Review article
BIOETHICAL ASPECTS IN COMMUNICATION WITH DEAF WOMEN AT CHILDBIRTH
Aleksandra Frković
Abstract
A lot of problems which have to be dealt with while providing health care for deaf persons require not only a good knowledge of professional and ethical codex but also excellent ethical thinking, personal skills and competences. Successful communication is essential in order to assure safe and efficient medical care to the patient, who is in the centre of attention. Bioethical problems which appear while treating deaf patients are often very complex and involve issues that are not completely elaborated in the codes of medical ethics. The need for clear communication, together with a positive attitude towards deaf patients becomes prominent in perinatal health care and especially at delivery. While supervising parturition it is necessary for the physician to establish good communication with the parturient woman by continuously providing information. The role of the midwife, who is attending and supervising the delivery is especially important. In our research 29,41% of the deaf patients thought that communication with the physician at childbirth was good, 25,52% of the women tought it was only partly good while 47,05% of them thought it was bad. The majority of the examinees agreed that a translator (a woman, if possible) should be present during perinatal care and preparations for delivery, whereas, at chilbirth, the translator should also be a medical worker.
Keywords
bioethics; communication; deaf parturient woman
Hrčak ID:
23972
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2006.
Visits: 2.349 *