title: Ethical questions inherent in compliance.
abstract: Promoting patient compliance is considered to be good clinical practice. However, compliance conveys a sense of being submissive or obedient to another; therefore, promoting compliance becomes a paternalistic action. The author uses a clinical situation to demonstrate some of the ethical questions related to compliance (i.e., who decides, who knows best, and how noncompliant patients are treated) and discusses these questions using the ethical precepts of doing no harm and respecting autonomy.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Erlen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016530:Orthopedic Nursing; D026706:Paternalism; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010349:Patient Compliance; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D035502:Trust