes. In conclusion, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of end-of-life decision support for critically ill patients and their surrogate decision makers. Additional research is needed to develop and evaluate innovative decision support interventions for end-of-life decision making in the intensive care unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]