Understanding the Causes of Delayed Decision-Making by Family Members of Stroke Patients Eligible for Thrombolytic Therapy

BACKGROUND: Thrombolytic therapy is an effective intervention for acute ischemic stroke. However, the timely administration of this treatment can be hindered by delayed decision-making on the part of family members. Little is known about the reasons for their delay in making decisions. METHODS: This qualitative interview study used face-to-face, individual, semistructured interviews with 16 participants from 2 tertiary hospital neurology wards in Guangdong, China. The interviews were analyzed using inductive content analysis, and descriptive statistics were used to summarize participants' characteristics. RESULTS: Three main themes emerged: a large family communication network, struggling with bleeding risk, and seeking distance treatment advice. CONCLUSION: In China, family members make decisions on behalf of patients and are affected by various factors in the decision-making process, resulting in delayed decision-making. They may experience psychological conflicts when deciding whether to permit thrombolysis, and they tend to seek information from external sources without understanding thrombolysis. Healthcare professionals caring for stroke patients eligible for thrombolytic therapy should provide decision-making support programs tailored to the specific needs of these family members to reduce delayed decision-making.