Nursing ethics
-
As a relative concept, privacy is difficult to define in universal terms. In the New Zealand setting recent legislation aims to protect patients' privacy but anecdotal evidence suggests that these policies are not well understood by some providers and recipients of health care. This qualitative study set out to identify some of the issues by exploring former patients' perceptions of privacy in shared hospital rooms. ⋯ Some enjoyed the support offered in shared rooms, while, for others, overhearing another person's health issues caused unnecessary distress. The participants suggested that knowing they could be overheard constrained information disclosure. This withholding of information has implications for health professionals' ability to diagnose and treat patients appropriately.
-
Nursing research in palliative care raises specific and challenging ethical issues. Questions have arisen about whether such research is morally justified, given the low likelihood of direct benefit to dying patients as research participants. ⋯ Our conclusion is that palliative care research is needed to foster excellent care for these patients and their families, but that nurses must remain constantly vigilant to ensure that participants are protected from resultant harms. Through this exploration we highlight particular considerations that nurse researchers must contemplate when accessing a vulnerable population.
-
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.
-
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.