Physicians can improve diets of patients who live in food deserts by providing nutrition materials, training in food preparation, and promoting nutritious food availability in communities where they practice.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(10):E918-923. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.918.
Farmworkers can become ill due to toxic exposure in their work environments. Recommending specific restrictions, educating patients on protection strategies, and partnering with agribusiness owners and allied health workers can drive development of alternatives to agricultural practices with health risks.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(10):E932-940. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.932.
Physicians need better education in nutrition science. Referring patients to nutrition experts for dietary counseling would motivate food availability and intake assessment as routine. Good clinical counseling considers patients' cultural traditions and environmental sustainability as key ethical values.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(10):E994-1000. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.994.
Divya Yerramilli, MD, MBE, Alexandra Charrow, MD, MBE, and Arthur Caplan, PhD
Physicians should be aware of the powerful impact celebrities’ cancer narratives can have on patients’ experiences of their illnesses and treatment decisions. Partnering with celebrities is one strategy for delivering evidence-based health information and messaging to the public.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(11):E1075-1081. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1075.
Elizabeth Boskey, PhD, MPH, MSSW, Amir Taghinia, MD, and Oren Ganor, MD
Training should be implemented to respond to clinical staff members’ concerns about trans patients occupying sex-segregated spaces and to help mitigate anti-trans bias.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(11):E1067-1074. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1067.
A lack of consensus guidelines or a belief that current evidence does not support such guidelines might be justified if a clinician expresses a commitment to patient-centered care and shared decision making.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(11):E1007-1016. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1007.
Parents’ false beliefs can be engaged respectfully to motivate deliberations about shared values and goals, but refusal of clinically indicated treatment could warrant reporting.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(11):E1017-1024. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1017.
Vegan patients screened for vitamin and mineral deficiencies might benefit from supplements, but physicians are obliged to discuss lack of regulation in the supplement industry and possible risks.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(11):E1025-1032. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1025.
Stephanie L. Samuels, MD and Wilma C. Rossi, MD, MBE
When a parent resists a physician's recommendation for a pediatric patient, physician-parent partnering can promote the patient's best interest and help encourage lifestyle changes.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(12):E1126-1132. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1126