Ethical, Social and Legal Implications of Disclosure
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Ethical, Social and Legal Implications of Disclosure
In psychology, various activities are guided by the APA Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct especially in complex situations. The case presented is about a mother and a daughter who are bother HIV positive. The mother does not want the daughter to know that she has the condition. The daughter will be emotionally devastated when she learns that she is HIV positive. In such a situation, it is crucial that the daughter should understand her situation so that she can be able to take medication without missing any dose. Also, the daughter should know her situation so that when she becomes sexually active, she be able to control her-self so as not to infect other people.
The mother has the right not to disclose to her daughter about the diagnosing because she is her child. This factor means that the mother still has authority over the child and that she has to live by the instructions. Tina has the right to the right to privacy regarding her diagnosis because when it is known the daughter will be affected.
The staff do not have the right to tell the daughter of the diagnosis of the mother does want her to know. When the staff informs the daughter, they will have infringed the privacy of the mother which is against her wish. In the event the daughter wants to know more about her condition, the best action that the staff can take is to advise her to keep asking her mother since she understands better.
There are other approaches that the staff can take. One of these approaches is advice the mother to inform the daughter about her condition as early as possible so that she can be counseled. This approach will enable the daughter to accept herself and learn how to live with the condition. The other approach that the doctors can take is to tell the daughter to condition taking the medication for the blood problem that her mother keeps. The doctors should tell her that if she skips the dose, the condition will worsen. This approach will ensure that Victoria does not skills those medical which in reality are meant for HIV.
Further information that may be required to help in developing an ethically sound of action is whether the daughter shares certain items with other people. If the daughter is sharing items such as cutting objects either with classmates or friends, it is important that she is informed of the condition to prevent her from infecting other people unknowingly.