Dignity as a Central Issue in Treating Patients with Dementia Associated with COVID-19 Infection
COVID-19 was initially considered a primary respiratory disorder associated with various short- and long-term complications, affecting many patients and imposing a significant burden. Patients who have dementia are especially vulnerable to the SARS-CoV2 infection, which is associated with an increas...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Medicina |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/9/1588 |
| _version_ | 1797578970242220032 |
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| author | Sorin Hostiuc Eduard Drima |
| author_facet | Sorin Hostiuc Eduard Drima |
| author_sort | Sorin Hostiuc |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | COVID-19 was initially considered a primary respiratory disorder associated with various short- and long-term complications, affecting many patients and imposing a significant burden. Patients who have dementia are especially vulnerable to the SARS-CoV2 infection, which is associated with an increased risk for neuropsychiatric complications. These patients need a unique approach to managing ethical issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including autonomy, veracity, non-maleficence, justice, compassion, and dignity. The latter is one of the most elusive and misunderstood concepts in medical ethics and is extremely important in debates surrounding the proper management of patients with dementia. However, it is often left out of ethical analysis, as most clinicians, when debating issues associated with clinical practice, often evaluate only the “classical” principles of biomedical ethics. In this article, we aim to assess the unique features of dignity in treating this group of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will briefly analyze dignity as a bioethical concept. We will further explore its principal axes, namely compassion, creating a humane and purposeful environment, employing persuasion to meet the person’s essential needs, exerting a certain degree of mild restraint to meet the person’s critical needs, minimizing harm in terminal care, and justice, through the lens of people who had dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applying this principle in clinical practice requires significant commitment from all healthcare workers. New approaches to the analysis of dignity, such as through the Ring Theory of Personhood, may facilitate its understanding by practitioners and aid its implementation in populations with multiple vulnerabilities, such as dementia patients, during an infectious outbreak that generates significant social and medical changes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:29:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9a82604e75ff4f07aa3bfc1599f2d80c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1010-660X 1648-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:29:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicina |
| spelling | doaj.art-9a82604e75ff4f07aa3bfc1599f2d80c2023-11-19T11:52:04ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442023-09-01599158810.3390/medicina59091588Dignity as a Central Issue in Treating Patients with Dementia Associated with COVID-19 InfectionSorin Hostiuc0Eduard Drima1Department of Legal Medicine and Bioethics, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, RomaniaMedical Clinical Department, Dunărea de Jos University, 800201 Galați, RomaniaCOVID-19 was initially considered a primary respiratory disorder associated with various short- and long-term complications, affecting many patients and imposing a significant burden. Patients who have dementia are especially vulnerable to the SARS-CoV2 infection, which is associated with an increased risk for neuropsychiatric complications. These patients need a unique approach to managing ethical issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including autonomy, veracity, non-maleficence, justice, compassion, and dignity. The latter is one of the most elusive and misunderstood concepts in medical ethics and is extremely important in debates surrounding the proper management of patients with dementia. However, it is often left out of ethical analysis, as most clinicians, when debating issues associated with clinical practice, often evaluate only the “classical” principles of biomedical ethics. In this article, we aim to assess the unique features of dignity in treating this group of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will briefly analyze dignity as a bioethical concept. We will further explore its principal axes, namely compassion, creating a humane and purposeful environment, employing persuasion to meet the person’s essential needs, exerting a certain degree of mild restraint to meet the person’s critical needs, minimizing harm in terminal care, and justice, through the lens of people who had dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applying this principle in clinical practice requires significant commitment from all healthcare workers. New approaches to the analysis of dignity, such as through the Ring Theory of Personhood, may facilitate its understanding by practitioners and aid its implementation in populations with multiple vulnerabilities, such as dementia patients, during an infectious outbreak that generates significant social and medical changes.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/9/1588COVID-19pandemicbioethicsdignitydementia |
| spellingShingle | Sorin Hostiuc Eduard Drima Dignity as a Central Issue in Treating Patients with Dementia Associated with COVID-19 Infection Medicina COVID-19 pandemic bioethics dignity dementia |
| title | Dignity as a Central Issue in Treating Patients with Dementia Associated with COVID-19 Infection |
| title_full | Dignity as a Central Issue in Treating Patients with Dementia Associated with COVID-19 Infection |
| title_fullStr | Dignity as a Central Issue in Treating Patients with Dementia Associated with COVID-19 Infection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dignity as a Central Issue in Treating Patients with Dementia Associated with COVID-19 Infection |
| title_short | Dignity as a Central Issue in Treating Patients with Dementia Associated with COVID-19 Infection |
| title_sort | dignity as a central issue in treating patients with dementia associated with covid 19 infection |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic bioethics dignity dementia |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/9/1588 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sorinhostiuc dignityasacentralissueintreatingpatientswithdementiaassociatedwithcovid19infection AT eduarddrima dignityasacentralissueintreatingpatientswithdementiaassociatedwithcovid19infection |