190 likes | 254 Vues
Ethical Issues in the Care of PLHIV. HAIVN Harvard Medical School AIDS Initiatives in Vietnam. Learning Objectives. By the end of this session, participants should be able to: List 4 common ethical challenges/duties in the clinical care of PLHIV
E N D
Ethical Issues in the Care of PLHIV HAIVN Harvard Medical School AIDS Initiatives in Vietnam
Learning Objectives By the end of this session, participants should be able to: • List 4 common ethical challenges/duties in the clinical care of PLHIV • Explain benefits of universal precautions that can protect patients from stigma and discrimination • Explain patients’ rights regarding HIV testing
4 Duties in Caring PLHIV • Duty to care versus fear of personal risks • Duty to protect patients versus duty warn others • Duty to maintain patient confidentiality • Duty to protect patient autonomy
Duty to Care • All patients should receive the best possible care • All indicated procedures must be performed • Invasive diagnostic procedures • Therapeutic procedures • Hands-on care
Duty to Care: Dilemma • Medications • Devices • Tools • Patient wards • Human resources… Resources are scarce : • Questions: • Who should get medication first? • Who decide this?
Reducing Fear of Personal Risk • Educate health care workers about their rights to: • protect themselves and patients. • adequate equipment and supplies to protect themselves • Universal precautions should be standard of practice for ALL patients and settings
Duty to Protect (1) • Protects health care workers from acquiring infections in the course of their work • Protects patients from acquiring infections from health care workers
Duty to Protect (2) • If there are HIV-infected Health Care Workers in health settings, the manage should consider: • The type of patient contact they have – does it represent a true risk for transmission to patients or others • Are patients exposed to the Health Care Worker’s blood or body secretions? • In most cases, there is no risk and the Health Care Worker is not ethically required to reveal his or her infection
Duty to Protect: Universal Precautions • Definitions: • Treat ALL blood and body fluids as if they are potentially infectious • Benefits: • Do not identify any particular patient as HIV-infected -> Reduces stigma • Protects everyone Universal Precautions are only effective if implemented with all patients in all settings
Confidentiality (1) • Maintaining the privacy of patient information is an ethical duty • Discussion about patients should be: • limited to those with a direct need to know • and conducted in private areas • No signs on patient rooms or labels on outside of medical records
Confidentiality (2) • Dilemma: Health care workers need to: • maintaining the privacy of the infected patient • inform people at risk • If the patient is putting another individual at risk for HIV infection: • Encourage the patient to: • inform the person at risk • change his/her behavior • Offer to help the patient inform the person at risk • If possible, inform the person at risk without revealing the identity of the infected individual
Right to Autonomy(1) • Patients have the right: • to decline HIV testing • Except for cases specified as per MOH guidelines • to the information they need to make treatment choices • Results of HIV tests should be presented privately • It is unethical to give a patient a positive HIV test result without also providing emotional support and information
Right to Autonomy (2) End of life decisions: • Whether or not to provide advanced care • who decides? Physician? Family? Patient? • When to stop medications? Which medications to continue? • Is pain relief adequate? Is hands-on care adequate? • Choice of place of death?
Ethical Obligations • To provide the best possible care for all patients • To protect patient privacy • To maintain patient autonomy • To provide emotional support and information to all patients • To continue care until the end of life
Key Points • All patients should receive the best possible care • Universal Precautions are used with ALL patients • Patients should never receive a positive HIV test result without also receiving information and psychological support • Health care workers must never abandon patients
Thank you! Questions?