"Card sorting" : a tool for research in ethics on treatment decision-making at the end of life in Alzheimer patients with a life threatening complication

Abstract Background End stage dementia is a particularly difficult aspect of care for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. In care institutions, caregivers and family are concerned by treatment decision-making for an acute life threatening complication occurring in Alzheimer patients at the end of life. How should the best treatment pathway be decided: to treat or not to treat? Which arguments are used for decision-making? These are mainly ethical questions which are currently difficult to express and investigate. Methods/Design Cross sectional multicentre study of clinical cases involving 67 health centres (university hospitals, general hospitals, local hospitals and ho…