Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Visitor restrictions in hospitals during infectious disease outbreaks: An ethical approach to policy development and requests for exemptions. |
| Authors: |
McDougall, Rosalind1,2 rmcdo@unimelb.edu.au, Warton, Chanelle1,3, Chew, Christopher3,4, Delany, Clare2,5, Ko, Danielle6,7, Massie, John2,8,9 |
| Source: |
Bioethics. Sep2023, Vol. 37 Issue 7, p715-724. 10p. 1 Diagram. |
| Subject Terms: |
*PREVENTION of infectious disease transmission, *VISITING the sick, *COVID-19, *ORGANIZATIONAL ethics, *HEALTH facility administration, *ETHICAL decision making, *RISK assessment, *POLICY sciences, *PERSONAL protective equipment, *COVID-19 pandemic, *BIOETHICS |
| Abstract: |
In this paper, we explore the ethics of restricting visitation to hospitals during an infectious disease outbreak. We aim to answer three questions: What are the features of an ethically justified hospital visitor restriction policy? Should policies include scope for case‐by‐case exemptions? How should decisions about exemptions be made? Based on a critical interpretive review of the existing ethical literature on visitor restrictions, we argue that an ethically justified hospital visitor restriction policy has the following features: proportionality, comprehensiveness, harm mitigation, exemptions for specific patient populations, visitation decisions made separately from a patient's treating clinicians, transparency, and consistency in application. We also argue that an ethical policy ought to include scope for case‐by‐case exemptions for individual patients. We propose a process for ethical decision‐making that provides a shared language and structure to decrease the risks and burdens of decision‐making when clinicians or managers are considering requests for exemptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|
Copyright of Bioethics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| Database: |
Academic Search Complete |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests. |
Login for full access.
|
