Gerald M. Oppenheimer, PhD, MPH and Ronald Bayer, PhD
The alarm generated by the AIDS epidemic left civil liberties proponents fearful that traditional public health responses might be imposed on newly susceptible or infected populations.
With heterosexual transmission the chief cause of global HIV spread, those without the power to select sexual partners, choose the timing of sexual encounters, or insist on safer sex practices are unable to protect themselves from infection.
Katherine Gentry, MD, MA and Aaron Wightman, MD, MA
A patient’s refusal of tracheostomy during an anticipated difficult intubation prompts critical questions about how to best express respect for a pediatric patient’s autonomy and whether and when deviation from standard of care is clinically and ethically appropriate.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(8):E683-689. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.683.
Alexander Craig, MPhil and Elizabeth Dzeng, MD, PhD, MPH
Eliciting the patient’s motives and goals and helping the patient and her loved ones explore alternatives are essential to maintaining trusting relationships and open communication.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(8):E690-698. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.690.
Sabhyta Sabharwal, MPH, Jason W. Mitchell, PhD, MPH, and Victoria Y. Fan, ScD, SM
The World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics recommend disclosing serostatus to sexually active adolescents. What else can be done to improve clinical outcomes and promote public health?
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(8):E743-749. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.743.
Peter T. Hetzler III and Lydia S. Dugdale, MD, MAR
Countering overmedicalization of death requires acknowledging that dying patients are living patients. It also requires persistent focus on health and wholeness, especially at the end of life, and a solid interdisciplinary approach to supporting dying patients.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(8):E766-773. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.766.
After years of funding disease-specific treatment, donation trends have shifted to support broader health systems infrastructure development. A remaining challenge is how to sustain antiretroviral therapy (ART) for patients in resource-poor regions.
AMA J Ethics. 2016; 18(7):681-690. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.7.ecas3-1607.
An emerging medical ethics issue is whether to delay posting pathology reports to electronic health records (EHR) to allow clinicians time to follow up.
AMA J Ethics. 2016; 18(8):826-832. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.8.pfor1-1608.
Clinicians must avoid violating professional ethical principles and patients’ legal rights and they may not ever discriminate. So, what does that mean in practice?
AMA J Ethics. 2016; 18(3):229-236. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.3.ecas4-1603.