Consent For Medical Procedures Research Articles

Informed consent for stochastic effects of ionising radiation in diagnostic imaging.

The ethical and legal principles underpinning the requirement for informed consent for medical procedures are widely accepted. A recent BJR article has applied these principles to the issue of consent to ionising radiation (IR) from diagnostic imaging (DI), but the authors chose to put aside the practical problems associated with this. These problems should not be underestimated and arise from: uncertainties about the existence and magnitude of risk of stochastic effects of IR exposure in DI; the delayed manifestation of its effects; the heterogeneity of risk related to factors associated with individual sensitivity to IR, and dose variation even within examination classes and across clinical indications; and the difficulty of communication of these uncertainties and variations to patients. This article discusses these practical issues associated with consent for IR in DI.

A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF NURSING HOME STAFF CONCEPTUALIZATION OF EVERYDAY DECISION-MAKING CAPACITY

Because nursing homes are both a residence and a treatment setting, care providers are faced with the challenge of balancing resident autonomy and safety on a daily basis. While there are standardized approaches for determining a capacity to make larger decisions such as providing consent for medical procedures, there are virtually no methods for assessing capacity to make everyday decisions (e.g., food choices, smoking, navigating outside the nursing home). While it is easier for staff to prevent residents from making decisions they deem risky, to truly offer person-centered care, it is important to support a resident’s right to make decisions if they have the capacity to do so. Currently, little is known about how nursing home staff conceptualize and determine everyday decision-making capacity and how that information is used in care planning. To understand the current processes and language nursing home staff use when considering a resident’s decision-making capacity, we conducted interviews with 37 staff at two Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Living Centers (VA-operated nursing homes; CLCs). Using qualitative content analysis, we coded the transcribed interviews and identified several overarching themes: autonomy vs. safety, communication (e.g., pathways, with caregivers, with residents), determining capacity (e.g., information gathering, assessment, assumptions, indicators, interdisciplinary team member roles, referrals), interventions (e.g., legal and staff-led), and terminology used. We will describe how the findings from this study can be used to tailor development and adaptation of tools to help nursing home staff assess resident everyday decision-making capacity and to incorporate the results into person-centered care approaches.

Pulled away: the experience of bilingual nurses as ad hoc interpreters in the emergency department

ABSTRACT This study aimed to understand the experiences of bilingual nurses asked to interpret in the Emergency Department (ED), and the subsequent impact on safety climate. Australian ED clinicians assess and treat high numbers of linguistically diverse patients, many with limited English proficiency. New South Wales Health policy mandates the use of accredited interpreters when collecting personal and health information, and when obtaining consent for medical procedures. Semi-structured interviews with 12 nurses (representing 12 languages) from two metropolitan EDs were audio-recorded and analysed using qualitative content analysis, guided by Glendon & Stanton’s model of organisational climate and culture. Analysis revealed widespread underlying assumptions that engaging interpreters is difficult, time-consuming and costly. Bilingual ED nurses with variable language fluency were used across organisations as the first choice due to clinical urgency, task urgency, and hospital workflow pressures. While the use of nurse interpreters facilitated timely assessment for the benefit of patients, it equally led to increased nurse workload, missed or misinterpreted information and subsequent perceived clinical risk. These practices were supported and facilitated by unit level managerial and multidisciplinary team practices, physician pressure and the nurses’ own values and beliefs. While some, (but not all) participants were aware of the interpreter policy, they were torn between their acknowledgement of risky translation practices and their desire to support their colleagues to provide timely, culturally-competent assessment and care. Findings suggests a ‘top-down’ approach to translation policy has failed to influence the local safety culture and practices and does not address a climate created by clinical urgency and workflow. Formal training and accreditation of bilingual nurses, and/or embedded interpreters for common language groups may reduce risks for non-English speaking patients.

Macao Report: Informed Consent in a Multilingual and Multicultural Region, a Bioethical Challenge.

Complying with the requirements of informed consent for medical procedures can sometimes be problematic, even when the hospitals are located in countries that are uniform in their language and cultural values. However, when hospitals are located in countries with diverse linguistic and ethnic communities, it becomes particularly challenging. This article examines how Macao, with four predominant languages-Mandarin, Portuguese, Cantonese and English-and two very strong cultures, Western and Chinese, strives to meet the challenges of informed consent. The situation is made even more complicated by a healthcare delivery in Macao that is mostly guided by Chinese ethical and cultural perspectives, whereas its law is inspired by the Western model.

Ambushes related to collecting patients’ consent for medical procedures by family doctors

Ambushes related to collecting patients’ consent for medical procedures by family doctors

Perceptions of tissue storage in a dementia population among spouses and offspring.

Cognitively impaired patients with dementia often rely on health advocates or guardians, such as spouses or adult offspring, to consent for medical procedures. These family members may also decide whether an autopsy is performed after death or whether their family member donates tissues. However, spouses are not genetically related to the patient and may have different perspectives than genetically related family members when making medical decisions with genetic implications, such as participation in a tissue repository (biobank). Interviews were conducted with spouses and adult offspring of individuals with a progressive dementing disease. Both spouses and offspring were supportive of the patient with dementia to participate in tissue storage. The top perceived benefits of tissue storage in both offspring and spouses were future value for family members and advancement of medical knowledge. Concerns included misuse of the tissue and insurance discrimination. Although the personal genetic implications differ between spouses and offspring, they share similar attitudes about the importance of tissue banking for the individual with a dementing disease.

Saudi Women's Consent for Invasive Radiological Procedures

Saudi Women's Consent for Invasive Radiological Procedures