Paternalism In Health And Social Care

Definition
Paternalism occurs when one does not respect the patient’s right to autonomy by acting as if he or she knows what’s best for the patient, rather than the patient (Silva & Ludwick, 1999).

Paternalism can be defined as interfering with a person's freedom for his or her own good. The word calls to mind the image of a father ("pater" in Latin) who makes decisions for his children rather than letting them make their own decisions, on the grounds that "father knows best" (Andre & Velasquez, 2014).

Paternalism involves a conflict of two important values: 1) the value we place on the freedom of persons to make their own choices about how they will lead their lives, and 2) the value we place on promoting and protecting the well being of

Paternalism thereby creates the ethical problem of assuming responsibility for moral agents (Buetow, 2005).

Examples of paternalism
Healthcare facilities adopting 100% smokefree campus policies, in efforts to promote and protect health, in addition to aiding in community, employee, and patient cessation efforts. This is viewed as a form of paternalism, for those are forced to leave the hospital campus to smoke or involuntarily participate in smoking cessation.

A patient had a total knee replacement 2 days ago. Early mobilization after a total knee replacement reduces the incidence of deep vein thrombosis. As part of the nursing plan, the patient is encouraged to ambulate within the unit at least once a shift. Though the patient complains of pain upon ambulation and prefers not to, the nurse coerces the patient to ambulate.

A 15 month old is newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and is severely anemic. The oncologist explains the diagnosis, treatment plan, and the risks and benefits of treatment to the parents. They agree to starting chemo, but refuse the administration of blood due to being a Jehovah Witness. The physician then involves the Department of Children and Families, the child protection team, in order to obtain a court order to administer blood for the benefits outweigh the risks of the child not receiving

References

Andre, C., & Velasquez, M. (2014). For Your Own Good. Retrieved January 3, 2016 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v4n2/owngood.html.

Buetow, S. (2005). To Care Is to Coprovide. The Annals Of Family Medicine, 3(6), 553-555. Retrieved January 3, 2015 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1466944/#!po=37.0968.

Dworkin, G. (2002). Paternalism. Retrieved January 3, 2016 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/paternalism/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/paternalism/.

Silva, M. C., & Ludwick, R. (1999). Interstate nursing practice and regulation: Ethical issues for the 21st Century. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 4(2). Retrieved January 3, 2016 from