Death, Dying, Violence and Aggression as Shown on Medical Television Series.

NCT07416669 · tracked via the Priya Life Science Germany tracker

Sponsor

King's College Hospital NHS Trust

Phase

Observational

Started

2026-05-10

Last updated

2026-02-18

Condition(s) studied

End of Life CareViolent Aggressive BehaviorTelevision ViewingMedia Use

Study summary

Medical TV dramas have become very popular in recent years. These shows are mainly created for entertainment and often do not reflect what really happens in hospitals. However, television plays an important role in sharing information, shaping how people think, and teaching the public about medicine.

Death and dying in hospitals, especially in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), are highly emotional experiences. In real life, these situations often turn out very differently from what patients and families expect. Because of this, it is important to understand how medical TV shows portray major hospital events such as end-of-life care, death, and the delivery of bad news. When what is shown on TV does not match the reality of ICU care, it can lead to unrealistic expectations, false hope, and greater distress for patients and their families at the end of life.

At the same time, violence and aggression towards healthcare providers have increased in recent years. This can include verbal abuse as well as physical attacks. Looking at how healthcare workers are treated in medical TV shows may help us understand whether these programmes influence what behaviour is seen as acceptable. Since violence against healthcare staff has become especially concerning since the COVID-19 pandemic, the possible role of media should not be ignored, even though many factors are involved.

This study aims to describe how death and dying are shown in popular medical TV series and to explore how violence or aggression towards healthcare providers is portrayed in these settings.

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Min age

—

Max age

—

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion Criteria: * Any are clearly visible and/or audible, intentional acts of violence occurring as self-contained scenes within an episode, set in a hospital environment, and taking place between two or more individuals in a medical or professional treatment setting. * All patients dying within the hospital setting. The death scene must be explicitly shown or named (e.g., flatline, burial, covering of the body). The death must be visibly depicted on screen (the viewer must see the death happen). Exclusion Criteria: * Violence: Violence outside the hospital. Self-harming behaviour or acts of violence that originate from a purely private context and do not arise within a professional medical setting. * Death: Death outside the hospital. Stories or mentions of death without visual depiction do not count. Implied or off-screen deaths without explicit confirmation or depiction are excluded. Implied or off-screen deaths without explicit confirmation or depiction are excluded.

Primary outcome measure(s)

Number and type of violent episodes depicted in medical tv series in the OR, the ICU and in the ER. — during hospital admission
Violence/ aggression behaviours including: intentional physical, verbal, psychological/ emotional and/ or sexual
Number and type of death/ dying as depicted in medical tv series in the OR, the ICU and in the ER. — during hospital admission
End of life scenes depicting the death and dying process

Trial sites (2)

Facility	City	Region	Status
Medical tv series	Witten	Germany
Medical tv series	London	Select

More King's College Hospital NHS Trust trials in Germany

Vitrectomy, Subretinal Tissue Plasminogen Activator (TPA) and Intravitreal Gas for Submacular Haemorrhage Secondary to Exudative (Wet) Age-related Macular Degeneration (TIGER). Recruiting

Official registry record

This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.

View NCT07416669 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ ← All trials in Germany