Reply to Brenda Walden Week 4 Discussion Ethical, Social, and Legal Implications of Disclosure
Major: Psychology
Resources: 1
Guided Response: You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful interactive discourse in this discussion.
Was the suggested course of action presented ethically sound based on the APA Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct? If so, how? If not, why not? Did your colleague consider the legal ramifications of the course of action he or she suggested? Were the arguments for the suggested course of action supported by appropriate evidence-based psychological concepts and theories? What other resources might you suggest to your colleague that would inform the response to this case? Was the recommendation made culturally sensitive? What developmental issues did your colleague consider? What other issues might you suggest for further review in this case?
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Brenda Walden Post Week 4 Discussion
The mother should tell her daughter about her diagnosis. I would recommend to the mother that I understand her wanting to protect her daughter, however, she could potentially be putting her daughter at more risk. The daughter has already disclosed that there are times when she does not tale her medication. If she continues to not take it she is going to be at risk of developing full-blown Aids and a very high risk of developing a secondary infection. If the daughter discontinued her meds and develops pneumonia that could be the beginning of a downward spiral for her that she may never recover from.
The mother is confident that her daughter will not be in a hurry to have a sexual relationship, however, studies have shown that children who have HIV-positive mothers tend to have intercourse at an earlier age (Edwards et al., 2013). The age of the daughter is a justified concern about her lack of knowledge of her disease, even though she does not know her mother shares the same disease. The mother’s behaviors are most likely the same as other mothers who are HIV positive.
Not only does this put her daughter’s health at risk it can put others at risk. If she goes to a friend’s hours and gets cut or gets cut at school and others come in contact with her blood, she could spread the virus (Aultman & Borges, 2011).
Research has shown that not disclosing critical information to family members, especially children can have a significant impact on their emotional and psychological being as well as a negative impact on the family dynamics (Nam et al., 2009)
The daughter does have the right to know her diagnosis. She needs to know soon, as she will need to be educated about her disease, she will need to know how to properly dispose of sanitary supplies, how to handle nicks and cuts so not to put others at risk. She also needs to know how to take care of her own health to prevent secondary infections.
The more education she has about her disease the better choices she can make when it comes time to developing and entering relationships and have access to support groups with others her own age that also have HIV.
The mother does have the right to not tell her daughter, however the mother needs to be aware of the higher risks she is exposing her daughter and other to by not telling her.
The mother does have the right to her own privacy, however she has to give consideration to what is best for her daughters physical and psychological health.
Ethically the staff cannot tell the daughter about her diagnosis. She is a minor and her mother still has to give consent for the information to be released. If the psychologist can justify protecting the daughter and others from harm and that disclosure of this information will protect others, they could cross the fine line that the daughter is not always compliant with her medications which puts her and others at a higher risk 3.04a (APA, 2010).
If the daughter asks for more information about her condition the staff cannot provide her with any information. They can refer her to her mother for the information. They can provide the mother with the benefits of telling her daughter about her condition and they can offer her support in doing so or they can try to get mom to sign a release allowing them to tell her.
The mother not telling her daughter about her illness violate her human rights. The daughter has a right to know about her disease. This can place ethical concerns on ethics code 1.02. The psychologist is in the dilemma of law and ethics. The psychologist in this case can inform the mother of conflict, tell her they are ethically committed to tell the daughter of her disease and they can not justify the mother violating the daughter’s right to know. (APA, 2010).
Ethics code 3.10(b): the psychologist must consider what is in the best interest of the client. In this case the daughter. It is important for her to know, especially if she is not 100% compliant with taking her medications. If the mother is not willing to give consent or to inform her daughter of her condition, the psychologist can take the steps necessary to protect the welfare of the daughter.
REFERENCES
APA. (2010). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index (Links to an external site.)
Aultman, J., Borges, N. (2011). The Ethics of HIV Testing and Disclosure for Healthcare Professionals: What Do Our Future Doctors Think? Medical Teacher. 33 (1).
https://web-a-ebscohost-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=09dd08c6-fbd9-45a2-ba02-31994d12ca2b%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGNwaWQmY3VzdGlkPXM4ODU2ODk3JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=56594298&db=a9h (Links to an external site.)
Edwards, L., Reis, J., Weber, K. (2013). Facilitators and Barriers to Discussing HIV Prevention with Adolescents: Perspectives of HIV-Infected Parents. American Journal of Public Health. 103 (8). https://web-a-ebscohost-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=eb3d628c-9c96-4ab8-a25c-6e0f99aae786%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGNwaWQmY3VzdGlkPXM4ODU2ODk3JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=88958522&db=a9h (Links to an external site.)
Nam, S., Fielding, K., Avalos, A., Gaolathe, T., Dickinson, D., Geissler, P. (2009). Discussing Matters of Sexual Health with Children: What Issues Relating to Disclosure of Parental HIV Status Reveal. AIDS Care. 21 (3).
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