Nurses’ perceptions of medical procedures and nursing practices for older patients with non‐cancer long‐term illness and do‐not‐attempt‐resuscitation orders: A vignette study

AIM: To elucidate influence of a do‐not‐attempt‐resuscitation (DNAR) order on nurses’ perceptions of the medical procedures and nursing practices for non‐cancer older patients. DESIGN: A vignette‐based questionnaire study. METHODS: A questionnaire survey asking nurses their perceptions of clinical practices for the following three vignettes was performed in a community hospital in Japan (N = 120): the control vignettes with an older patient with repeated heart failure who was living alone and the other two with either an absence of relatives or a diagnosis of dementia. We also prepared additions to each vignette describing a DNAR order. RESULTS: Nurses’ perception on cardiopulmonary resuscitation, defibrillation, blood tests and intravenous nutrition showed statistically significant and minimally important declines after the DNAR order compared with before for all three vignettes (p < .001). DNAR orders can influence nurses’ perceptions of clinical practices for non‐cancer older patients with chronic heart failure.