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.
Sarah Reinhardt, MPH, RD and Ricardo J. Salvador, PhD, MS
Clinicians should contribute to healthful, equitable, sustainable food procurement initiatives consistent with their institutions' health-promotion missions.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(10):E974-978. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.974.
Produce prescription programs can expand patient's food choices and provide financial incentives to change consumption behaviors. If these programs are not linked to established government assistance programs, however, growers could be at risks for bearing the cost.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(10):E960-973. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.960
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.
Mark Pfeifer, MD and Barbara A. Head, PhD, CHPN, ACSW
Interdisciplinary support, securing reliable information from a patient’s health record, and taking a “who, what, when, where, and how” approach to conversation can improve care planning with dying patients and their loved ones.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(8):E724-731. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.724.
Physicians new to a case might object to an established care plan. Practice variation, clinical momentum, and how value is assigned by different parties to acute care and comfort measures can each contribute to conflict in these cases.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(8):E699-707. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.699.