Abstract: Objective To explore early decision-making self-efficacy of legal representatives of patients with severe craniocerebral trauma and analyze its influence factors. Methods With convenient sampling method, 185 legal surrogates of patients with severe craniocerebral trauma were selected from three tertiary grade A hospitals in Wuxi and Jiangyin from January to December 2018. General data questionnaire, Family Decision Making Self-efficacy Scale, Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-family Member Form and Social Support Scale were used to investigate the subjects. Multivariate linear regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of early decision-making self-efficacy of legal surrogates in patients with severe craniocerebral trauma. Results The score of early decision-making self-efficacy was 42.36±5.39. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that gender, family income, disease uncertainty and social support of legal surrogates entered into the regression equation (P<0.05), which explained 64.7% of the total variations. Conclusion Early decision-making self-efficacy of legal representatives in patients with severe craniocerebral trauma is in a mediate level and its main influence factors are gender, family income, disease uncertainty and social support. Healthcare staff can carry out decision support interventions in combination with the influence factors, so as to improve the level of self-efficacy of legal surrogate in early decision-making and maximize the interests of patients.

Key words: craniocerebral trauma, alternative decision-making, self-efficacy, social support, disease uncertainty