Ethical Decision-making of Health Professionals Caring for People Living with HIV/Aids in Hunan, China

A Qualitative Study

Bibliographic Data

ID13776131
AuthorsXiaoxiao Lu (0000-0001-6855-9298, Xiang Ya Nursing School of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China), Hangyu Huang (0000-0002-8150-1864, Xiang Ya Nursing School of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China), Kaveh Khoshnood (0000-0003-2795-0447, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA), Deborah Koniak-Griffin (University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA), Deborah Koniak‐Griffin (0000-0002-0974-2815, University of California, Los Angeles), Honghong Wang (0000-0002-3484-8929, Xiang Ya Nursing School of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China), Min Yang (0000-0001-9017-5960, Xiang Ya Nursing School of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume59
Pages469580221127789-469580221127789
Publication date2022-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueINQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0046-9580 • E-ISSN: 1945-7243
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00469580221127789
PMID36444995
OpenAlexW4310708788
LanguageEN
References cited32

Numerous ethical issues surged the moment acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was discovered. As advocates of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), health professionals encounter many ethical dilemmas in clinical practice. However, it remains unclear how health professionals solve these issues. The descriptive qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 22 health professionals from May to August 2018. Three themes emerged from data analyses of the interviews: (1) real ethical dilemma experienced by health professionals, (2) factors influencing ethical judgment, (3) ethical motivations. About two-thirds of participants failed to recall ethical dilemmas experienced in their clinical practice. Emotions, gender, occupation, and difficulty balancing different roles may influence the ethical judgments of health professionals. In the ethical decision-making (EDM) process, most participants took other people's interests into consideration and conformed to law and professional codes of conduct. However, the fear of medical disputes (conflicts with families and others) was experienced by many participants, influencing their ethical behaviors

China · Family medicine · Health care · Health professionals · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Political science · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Ethics in Clinical Research · Ethics in medical practice · Medicine · Nursing · Patient Dignity and Privacy · Psychology