'Doctor, what would you do in my position?' Health professionals and the decision-making process in pregnancy monitoring.


Autoria(s): Hertig S.G.; Cavalli S.; Burton-Jeangros C.; Elger B.S.
Data(s)

2014

Resumo

OBJECTIVE: Routine prenatal screening for Down syndrome challenges professional non-directiveness and patient autonomy in daily clinical practices. This paper aims to describe how professionals negotiate their role when a pregnant woman asks them to become involved in the decision-making process implied by screening. METHODS: Forty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with gynaecologists-obstetricians (n=26) and midwives (n=15) in a large Swiss city. RESULTS: Three professional profiles were constructed along a continuum that defines the relative distance or proximity towards patients' demands for professional involvement in the decision-making process. The first profile insists on enforcing patient responsibility, wherein the healthcare provider avoids any form of professional participation. A second profile defends the idea of a shared decision making between patients and professionals. The third highlights the intervening factors that justify professionals' involvement in decisions. CONCLUSIONS: These results illustrate various applications of the principle of autonomy and highlight the complexity of the doctor-patient relationship amidst medical decisions today.

Identificador

https://serval.unil.ch/?id=serval:BIB_5B18C0D83A56

isbn:1473-4257 (Electronic)

pmid:23543803

doi:10.1136/medethics-2012-100887

isiid:000334614100007

Idioma(s)

en

Fonte

Journal of Medical Ethics, vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 310-314

Tipo

info:eu-repo/semantics/article

article