AIDS has had a negative impact on developing countries. Because most developing countries cannot afford the new antiretroviral drug therapies, it has been suggested that preventive vaccines might reduce the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic (Bloom, 1998). The clinical trials of AIDS vaccines do, however, present with complex ethical issues such as informed consent. Informed consent is primarily grounded on the Western principle of respect for individuals as autonomous agents. This may be at variance, however, with African societies' emphasis on the social embeddedness of the individual. The current study forms part of the HIVNET vaccine trials to be conducted in Hlabisa, in Northern Zululand, under the auspices of the South African Medical Research Council. The main aim of the study was to explore key informants' cultural conceptions of research and informed consent in order to facilitate community consultation and cultural sensitivity. Maximum variation sampling was used to select twenty-three key informants, who are in leadership positions within Hlabisa. An interview guide was used to facilitate narrative disclosure of cultural conceptions of research and informed consent. Perceptions of research, conceptions of the informed consent process, and projected motivations for why individuals agree to participate in studies were explored during interviews. Results suggest that members of the Hlabisa community have a limited understanding of the Western research process. Community education about research is therefore warranted. Informants indicated that community members would value the establishment of a relationship characterised by mutual respect for cultural differences between researchers and participants. This was perceived as likely to facilitate shared decision-making, and the reduction of the power differentials that exist between researchers and participants. While the involvement of key community leaders and family members was recommended by most informants, a few informants felt that participants could also make individual decisions about participation. The theoretical implications of the study are considered last. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Le contexte particulier du dopage suscite de nombreuses questions à l'égard des obligations et de la responsabilité des médecins. Suivant le Code médical du Mouvement olympique (2005), les médecins doivent respecter les principes de l'éthique médicale et ceux de l'éthique sportive, comme le fairplay. Il arrive parfois que l'éthique sportive entre en conflit avec l'éthique médicale. Les médecins sont alors confrontés à d'importants dilemmes qui peuvent engager leur responsabilité professionnelle et civile. Ces dilemmes se situent notamment au niveau de l'obligation de soins et du secret professionnel. Par exemple, les médecins peuvent-ils prescrire des médicaments pour contrer les effets néfastes du dopage afin de préserver la santé des athlètes ? La question de la recherche sur l'amélioration de la performance est également préoccupante. En raison du caractère clandestin de cette recherche, il y a lieu de se demander si les médecins qui y participent respectent leurs obligations professionnelles. L'analyse des principaux instruments normatifs applicables en l'espèce démontre que les médecins ne doivent pas être placés dans une situation telle qu'ils doivent refuser de suivre des athlètes de crainte d'être accusés de dopage. De plus, le secret professionnel devrait être maintenu lorsqu'un médecin suit un athlète dopé afin de préserver la relation de confiance. Finalement, l'analyse du contexte de la recherche portant sur l'amélioration de la performance révèle que les médecins ne respectent pas toujours leurs obligations. Les médecins fautifs risquent donc d'engager leur responsabilité professionnelle et civile et de faire face à des sanctions sévères. / The particular context of doping raises many questions regarding the obligations and the liability of physicians. According to the Medical Code of the Olympic Movement (2005), physicians must respect the principles of medical ethics as well as those of sport ethics, such as fair play. Sometimes, sport ethics conflicts with medical ethics. Therefore, physicians are confronted with important dilemmas, which could engage their professional and civil liability. These dilemmas concern, in particular, the duty of care and professional secrecy. For example, could physicians prescribe drugs to counter the side effects of doping in order to preserve the health of the athletes? Issues surrounding research on the improvement of performance is also of interest. Because of the often clandestine nature of this research, it should be asked whether physicians who participate respect their professional obligations. An analysis of the principal normative documents applicable demonstrates that physicians should not be placed in a situation where they would refuse to treat athletes because of fear of accusations of doping. Moreover, professional secrecy should be maintained when a physician follows an athlete in order to preserve the relation of trust. Finally, the analysis of the context of the research on the improvement of performance reveals that physicians don't always respect their obligations. These physicians might engage their professional and civil liability and face severe sanctions.

En los Estados Unidos, los latinos suelen tener menos acceso a la educación, el trabajo, y el seguro médico en comparación con los blancos no-latinos, pero aun así el grupo parece superar ciertos obstáculos de la salud. Las estadísticas de la población latina muestran mayor longevidad y otras tasas favorables en comparación con los blancos no-latinos. Los expertos han titulado esta contradicción “La Paradoja Hispana Epidemiológica”. Desafortunadamente, la investigación de la paradoja está llena de generalizaciones y presuposiciones erróneas sobre la población latina diversa. Esta tesis investiga los participantes que producen generalizaciones sobre la supuesta paradoja para mostrar que estas generalizaciones impiden un entendimiento claro. Antes de llegar a conclusiones e implicaciones, es necesario diseccionar la paradoja para poder entender esta diversidad y especificar los aspectos que realmente necesitan explicaciones. El análisis de la aparente paradoja tiene mucho que decirnos no sólo sobre la población latina, sino también sobre las maneras en que se estudia la salud y cómo se presenta información sobre la salud al público. Una examinación de las investigaciones de la paradoja puede dar luz a estos discursos generales.

No description available.

Etiniai bendravimo aspektai tarp gydytojo ir paciento visuomet buvo ir išlieka viena svarbesnių visuomenės aukšto išsivystymo ir sąmoningumo moralinių aspektų. Faktoriai apibūdinantys paciento požiūrį į gydytoją lemia lygiavertį bendravimą tarp paciento ir gydytojo, o gydytojo sąmoningumo, žmogiškųjų sąvybių ir darbo kokybės gerinimas yra vienas iš prioritetinių sveikatos sistemos priežiūros uždavinių. Šiuolaikinės sveikatos priežiūros paslaugų teikimas turi būti atliekamas tokiame lygmenyje, kad nebūtų pacientų nusiskundimų gydytojais, o pastarieji nevengtų „rizikingų“ pacientų. Šiame darbe analizuojami faktoriai, turintys arba galintys turėti įtakos gydytojo ir paciento tarpusavio santykiams, pateikiamos rekomendacijos būtinių veiksnių ar faktorių kuriuos būtina įgyvendinti siekiant abipusiai naudingo gydytojo ir paciento bendravimo. Darbo tikslas - Įvertinti gydytojų nuomonę apie bendravimo su pacientais ypatumus ir etinius šio bendravimo aspektus gydytojo santykiuose su pacientu. Tyrimo metodai. 2011 metais „Gydytojų sąjungos“ organizuotose specializuotuose mokymose Druskininkų ligoninėje buvo įvykdyta anoniminė anketinė gydytojų apklausa, kurios metu buvo apklausta 2440 įvairių specialybių gydytojų. Anketiniai duomenys buvo apdoroti ir analizuojami naudojant statistinį duomenų analizės paketą SPSS 17.0. Hipotezės apie dviejų požymių nepriklausomumą buvo tikrinamos naudojant chi kvadrato (χ2) kriterijų (97). Rodiklių skirtumai laikyti statistiškai reikšmingais, kai p<0,05... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Ethical aspects of doctor-patient communication have always been and remain some of the major moral issues of high public development and awareness. The factors characterizing the patient's attitude to the doctor determine the equivalent communication between the patient and the physician, and physician’s awareness, human qualities and quality improvement is one of the priority health care challenges. Delivery of modern health care services must be performed at a level that would not be patient complaints about doctors, but they do not avoid "risky" patients. This paper analyzes the factors which have or may have an impact on doctor-patient relationships, presents recommendations on necessary factors or actions that need to be implemented in order to establish a mutually beneficial doctor-patient communication. Aim of the work: to evaluate doctors opinion regarding the doctors-patients communication peculiarity and ethical aspects of such communication in doctors relationships with patient. Methods of the research: the anonymous questionnaire survey of physicians was organised in Druskininkai hospital at 2011, on the specialized trainings organised by “Medical Association”. 2440 doctors of various specialties participated in the survey. The questionnaire data were processed and analyzed using the statistical data analysis package SPSS 17.0. Hypotheses about the independence of two signs were tested using the chi-square (χ2) test (97). Differences of indicators were considered... [to full text]

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2009. / Department of Philosophy, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Peg Brand, James Capshew, Richard Gunderman, Jane E. Schultz. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-122).

L'objet de la thèse, préparée dans le cadre de la convention de co-tutelle entre l’Université de Trento en Italie et l’Université Paris Ouest Nanterre la Défense en France, consiste dans une analyse comparée du rôle de la déontologie médicale dans les sources du droit en Italie, France et Allemagne. Le spectre d’analyse adopté est double. On cherche d’abord à rendre compte des aspects architecturaux des rapports entre droit et déontologie médicale ; ce faisant, on concentre l’analyse sur les modalités de la codification de l’éthique professionnelle en France, en Allemagne et en Italie, sur le pouvoir normatif des ordres professionnels, et sur la valeur juridique des codes de déontologie médicale et leur intégration dans le système des sources du droit. En second lieu, on cherche, dans une perspective plus substantielle, à comprendre les relations entre droit et déontologie, et notamment le rôle de la déontologie médicale dans le domaine du biodroit. Ce spectre d’analyse est en outre élargi à la procédure disciplinaire et à la perspective européenne. La première partie de la thèse est dédiée à certaines remarques préliminaires et notamment à un effort de définition de la déontologie médicale, à certaines « questions ouvertes » de son rapport avec le droit et à la relation, en perspective comparée, entre langue et droit dans la signification du mot « déontologie ». La seconde partie est dédiée à la codification de l’éthique professionnelle, alors que le rôle de la déontologie médicale dans le biodroit est l’objet de la troisième partie. La quatrième partie concerne la procédure disciplinaire et, finalement, la cinquième partie est dédiée à la reconstruction et l’analyse critique des résultats de la comparaison, à la perspective européenne et à la proposition d’un nouveau modèle italien des rapports entre le droit et la déontologie médicale. / The thesis aims at analysing, from a comparative perspective, the role of medical ethics in Italy, France and Germany. The survey focuses on both the formal and substantive aspects of the relationships between law and medical ethics. As to the first issue, the thesis analyses the codification of medical ethics, the normative function of the medical councils, the binding value of the codes of medical ethics and their position in the hierarchy of norms. With regard to the second aspect, the role of medical ethics is studied from a more substantial perspective, analysing the concrete interrelations between law and medical ethics in the field of biolaw. The survey is then extended to the disciplinary procedure and to the European level. In the first part, the relationships between law and medical ethics are analysed from a linguistic perspective, aiming at underlining some specific features of the concepts referred to as “déontologie”, “deontologia” or “Standesrecht” and “Berufsordnung” in France, Italy and Germany. This part also deals with some “open questions” characterising the relationships between medical ethics and the law. The second part concerns the codification of medical ethics, while its role in the field of biolaw is analysed in the third part. The fourth part deals with deontological liability and disciplinary procedures. Lastly, the fifth part aims at elaborating a theoretical reconstruction of the results of the comparative analysis, at highlighting the main roles of medical ethics at the European level and at suggesting a different model for the relationships between law and medical ethics in the Italian system. / L’obiettivo della tesi è un’analisi comparata del ruolo della deontologia medica nel sistema delle fonti del diritto in Italia, Francia e Germania. Per tenere conto della complessità del rapporto tra diritto e deontologia, sono stati analizzati sia gli aspetti formali di tale rapporto, sia i profili sostanziali del ruolo della deontologia medica nel biodiritto. Nella prima parte alcune considerazioni preliminari e l’analisi linguistica hanno permesso di definire l’ambito di indagine e i profili di maggiore complessità del rapporto tra dimensione deontologica e dimensione giuridica sui quali nelle parti successive si è concentrata l’indagine. La seconda parte, dedicata alla codificazione dell’etica medica, ha messo in luce la varietà di soluzioni e di modalità di ingresso della norma deontologica nell’ordinamento giuridico. Nella terza parte sono stati analizzati il ruolo della deontologia medica nell’ambito del biodiritto e l’influenza di alcuni fattori particolarmente rilevanti sull’evoluzione dei contenuti concreti dei codici deontologici e sulla loro portata pratica. La quarta parte è dedicata alla violazione della deontologia e ai procedimenti disciplinari. Infine la parte conclusiva contiene una ricostruzione teorica dei risultati emersi dall’analisi comparata, lo studio di alcuni profili legati alla dimensione europea della deontologia e la proposta di alcune ipotesi di riforma per un modello italiano più coerente, flessibile ed efficace dei rapporti tra diritto e deontologia.

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The therapeutic privilege is a defence in terms of which a doctor may withhold information from a patient if disclosure of such information could harm the patient. This study explores the defence of therapeutic privilege and provides a critical evaluation. A comparative investigation is undertaken, while arguments springing from a variety of disciplines are also incorporated. A number of submissions are made for limiting the ambit of the defence. The main submission is that the therapeutic privilege should comply with all the requirements of the defence of necessity. In addition, it should contain some of the safeguards afforded to the patient by the requirements of the defence of negotiorum gestio so that therapeutic privilege is out of the question if medical treatment is administered against the patient's will, or the doctor has reason to believe (or knows) that the patient will refuse to undergo an intended intervention once properly informed. / Jurisprudence / L.L.M. (Jurisprudence)

The fastest growing field of law is undoubtedly that of Medical Law with the civil and disciplinary cases flowing from it. Globalization, international communication, development and evolution of Law as well as Medicine, cause this worldwide rising medical litigation. Humanitarian rights, post-modern scepticism and even iconoclastic attitudes contribute to this phenomenon. Medico-legal litigation and disciplinary complaints rise (in South Africa) up to 10 per cent per year. To assist the courts and legal profession, in medico-legal issues, helping the parties where the plaintiff has the burden of proof and the defendant for rebuttal, a medical expert witness must be used. The dilemmas and pitfalls arise, in that although knowledgeable medical experts could be used to guide the courts to the correct decision, the lack of a legal mind setting, court procedure and legal knowledge could affect the relevance, credibility and reliability, making the medical evidence of poor quality. The legal profession, deliberately, could “abuse” medical expert witnesses with demanding and coercion of results, which have unrealistic and unreasonable expectations. “Case building” occurs, especially in the adversarial systems of law, making the medical expert vulnerable under cross-examination, when it is shown that the witness has turned into a “hired gun” or is unfair. Thus, lacunae develop, making reasonable cases difficult and a quagmire of facts have to be evaluated for unreasonableness, credibility and appropriateness, compounded by the fact that seldom, cases are comparable. The danger is that the presiding officer could be misled and with limited medical knowledge and misplaced values, could reach the wrong findings. Several cases arguably show that this has led to wrongful outcomes and even unacceptable jurisprudence. The desire to “win” a case, can make a medical witness lose credibility and reasonableness with loss of objectivity, realism and relevance. With personality traits and subjectivity, the case becomes argumentative, obstinate and could even lead to lies. The miasmatic, hostile witness emerges, leading to embarrassing, unnecessary prolongation of court procedures. The medical expert witness should be well guided by the legal profession and well informed of the issues. Medical witnesses should have legal training and insight into the legal and court procedures. At the time of discovery of documents, via arbitration or mediation, medical experts should strive to reach consensus and then present their unified finding, helping the parties fairly and expediting the legal procedure and processes. / Private Law / LLM