European journal of pediatrics
-
Communicating with Muslim parents: "the four principles" are not as culturally neutral as suggested.
The "four principles approach" has been popularly accepted as a set of universal guidelines for biomedical ethics. Based on four allegedly trans-cultural principles (respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice), it is supposed to fulfil the need of a 'culturally neutral approach to thinking about ethical issues in health care'. On the basis of a case-history, this paper challenges the appropriateness of communicating in terms of these four principles with patients with a different background. ⋯ We conclude that the parties involved in the described disagreement may feel committed to seemingly similar, but actually quite different principles. In such cases, communication in terms of these principles may create a conflict within an apparently common conceptual framework. The four principles approach may be very helpful in analysing ethical dilemmas, but when communicating with patients with different backgrounds, an alternative approach is needed that pays genuine attention to the different backgrounds.
-
Comparative Study
Useful methods in preventing accidental falls from the bed in children at the emergency department.
The aim of this study was to analyze the general characteristics of children in the pediatric emergency department (PED) who accidentally fall off the crib and to establish useful preventive measures. This prospective research analyzed pediatric patients who accidentally fell off their beds in the observational unit (OU) of the PED from July 2005 to June 2006 (first period). From July 2006 to February 2007 (second period), the causes of children falling off the crib in the first year were analyzed and five related preventive methods were instituted in the OU. ⋯ In the third period, there was no accident in the 5,225 patients admitted to the PED. Comparing the occurrences of children falling off the bed among the three periods, accidental falls significantly decreased in the third period (p < 0.001). Effective methods can be instituted to prevent children from falling off the bed, especially in the PED.