Informed Consent

Although adolescence and young adulthood are generally healthy times of life, several important public health and social problems either peak or start during these years (Healthy People, 2015). For this discussion, I selected the scenario involving an adolescent Hispanic/Latino boy living in a middle-class suburb. When performing the health history interview of an adolescent many factors must be considered. Practitioner must also keep an open mind and respect patient cultural beliefs and values. “Family, religious beliefs, communication, and health beliefs have been noted in the literature as important cultural influences for Hispanic patients” (Hicks, 2012). Obtaining parental consent prior to a one-on-one assessment with an adolescent

In the study “Assessing the quality of informed consent in a resource-limited setting: A cross-sectional study,” researchers investigated the process of obtaining informed consent in clinical and public health research. The method of the study utilized interviews, in which research participants were asked a series of questions after they had been through informed consent procedures. 600 participants were interviewed, and the results show that 5.9% believed that they were not given enough information before deciding to participate. Only 5.7% of the participants said that they had not signed a consent form before making the decision to participate. Interestingly, 33.7% reported that they were not aware of their power to withdraw from participation

The importance of reassuring children and young people that their information is confidential is that it makes them more likely to share their information and makes them more relaxed knowing they can trust the adults working in the school with their personal information.

I have undertaken paediatric informed consent training, which has equipped me with the skills to ensure that effective informed consent is obtained. I have also been involved in a MRHA inspection. My current role also includes working within research guidelines, including research governance, ethics, MRHA, and the human tissue act. I have a very good understanding of ethical issues, and I am both GCP and consent trained. Also within my role I liaise closely with centre nationally and

Informed consent is the process by which the treating health care provider discloses appropriate information to a competent patient so that the patient may make a voluntary choice to accept or refuse treatment. (Appelbaum, 2007)1 It originates from the legal and ethical right the patient has to direct what happens to her body and from the ethical duty of the physician to involve the patient in her health care. In order for the consent to be valid, the patient must be competent to take the particular decision; have received sufficient information to make a decision; and not be acting under stress.2,3

Faden and Beauchamp discuss two definitions of informed consent, which are labeled sense1 and sense2. First, sense1 informed consent is defined as “autonomous authorization”. (Vaughn, p. 191). The key aspect of sense1 is that the patient has the autonomy to consent, or refuse consent. Faden and Beauchamp state four defining characteristics of sense1 informed consent: complete understanding of the consent, individual desire for the consent, intent to consent, and authorizing consent. (Vaughn, p. 191).

Counselors must be aware of their ethical and legal obligations when providing counseling services, such as those related to crisis prevention and intervention. This knowledge can guide the counselor in making appropriate decisions to best assist the client. The American Counseling Association Code of Ethics (2014) provides counselors with the core principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice and fidelity to guide them in decisions making. Furthermore, the following ACA (2014) ethical codes are applicable to crisis counseling:

Informed consent is the agreement of a patient to undergo specific tests, procedures, treatments, and so forth; the disclosure of any risks and/or benefits of the treatment/procedure as well as any possible alternatives and the risks and/or benefits of such alternatives must be discussed by the healthcare professional to

Consent is patients’ rights because they have right to know what is happening to their life which is fundamental value in professional practice (Department of Health (DH), 2001). Dougherty and Lister (2015) state that consent is a patient’s rights to refuse or to accept a treatment. However, Dimond (2010) said that consent is a voluntarily decision which can be given orally, verbally, written or implied for example if you ask a patient to take their blood pressure and they offer their arm. Eyal (2012) also states that consent promote trust in medical procedures that people may seek and comply with medical advice and participate in medical research. Bok (2013) argues that there are problems with the trust-promoting as many patients give consent despite being to some extent distrustful. Healthcare professionals must work on the assumption that every patient has the capacity to make decisions about their care, and to decide whether to agree to, or refuse, an examination or treatment. However, in the case that patients are deemed to be lacking capacity the Mental Capacity Act (2005), The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act (2000) legislations must be followed (General Medical Council, 2008).

Informed consent is a common litmus test for many of the ethical issues. Participants in a study should be told the consequences.

Henrietta Lack was an African American woman born in 1920 who helped science define some of the world’s medical discoveries. Many woman were dying every year from cervical cancer. Little did she know what the future held for her and millions of other people. This situation saddens me as a medical professional because a human was treated as a specimen rather than a person. Even though this was many decades ago, I feel as though there still should have been standard practices in place that prevented this kind of behavior from those who are supposed to be trusted most, health care professionals. The article we had to read in a previous assignment is a wonderful account of Henrietta Lacks life and the impact she made on the world today. It

The Health Care Consent Act (HCCA) sets out explicit rules and specifies when consent is required and who can give the consent when the client is incapable of doing so (College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), 2009). According to the HCCA (1996), there is no minimum age for providing or refusing consent in Ontario. A person is capable if he or she understands the information given that is relevant to making a decision concerning the treatment, and can appreciate the anticipated consequences of both accepting or declining a treatment. (Keatings

With the type of service that I work for the way that consent is obtained is through communication with the individuals care manager or funder who will complete an individual assessment, gain consent to share information with our service/ staff and will then forward this on to our service. Once we have received the referral with consent we will then arrange a date for a full assessment which will either be a face to face or telephone assessment where we will then discuss with the individual about consent, why we require consent and who information will be shared with. We will also explain that there are different levels of consent such as partial consent, this will be used for information relating to emergencies or to update family members

Informed consent is an important part of patient autonomy.  Discuss how you inform your patient about implants and the potential risks / complications associated with implants.

For instance, the practitioners are obligated to constantly inform the participants about plans that pertains to interventions (Reamer, 1987). In addition, it is essential for informed consent to include the following: “What is done, the reasons for doing it, clients must be capable of providing consent, they must have the right to refuse or withdraw consent, and their decisions must be based on adequate information” (Kirk & Wakefield, 1997, p. 275). One of the most dehumanizing incidents that occur is the researchers prohibit the participants’ self-determination. For example, the men were compliant with receiving treatment and to be examined by the physicians. However, the physicians did not reveal the actual purpose of the study. Consequently, penicillin was the most effective medication, but the doctors decided to withhold treatment (Bozeman, Hirsch, & Slade ,