Abstract
BackgroundConflicts between professional duties and fear of influenza transmission to family members may arise among health care professionals (HCP).MethodsWe surveyed employees at our university hospital regarding ethical issues arising during the management of an influenza pandemic.ResultsOf 644 respondents, 182 (28%) agreed that it would be professionally acceptable for HCP to abandon their workplace during a pandemic in order to protect themselves and their families, 337 (52%) disagreed with this statement and 125 (19%) had no opinion, with a higher rate of disagreement among physicians (65%) and nurses (54%) compared with administrators (32%). Of all respondents, 375 (58%) did not believe that the decision to report to work during a pandemic should be left to the individual HCP and 496 (77%) disagreed with the statement that HCP should be permanently dismissed for not reporting to work during a pandemic. Only 136 (21%) respondents agreed that HCW without children should primarily care for the influenza patients.ConclusionOur results suggest that a modest majority of HCP, but only a minority of hospital administrators, recognises the obligation to treat patients despite the potential risks. Professional ethical guidelines allowing for balancing the needs of society with personal risks are needed to help HCP fulfil their duties in the case of a pandemic influenza.
Highlights
Conflicts between professional duties and fear of influenza transmission to family members may arise among health care professionals (HCP)
A majority of respondents did not believe that the decision to report to work during a pandemic should be left to the individual HCP; these proportions differed significantly among the three professional groups (Table 1, p < .001)
More than one-fifth (n = 136, 21%) of the respondents agreed with the statement that during a pandemic HCP without small children should primarily care for the influenza patients
Summary
Conflicts between professional duties and fear of influenza transmission to family members may arise among health care professionals (HCP). Medical providers worldwide are gearing up for a likely pandemic of human influenza. Professional duty of healthcare professionals (HCP) may clash with fear of contracting influenza or its transmission to family members. Triggered by the experience responding to the SARS epidemic in 2003, the lack of official ethical guidelines on balancing public needs and personal risk has been pointed out [1]. Prompted by discussions at our institution on proper response to a pandemic influenza outbreak, we examined employees' knowledge on H5N1 (avian) influenza and solicited their opinions on professional ethics
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