Categories	Subcategories	Literature
Decision-making in the unusual setting of the critical care unit with little time to do so	The context of the critical care unit	Ishizuka & Inoue 2015
	Lack of time, because of the seriousness of the condition	Abe et al. 2007; Aiura & Kuroda 2006; Wiegand 2008; Yokobori et al. 2012
Decision-making in an unstable psychological state while conscious of their own responsibility	Feeling regretful and responsible	Ishizuka & Inoue 2015; Iwai et al., 2013; Suzuki et al. 2004; Yokobori et al. 2012
	Mental agitation	Eguchi 2012; Ishizuka & Inoue 2015; Suzuki et al. 2004, Yokobori et al. 2012
	Anxiety because of uncertainty about the future	Abe et al. 2007; Dionne-Odom et al. 2015; Eguchi 2012; Iwai et al. 2013; Suzuki et al. 2004
	Composed demeanor	Suzuki et al. 2004
Deliberating deeply on the patient’s prognosis, their relationship with the patient, and what they believe the patient would want	Thinking about the basis of the medical situation	Mirr 1991; Schenker et al. 2012; Wiegand 2008
	Thinking from the viewpoint of the current status of family relationships	Aiura & Kuroda 2006; Eguchi 2012; Mirr 1991
	Thinking about the financial resources	Mirr 1991
	Not knowing the patient’s wishes	Ishizuka & Inoue 2015
Seeking emotional support from medical staff in the decision-making process	Wanting an understandable explanation and empathy with their feelings	Abe et al. 2007; Buchman et al. 2003; Dionne-Odom et al. 2015; Eguchi 2012; Frivold et al. 2015; Ishizuka & Inoue 2015; Kryworuchko et al. 2012; Morphet et al. 2015; Noome, et al., 2016; Schenker et al. 2012; Suzuki et al. 2004; Yokobori et al. 2012
	Feeling reassured when medical staff are close at hand	Abe et al. 2007; Ishizuka & Inoue 2015; Kato et al. 2015; Yokobori et al. 2012
Taking other family members’ views into account in decision-making	Trusting medical staff and leaving everything to them	Aiura & Kuroda 2006; Hall et al. 2008; Kato et al. 2015; Suzuki et al. 2004; Yokobori et al. 2012
	Deciding as the person responsible for the family	Aiura & Kuroda 2006; Ishizuka & Inoue 2015; Kato et al. 2015; Yokobori et al. 2012
	Making decisions by agreement, after discussion within the family	Aiura & Kuroda 2006; Buchman et al. 2003; Frivold et al. 2015; Ishizuka & Inoue 2015; Mirr 1991; Schenker et al. 2012; Suzuki et al. 2004; Wiegand 2008
	Making decisions in discussion with the medical team	Buchman et al. 2003; Wiegand 2008
	Conjecturing about the patient’s own wishes	Buchman et al. 2003; Hall et al. 2008; Ishizuka & Inoue 2015; Schenker et al. 2012; Toim et al. 2012; Yokobori et al. 2012
	Checking for the existence of a legal decision-maker	Mirr 1991; Morphet et al. 2015
Empathizing with the difficulty of decision-making and monitoring the decision-making process while building relationships with family members	Empathizing with the difficulty of decision-making by family members	Ishizuka and Inoue, 2015; Kryworuchko et al., 2016; Kryworuchko et al., 2012; Michael et al., 2015; Satake et al., 2015; Uesawa and Nakamura, 2013; Yajima and Nakamura, 2015; Yokobori et al., 2012; Yoshida and Nakamura, 2014
	Noticing mental and physical effects on family members	Moriki and Akashi, 2011; Satake et al., 2015; Uesawa and Nakamura, 2013; Yajima and Nakamura, 2015; Yokobori et al., 2012
	Watching the suffering involved during a decision-making process as the basis of a relationship of trust	Adams et al., 2014; Ishizuka and Inoue, 2015; Kryworuchko et al., 2016; Kryworuchko et al., 2012; Kyogaku et al., 2009; Michael et al., 2015; Moriki and Akashi, 2011; Nakamura et al., 2013; Satake et al., 2015; Uesawa and Nakamura, 2013; Yajima and Nakamura, 2015; Yoshida and Nakamura, 2014; Yokobori et al., 2012
	Respecting decision-making by family members	Aiura and Kuroda, 2006; Ishizuka and Inoue, 2015; Kryworuchko et al., 2012; Michael et al., 2015; Moriki and Akashi, 2011; Nakamura et al., 2013; Yajima and Nakamura, 2015 Uesawa and Nakamura, 2013; Yokobori et al., 2012; Yoshida and Nakamura, 2014