Nursing ethics
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Review
Important but neglected ethical and cultural considerations in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Malawi.
Southern African countries have the highest HIV infection rates in the world. In most of the countries in the region, the rate among adults is at least 10%. ⋯ In this article, the authors discuss the ethical and cultural dilemmas concerning HIV/AIDS, with Malawi as a case in point. It is argued that increasing financial resources alone, as exemplified by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria initiative, without proper attention to ethical issues, morals and appropriate legal obligations, are unlikely to reduce the spread of HIV in southern Africa.
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Review
Truth-telling in clinical practice and the arguments for and against: a review of the literature.
In general, most, but not necessarily all, patients want truthfulness about their health. Available evidence indicates that truth-telling practices and preferences are, to an extent, a cultural artefact. ⋯ In the literature reviewed here, there is also the view that truth-telling is essential because it is an intrinsic good, while it is argued against on the grounds of the uncertainty principle. Based on this review, it is recommended that practitioners ought to ask patients and patients' families what informational requirements are preferred, and research should continue into truth-telling in clinical practice, particularly to discover its very nature as a cultural artefact, and the other conditions and contexts in which truth-telling may not be preferred.
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In this qualitative study, we aimed to identify and compare the ethical problems perceived by physicians and nurses in intensive care units at Baskent University hospitals in Turkey. A total of 21 physicians and 22 nurses were asked to describe ethical problems that they frequently encounter in their practice. The data were analyzed using an interactive model. ⋯ The ethical problems were reported at different frequencies by physicians and nurses. We asked the participants about ethical decision-making styles. The results show that nurses and physicians do not follow a systematic pattern of ethical decision making.