Dr Liam G. McCoy joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Drs Zainab Doleeb, Jazleen Dada, and Catherine Allaire: “Underrecognition of Dysmenorrhea Is an Iatrogenic Harm.”
Vaccination rates among adolescents and young adults, for whom the risk of infection is greatest, remain lower than was true for other vaccines in their first years. And vaccination rates among males is extremely low.
AMA J Ethics. 2015; 17(9):854-857. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.9.msoc1-1509.
When the patient delivers a low-birth-weight infant that requires extensive time in the neonatal intensive, should she be held responsible? Where do we draw the line? More importantly, on what basis do we draw the line?
Introduction of an intervention that reduces the perceived risk of a given behavior may cause a person to increase risky behavior—this is called “risk compensation.”
Industrialized nations could benefit from strategies emerging in developing nations such as respectful collaboration between traditional out-of-hospital birthing practices and maternity units in partnering hospitals.
Forced sterilization of HIV-positive women, which is widespread in South Africa, Namibia, and Chile, violates women’s human right to autonomy and the principle of informed consent and is medically unnecessary.
AMA J Ethics. 2015; 17(10):952-957. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.10.pfor2-1510.
Diethylstilbestrol (DES) was widely used in the 1940s to 1960s to prevent pregnancy loss but was later found to be associated with adverse health effects in exposed offspring, underscoring the need for careful evaluation of new therapies.
AMA J Ethics. 2015; 17(9):865-870. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.9.mhst1-1509.
Despite the natural desire in obstetrics for a happy outcome, sometimes the common aggressive interventions will not help maintain a pregnancy until viability.