Does the mother have a right to privacy regarding her own diagnosis, which could be threatened if her daughter learns of her own status?

Does the mother have a right to privacy regarding her own diagnosis, which could be threatened if her daughter learns of her own status?

Your Topic: PSY699 Week 4 Discussion – Respond to peer 1

Assignment Details: This case is about a 36year old young mother (Tina) who contracted HIV from her partner. She got pregnant and had a baby girl by the name of Victoria. Victoria was born with HIV, but she has no idea about her diagnosis. Victoria, who is now 12years of age, has been taking medication for HIV but was told by her mother that she takes the medication because she as something in her blood.

Does the daughter have a right to know her diagnosis?

Even though talking about HIV is a grave topic to discuss between a mother and her daughter, I do think that Victoria has the right to be informed of her diagnosis. It was noted in the United Kingdom that children with HIV were told their diagnosis between the ages of 6 and 9 years because they are at an age where they grasp things better. According to the American Psychology Association, all children have the right to know about their diagnosis, and it is up to the mother to know when the right time is to tell her daughter. When the children are told about such an issue later in life, they are frequently enraged that such crucial knowledge was withheld. Victoria is at an age (12 years) where she can take and maintain her medication. However, if Tina (the mother) had told Victoria of her diagnosis, she would not have said that she does not like to take the medication because she would know the importance.

Does the mother have a right to not disclose the diagnosis to her daughter?

The mother (Tina) has the right not to disclose the diagnosis to her daughter for several reasons: Firstly, the mother is thinking that telling Victoria of her diagnosis can be very destructive to her well-being. Tinas does not want to put her daughter under pressure of keeping the family secret and stressing out herself. (Nam et al,2009).  The America Medical Association (AMA) Journal of ethics states that a child not being aware of their diagnosis do not experience any less distress and anxiety than a child who is told about their life-threatening illness, and in some cases may experience more openness, by contrast, appears to contribute to good long-term adjustment. On the other hand, not understanding a diagnosis may also avoid submission with treatment recommendations, particularly in older children as with Victoria not wanting to take the medication anymore. According to Heeren (2011), Tina might think that if she tells her daughter of her diagnosis that the daughter might talk to others, which might lead to gossip. Another reason is fear of blame, or stigma and isolation. Tina wants Victoria to be that child who is carefree without anything to worry about. The American Medical Association (AMA) stated that not disclosing a diagnosis, though, is fraught with its own obstacles and harms.

Does the mother have a right to privacy regarding her own diagnosis, which could be threatened if her daughter learns of her own status?

Patients have rights to privacy and not to disclose their own diagnosis. Since the mother does not want to disclose her diagnosis, this right should be respected. She may not want to disclose her diagnosis because she does not want Victoria to be stressed to keep the family secret. (Nam et al,2009). They might be afraid that the Victoria is going to blame her or be disgrace and isolate herself from the world. The health professional must respect the parents’ wish not to inform the child.

Should the staff tell the daughter if the mother does not want her to know?

The staff should respect the mothers right not to disclose her diagnosis unless the mother gave them consent to do so. According to American Psychology Association section 4.05 Psychologists may disclose confidential information with the appropriate consent of the patient, the individual client, or another legally authorized person on behalf of the client/patient unless prohibited by law.

If the daughter wants to know more about her condition, what should the staff say?

The staff should mention to the daughter that until the mother give them the right or consent to them telling her (the daughter) about the issue at hand then they are unable to give information to her. According to Wariri et al,2020 states the “when HIV status is disclosed it is difficult to understand the why and the how behind the evidence in terms of why disclosure is done or not done, and the disclosure is conceptualized by caregivers and their child living with HIV.

Are there other approaches the staff can take? If so, what are they?

Based on the seriousness of the issue at hand, the doctor can ask the court to mandate Tina to let her daughter know about the matter. Accord to the HIV criminal law 2020 states a person who is aware of having HIV is to disclose the status that could be expose to another person with HIV.

Is further information required for you to create an ethically sound suggested course of action?

Based on the various studies that have been done on HIV cases one must wonder if telling Victoria of her HIV status would cause a problem at such tender age. According to Heeren (2011) studies have shown that telling a child of their HIV status can pos some psychological and even behavioral problems. Tina assumes that by not telling Victoria of her diagnosis she is protecting her, but little did she know that she is just coving up the whole incident of how they both got the sickness. Heeren (2011), further stated that individuals are to be thought the skills and knowledge of how to effectively disclose sensitive information like having HIV to a child. Also, there ought to be some development of programs and guideline for which the different individual follow when they are about to talk to a child.

References:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct: Including 2010 amendments (Links to an external site.) http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx (Links to an external site.).

Nam, S. L., Fielding, K., Avalos, A., Gaolathe, T., Dickinson, D., & Geissler, P. W. (2009). Discussing matters of sexual health with children: What issues relating to disclosure of parental HIV status reveal (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.). AIDS Care, 21(3), 389-395. doi: 10.1080/09540120802270276

HIV specific criminal laws/policy and law/HIV/AIDS/CDC (2020). Center for Disease and Prevention

Heeren, G. A. (2011). Changing methods of disclosure: Literature review of disclosure to children with terminal illnesses, including HIV (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.). Innovation – The European Journal of Social Science Research, 24(1-2), 199-208. doi: 10.1080/13511610.2011.553506

Wariri, O., Ajani, A., Raymond, P, M., Iliya, A., Lukman, O., Okpo, E., Issac, E. (2020). What will my child think of me if he hears I gave him HIV?’ A sequential, explanatory, mixed methods approach on the predictors and experience of caregiver on disclosure of HIV status to infected children in Gombe, Northeast Nigeria. BMC Public Health,20(1),1-13

Deadline: 10/01/2022 11:59

Preferred Format: APA

Number of Sources: 1

Number of Pages: 1

PowerPoint slides:

Preferred Spacing: Double spaced

Answer preview for the “Does the mother have a right to privacy regarding her own diagnosis, which could be threatened if her daughter learns of her own status?” essay……………………………

Does the mother have a right to privacy regarding her own diagnosisapa 380 words

Click the Purchase button now to download full answer for the “Does the mother have a right to privacy regarding her own diagnosis, which could be threatened if her daughter learns of her own status?” Page

Share this paper
Open Whatsapp chat
1
Hello;
Can we help you?