Perceived bioethical issues in cancer rehabilitation: a qualitative study among Italian physiotherapists.
Gianluca Bertoni, Simone Battista, Valentina Conti and 2 others
PMID 39958773WHAT IT FOUND
Italian physiotherapists in cancer care struggle with four ethical dilemmas: patients kept unaware of their prognosis, families demanding unrealistic hope, balancing safety against aggressive mobilization, and knowing when to stop futile treatment.
Key findings
01Physiotherapists face ethical conflicts when patients are referred for rehabilitation without being informed of their prognosis, complicating informed consent.
02Clinicians struggle to balance hope and realism, often pressured by families to continue passive mobilization even when direct rehabilitative benefits are absent.
03Decisions on withdrawing treatment are emotionally difficult, with physiotherapists fearing they are abandoning patients or engaging in therapeutic obstinacy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was limited to Italian physiotherapists, whose ethical perspectives may be influenced by specific cultural and religious norms not applicable elsewhere. Participants were exclusively white and from northern Italy, limiting the diversity of viewpoints. The study reflects only the therapists' perceptions, not the actual experiences or outcomes of patients and caregivers. Online focus groups may have restricted the depth of discussion on sensitive topics compared to in-person meetings.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest and received no funding for this work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these themes as evidence that one clinical approach (such as aggressive mobilization in bone metastases) is safer or more effective than another. The study reports perceived ethical dilemmas, not clinical outcomes.