Ethical Considerations: Analyzing HIV Status Disclosure in Healthcare

This essay examines the ethical dilemma faced by a healthcare professional, Lena, concerning HIV status disclosure. Lena's sister is potentially at risk of contracting HIV from a patient who is not disclosing his status. The essay explores the conflict between patient confidentiality and the duty to protect public health, particularly the well-being of Lena's sister. It considers various courses of action, including reporting the case to public health authorities and encouraging the patient to disclose his status to his partner. The essay also references ethical standards, professional guidelines, and legal considerations relevant to HIV disclosure and partner notification services, emphasizing the importance of patient education and appropriate referrals to balance individual rights with public health responsibilities. Desklib offers similar solved assignments for students.

Running head: HEALTHCARE ASSIGNMENT
HEALTHCARE ASSIGNMENT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1HEALTHCARE ASSIGNMENT
Response:
While caring for patients affected with HIV/AIDS, it is increasingly important to
consider the devastating impact of the disease on the life expectancy and the quality of life of
the individuals. As has already been pointed out by my colleague’s post, in this case Lena
could either report the case to the concerned public health authorities or positively convince
the patient to opt for HIV partner disclosure so as to prevent the possibility of transmitting the
infection to his intimate partner, which in this case is Lena’s sister. As a care professional
Lena can be said to be in a state of ethical dilemma. This is because on one hand, she must
abide by the ethical standards of the nursing profession and observe and respect patient
autonomy and on the other hand, she must as well think about the increased probability of her
sister acquiring the infection (Sanders, 2014). Lena’s primary agenda as a care professional
should be to preserve public health on a wider perspective and therefore, she could chose to
educate the patient about the significance of partner notification and refer him to avail Partner
Counselling and Referral Services (WHO, 2016). As a care professional, it is her duty
recommend an appropriate referral to the patient along with a supporting rationale so as to
convince the patient and act in the best interest of the patient. The Partner Counselling and
Referral Services is an initiative of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention that
intends to inform partners who are subjected to sufficient HIV exposure and provides
appropriate information in relation to risk and HIV screening (Lehman et al., 2014). Also, it
offers HIV counselling and support and notifies partners about the possibility of secondary
transmission to their children in order to prevent the transmission of infection (Lehman et al.,
2014).

2HEALTHCARE ASSIGNMENT
References:
Lehman, J.S., Carr, M.H., Nichol, A.J., Ruisanchez, A., Knight, D.W., Langford, A.E., Gray,
S.C. and Mermin, J.H., 2014. Prevalence and public health implications of state laws
that criminalize potential HIV exposure in the United States. AIDS and
Behavior, 18(6), pp.997-1006.
Sanders, C. (2014). Discussing the limits of confidentiality: The impact of criminalizing HIV
nondisclosure on public health nurses’ counseling practices. Public Health
Ethics, 7(3), 253-260.
World Health Organization, 2016. Guidelines on HIV self-testing and partner notification:
supplement to consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services. World Health
Organization.