A Solution To A Specific Ethical Dilemma Faced By A Healthcare Professional By Applying Ethical Principles.

A solution to a specific Ethical Dilemma faced by a healthcare professional by applying Ethical Principles

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A solution to a specific Ethical Dilemma faced by a healthcare professional by applying Ethical Principles

Case study 3

Vaccine hesitancy is a big threat to human health. As child vaccination is essential and highly effective for maintaining the health of the community. Likewise, the case study tells that how people are being manipulated against the vaccination of children among East African immigrants. People are told to avoid the vaccination against measles among those people which can bring health threats to the community. It is a serious matter and parents are getting worried as a result of those fake information. As a result of those worries vaccine hesitancy among the people is growing. However, parents have very little information regarding the vaccination, or they are informed but confused, are vaccine hesitant (Williamson & Glaab, 2018).

Measles was growing among the people, and at the same time, the anti-vaccination groups were spreading incorrect information among the people. Therefore, it became the goal of healthcare providers like Piper Banks aimed to counter the fear and misinformation among the community. The open-armed organization has to work against falsifications which brainwashed the minds of the people for almost ten years (Capella University, 2018). However, Piper was well aware of professionalism and ethical values which provide an implied basis for public health practice. Therefore, engaging the faith organizations has shown positive results and improved the participation of parents in the vaccination of their children. It is an excellent ethical approach to seek help from religious leaders and groups. Religious leaders are used to be highly esteemed, and they have the power to convince the community members in favor of vaccination of their children.

Although it is not a very easy task to get the attention of the immigrants, in this case, improvements can be seen. People have been reluctant to vaccination for a long time because the anti-vaccine community convinced them for so many years. Now, it will take time to accept reality. However, continuous efforts can give better results. Another approach which is used by the health care professionals, in this case, is "Patient-centered Communication." The health professionals are trying to understand the patients’ perspective regarding the illness. At the same time, they are also expressing empathy for the patients. However, understanding the patient’s perception requires exploring the patient’s feeling, thoughts, fears and involvements regarding the influence of the illness, as well as the expectations of the patients (Hashim, 2017).

Likewise, staff members of Open Armed are optimistic about the positive response from the community. Felcia says, “They are more open to believing us than I’ve ever seen” (Capella University, 2018). It means that communicating effectively with patients can give better results than enforcing the decisions. No one can deny the fact that poor communication can bring severe errors in the medical field. Under this approach, the two-way exchange between healthcare providers and parents is essential to support informed decision-making and determine whether parents are willing to immunize their children or not.

However, Patient-centered care is undermined by incoherent deliverance and contradictory policy approaches, so other ethical approaches can be used to solve this ethical dilemma. Public health concepts such as herd immunity can help to get the attention to encounter parents and health professionals. As parents are unaware of herd immunity so they will show little interest. In this case, the medical professionals need to directly discuss the issue and address their parents within their social context. However, the four principles of healthcare ethics cannot be ignored because they play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and care of individuals. The ethical standards at health sector demand the autonomy of the patients. Hence, the actions of healthcare providers can be limited to suggestions or advice, but any action that attempts to persuade the patients is a violation of autonomy.

In addition, public deliberation is also essential for positive results, because it will just not help the people to express the challenges but also legitimize some strong policies to address those challenges. However, in this case, the health practitioners can involve the other influential groups like civil society members to communicate with the immigrants. They can also include the government to take some measure steps against those who are spreading untrue information among the people. It is the duty of health professionals to benefit the citizens in every situation. They are responsible for preventing patients from harm, remove the challenges regarding health and promote healthy initiatives. Thus, the principle of beneficence will be assured.

Throughout the process, the medical officials of Piper’s team need to deal the issue with care. They can take such measures which will not damage the east African immigrants. Moreover, involving the religious leaders is an ideal option because it follows the principles of the ethics. Likewise, non-maleficence is best known among all other principles of ethics. According to the ethical principle of non-maleficence, healthcare providers should not harm the patients. Thus, a practitioner cannot mistreat people through their decisions even if it is made for the benefits of them.

Moreover using clear and simple language to present the pieces of evidence for the risk of disease and communicating the benefits of vaccination in a fair and accurate manner might help. As the outbreak of measles is a big challenge for the community, conveying the message can overcome the serious complications. Poor communication is identified as a determinant of vaccine resistance. However, framing can be a good option in which communicating the positive gains along with the negative losses will make people think about the effects of the disease.

References

Capella University (2018). Measles making a comeback. Retrieved from http://media.capella.edu/CourseMedia/NHS-FP4000/ethicalCaseStudies/transcript.html

Hashim, M. J. (2017). Patient-Centered Communication: Basic Skills. American family physician, 95(1).

Williamson, L., & Glaab, H. (2018). Addressing vaccine hesitancy requires an ethically consistent health strategy. BMC medical ethics, 19(1), 84.

MacDonald, N. E. (2015). Vaccine hesitancy: Definition, scope and determinants. Vaccine, 33(34), 4161-4164.