Applying the Four Principles: Case Study
Part 1: Chart (60 points)
Based on the “Healing and Autonomy” case study, fill out all the relevant boxes below. Provide the information by means of bullet points or a well-structured paragraph in the box. Gather as much data as possible.
| Medical Indications Beneficence and Nonmaleficence | Patient Preferences Autonomy |
| The indications of the patients are necessary for the development of the treatment plan. Beneficence, in this case, includes bringing James to a healthcare facility for treatment but prefer religious healing. They want the best of James, but their actions may cause more harm than good. | James is underage hence lacks the autonomy to decide the course of his treatment. The decision is left to the parents. In this case study, however, James should have been consulted by the parents before any major decisions are made on his behalf. |
| Quality of Life Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy | Contextual Features Justice and Fairness |
| In the case of quality of life, the health of the patient, such as James is considered before and after the treatment procedure. Dialysis was instrumental in relieving the pain of James; however, he needs a kidney transplant for his treatment to be permanent. The parents, therefore, need to consult him about getting a kidney from his brother. | This is the determinations of medical decisions as based on the family, social and legal context. Justice and fairness revolve around equality and wellbeing. Here James parents are willing to donate their kidney but are reluctant to assess the last and best options, which is James brother. |
Part 2: Evaluation
Answer each of the following questions about how the four principles and four boxes approach would be applied:
- In 200-250 words answer the following: According to the Christian worldview, how would each of the principles be specified and weighted in this case? Explain why. (45 points)
| The principle of beneficence is one of the principles applicable to the case study. The Christian world view believes in acknowledging God as a healer and the placement of faith on things people cannot control including illnesses. In this case, for instances, James parents. Believed that their son could be healed through prayer. Although the parents were wrong to deny immediate treatment for their son, James. However, there is the aspect of quality of life, where the son was in pain, yet the parents sought alternative aspects of healing rather than the required treatment plan. From a religions perspectives, healing by faith is one of the beliefs held. Hence the parents did what they thought was best for their son at the time. Preferences in this case related to the choice of the patient to either go with the Christian faith or seek scientific treatment. Christian world view also relates to the wellbeing of the patients and the use of all the resources given to man. In this case, the quality of life, even though the parents sought religions faith healing, they realized the implications of the quality of life and sought kidney transplant. The contextual features in the case study related to the fairness and justice the healthcare delivery, which is also an integral part of the world Christian view.
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- In 200-250 words answer the following: According to the Christian worldview, how might a Christian balance each of the four principles in this case? Explain why. (45 points)
| A Christian can balance all the principles mentioned in the case study ranging from beneficence and Non-maleficence justice and fairness and autonomy. In the case of James, for instances, the actions being taken need to be linked to the best needs of the patients. The prioritizations of the needs of the patients will enable the Christian to balance all the four principles. In this case, the Christian world view will be implicit in ensuring the safety of the patient before their personal views. This shows that the respect of beliefs in religions, especially Christian views, will be important in ensuring all the aspects of healthcare are followed. In this rest, the autonomy of the patients is the least in the hierarchy of the needs as, despite the need to understand what James wants or does not, the doctors are in a better position to understand what they need. Fairness and justices all apply to fairness and are integral in the care of the patients, and the Christian world believes. This has been noted in the numerous fights for justice and fairness that churches fight for. It is evident that in some cases, the beliefs held by Christians may not be in the best interest of the patients. This is related in the case study where James parents believed in the healing power of Christian faith. This led them to withhold the right to treat an aspect that was not in the best interests of the patient.
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References
Kajdocsi, L., Kovács, J., & Pozna, C. R. (2016, August). A great potential for using mesh networks in indoor navigation. In 2016 IEEE 14th International Symposium on Intelligent Systems and Informatics (SISY) (pp. 187-192). IEEE.
Schimmoeller, E. M. (2020). On Martyrdom, Suicide, and Christian Bioethics. The Linacre Quarterly, 0024363920927311.
Stoll, J., Müller, J. A., & Trachsel, M. (2020). Ethical issues in online psychotherapy: A narrative review. Frontiers in psychiatry, 10, 993.
