Factors influencing withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments in patients with severe acquired brain injuries: a scoping review
WLST decisions are most often made for older adults, with age consistently identified as a key predictor, independent of the clinical severity of ABI. Additional factors such as race, socioeconomic status, advance directives, and variations in healthcare provider attitudes and institutional policies further contribute to disparities in WLST practices. Understanding these intersecting influences is essential to recognizing potential biases and promoting more equitable, patient-centered end-of-life decision-making.
Authors
- Catherine Duclos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8406-5228)
- Stefanie Blain‐Moraes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7837-6700)
- Loretta Norton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6651-1837)
- Rose Jutras
- Catherine Rollin
- Alexia Abboud
Institutions
- Western University (CA)
- McGill University Health Centre (CA)
- Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal (CA)
- Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (CA)
- Global Brain Health Institute (US)
- McGill University (CA)
- The King's University (CA)
- Université de Montréal (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Neurology
- Published
- 2026-03-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2026.1755086
- Primary Topic
- Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
- Canada Research Chairs
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé