Dignity and Respect: Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Child Care

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Added on 2024/07/03

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This essay addresses the ethical dilemmas encountered in the healthcare of an 8-year-old girl, Thembi Khumlao, whose single mother suffers from schizophrenia, creating a conflict between the child's desire to stay with her mother and the need to ensure her safety. The essay identifies key ethical dilemmas, including violating the patient's wishes for her safety and navigating the complexities of consent when the guardian is incapable of making sound decisions. It emphasizes the importance of interpersonal communication in building rapport with the patient, restoring control, and preserving dignity by offering choices and involving her in the decision-making process. The role of personal values in providing unbiased care and enhancing professional development is also discussed. The essay concludes that resolving ethical dilemmas requires strategies that prioritize the patient's respect and dignity, highlighting the importance of fostering these values in health and social care. Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students to further explore such topics.

FOSTERING
DIGNITY
AND
RESPECT

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INTRODUCTION
Ethical dilemmas
Moral concepts
Rights in health and social care

CASE SCENARIO
The current case presented is of a 8 year old girl named
Thembi Khumlao.
The girl is born to a single mother who is suffering from
schizophrenia.
The survival of the patient with her mother is getting difficult
due to her mental illness.
This case presents true example of ethical dilemmas and
moral concept conflicts where the girl’s wishes to stay with
her mother are violated in a sense to preserve her safety.

ETHICAL DILEMMA
The first dilemma identified in the given case is to violate the
patient’s wish over her safety.

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ETHICAL DILEMMA
Other ethical dilemma encountered is that the only guardian
and care taker the girl has is her mother and every legal
regulations requires the consent of a guardian in the case of
minor but here the guardian being the threat and incapable
of making decision for her again creates a conflict. The
patient can not take decision and the guardian can not too so
the decision making is done in best interest creates a
conflict for healthcare professionals.

ETHICAL DILEMMA
Communicating with the adult patient is easier than
convincing the younger patient. Here the given case is of a
girl 8 years old where the communication gap and
inconsistency can produce severe conflicts and failed care
process.
Decision making should be in best interest of the patient this
can not be ensured as the wishes of the patient are going
against the practices.

INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION AND
CONTROL
Interpersonal communication is key to form a rapport with
patient and conserve her dignity and well-being.
As interpersonal communication will help the girl understand
what the problem is and why she needs to stay away with a
foster family from her mother.
The communication will promote understanding and inbuilt
decision making process where the patient can differentiate
between the good and bad for herself.
This will provide her more trust and build a rapport with the
care takers that she can reduce her anxiety levels.

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INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION AND
CONTROL
To restore the control in patient’s life and give her dignity and respect
back choices can be planned as strategies and presented for her. This
way she will be centre of care and as patient centred care is
established the control and decision making process comes in hand
of the patient that gives them the sense of confidence and control
over their life (Hargie, 2016).
Choices can be given where she can meet her mother weekly twice or
as per the rules and the choices of meeting her in the surroundings
and what days can be left on her by keeping other factors such as
timing of meet as per care taker’s advice and making sure the
meetings are held only after the mother has taken her medications to
ensure patient safety.
These interpersonal communication can be build only when
healthcare professional communicate daily with the patient take
feedbacks and implement strategies to reduce her issues and make
her understand what the practices are doing is making her safe and
healthy.

DIGNITY
The loss of dignity is characterized by loss of control over
one’s own life and decisions related and dependency on
others for living.
In given case the control can easily be lost as the patient is
minor and all decisions taken are by the care takers and the
foster home people she lives with that can hamper her
dignity.

RESTORING DIGNITY
As discussed the dignity will be restored when the patient
will understand that her control is still in her own hands and
whatever choices are given are in her best interest (Matiti,
2015).
In given case foster family being important factor should be
taken into consideration where the regulations and routine of
family is a challenge mostly for such patients who are trying
to cope.

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PERSONAL VALUES
As a care giver I feel no factor discriminates my practice as age,
race, religion or custom the services provided are equal and same
for every individual.
I try to ensure that care provided is not biased regarding any
factor.
Due to these believes the 8 year old is not seen as a child but a
patient overall and same care is given as an adult is provided with
and her wishes respect and dignity is maintained as any adult
patient’s dignity will be (Munoz, Macaden, Kyle and Webster,
2017).
Because of these values as a future professional my quality of
care will be enhanced and customer satisfaction will increase and
it will also enhance my professional development.

CONCLUSION
Ethical dilemma are presented every now and then in
healthcare where either choices are not fit to satisfy the
customer demands.
These dilemmas are not resolved by making direct choices
but strategies that will ensure respect and dignity of the
patient.
Fostering respect and dignity of an individual is most
important part in health and social care.