dc.contributor.author | Milligan, Eleanor | |
dc.contributor.author | Jones, Jennifer | |
dc.contributor.editor | Clark, PA | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-10-23T12:31:15Z | |
dc.date.available | 2018-10-23T12:31:15Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2017 | |
dc.identifier.isbn | 978-953-51-2847-2 | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.5772/65765 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10072/377956 | |
dc.description.abstract | In healthcare ethics, autonomy has arguably become the ‘principal principle’. As a
principle that can be readily turned into a process, the giving of ‘informed consent’ by a
patient has become the surrogate measure of whether medical interventions are ethically
acceptable. While ‘informed consent’ processes in medical care are presumed to be robust,
research confirms that most patients do not adequately understand the medical purpose,
limitations or potential ethical implications of the many medical procedures to which they
consent. In this chapter, we argue that the founding tenets of autonomy and informed
consent which presume people to be detached autonomous individuals who act rationally
from self‐interest does not authentically capture the essence of human ‘being’. Furthermore,
such assumptions do not acknowledge the deeply relational and embedded reality
of the human condition which inevitably shape decision making. We contend that within
healthcare organisations, the current processes of operationalising informed consent
predominantly serve legal and administrative needs, while unwittingly disempowering
patients, and silencing key aspects of their experience of illness. Rather than rational selfinterest,
we argue that vulnerability, interdependence and trust lie at the core of ethical
decision making in healthcare. Re‐framing autonomy in a way that deliberately considers
the unique moral frameworks, relationships, and cultures of individuals can provide a
more ethically sensitive and respectful basis for decision making in healthcare. As
interdependence is an integral consideration in decision making, it must be deliberately
acknowledged and incorporated into healthcare practices. Embracing a narrative
approach within a shared decision making framework allows the vulnerabilities, fears
and aspirations of stakeholders to be heard, creating a more effective and authentic way
to meet the ethical goal of respecting those who seek care. | |
dc.description.peerreviewed | Yes | |
dc.language | English | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.publisher | intechOpen | |
dc.publisher.place | Cratia | |
dc.relation.ispartofbooktitle | Bioethics: Medical, Ethical and Legal Perspectives | |
dc.relation.ispartofchapter | 2 | |
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom | 21 | |
dc.relation.ispartofpageto | 38 | |
dc.subject.fieldofresearch | Other biomedical and clinical sciences not elsewhere classified | |
dc.subject.fieldofresearch | Other health sciences not elsewhere classified | |
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode | 329999 | |
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode | 429999 | |
dc.title | Rethinking Autonomy and Consent in Healthcare Ethics | |
dc.type | Book chapter | |
dc.type.description | B1 - Chapters | |
dc.type.code | B - Book Chapters | |
dcterms.license | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 | |
dc.description.version | Version of Record (VoR) | |
gro.faculty | Griffith Health, School of Medicine | |
gro.rights.copyright | © 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. | |
gro.hasfulltext | Full Text | |
gro.griffith.author | Milligan, Eleanor | |