Journal of medical ethics
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Abstract ethics mostly focuses on what we do. One form of action is a speech act. What we say can have profound effects. ⋯ To complicate matters, there can be moral reasons for overriding what is good for the patient. What kind of admonishments should we make to a badly behaved patient? What is the value of authenticity in our communication with the people we love? These questions demand an ethical defence of those speech acts which are painful to hear but which need to be said, and of those which go wrong despite the best efforts of the wellwisher. We offer an ethical account, identifying permissible and impermissible justifications for the things we say to a person with a serious injury or illness.
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Journal of medical ethics · Jan 2006
ReviewMr Marty's muddle: a superficial and selective case for euthanasia in Europe.
In April 2004 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe debated a report from its Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee (the Marty Report), which questioned the Council of Europe's opposition to legalising euthanasia. This article exposes the Report's flaws, not least its superficiality and selectivity.
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Journal of medical ethics · Dec 2005
Parental preferences for neonatal resuscitation research consent: a pilot study.
Obtaining informed consent for resuscitation research, especially in the newborn, is problematic. This study aimed to evaluate parental preferences for hypothetical consent procedures in neonatal resuscitation research. ⋯ This pilot study reports parental preferences for prenatal information and consent for such research trials of neonatal resuscitation. A low response rate and potentially skewed demographics of the respondents prevent generalisability of this result. Interview studies should be performed to better determine parental preferences for informed consent in a more representative population.
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Journal of medical ethics · Dec 2005
Informed consent and participant perceptions of influenza vaccine trials in South Africa.
There are few insights from sub-Saharan Africa on research participants' experiences of the informed consent process, particularly in the context of randomised controlled trials, where issues of randomisation and the use of placebos may be confusing concepts for participants. This study investigated the knowledge and perceptions of the informed consent process among individuals participating in influenza vaccine trials in two disadvantaged communities in South Africa. ⋯ Although a good general recall of trial concepts was demonstrated, only a small proportion of the participants correctly interpreted and recalled the concepts of randomisation and placebos. Informed consent in this and similarly disadvantaged communities may often be inadequate and new ways to improve understanding of the research process should be explored.
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Journal of medical ethics · Dec 2005
The impact on patient trust of legalising physician aid in dying.
Little empirical evidence exists to support either side of the ongoing debate over whether legalising physician aid in dying would undermine patient trust. ⋯ Despite the widespread concern that legalising physician aid in dying would seriously threaten or undermine trust in physicians, the weight of the evidence in the USA is to the contrary, although views vary significantly.