Navigating patients’ refusal of information in clinical practice - a clinical scenario
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17751049 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jenny Lindberg (0000-0001-8177-8276, Lund University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-02 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Medicine Health Care and Philosophy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1386-7423 • E-ISSN: 1572-8633 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11019-026-10356-0 |
| PMID | 42068520 |
| OpenAlex | W7159963688 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 60 |
The right of patients to decline information about their health, prognosis, and available treatment options is a salient principle in both domestic law and international declarations and conventions. This right may be considered either unnegotiable or subject to certain terms and conditions. While respecting this right may seem straightforward, doing so in clinical practice can be challenging. This article uses a realistic hypothetical scenario to examine the epistemic, moral, and practical challenges that can arise, particularly with patients nearing the end of life. These challenges include how and when to honor the right and its potential conflict with moral values such as self-determination, authenticity, and avoiding harm to oneself and others. The end of life exacerbates these issues because of the irretrievability of decisions and the successive reduction of possible courses of action, as well as potentially changing preferences. These potential conflicts of values deserve further attention and must be considered when deciding whether to honor a patient's wish not to know
Clinical Practice · Harm · Honor · Salient · Wish · Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare · Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
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‘The right not to know and the obligation to know’, response to commentaries
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The Nocebo Effect and Its Relevance for Clinical Practice
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Self-Related Consequences of Death Fear and Death Denial
| Highly cited | No |
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