title: Rural woman abuse and sexually transmitted disease: an ethical analysis of clinical dilemmas.
abstract: Women who have experienced abuse are often offered individual and group psychotherapeutic interventions to help them overcome psychological aftereffects of abuse and avoid future abusive relationships. Clinical cases that are complicated by the existence of abuse and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) often involve ethical issues concerning patient privacy and legitimate breaches of confidentiality that can potentially harm the individual. There is little known about the experiences of abused rural women with STDs, underscoring the need for modification of existing interventions for this patient population. This paper presents the application of an ethical framework to an actual case involving an abused rural woman with an STD that utilizes the concepts of casuiStry, or case-based reasoning. A methodological tool for ethical analysis of the clinical dilemmas involving evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions for abused rural women with STDs is used to apply the concepts of casuistry to the development of the taxonomy of cases for clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78284, USA. Dimmitt@Uthscsa.edu
authors.forename: Jane Dimmitt
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Champion
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Artnak
authors.forename: Rochelle N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Shain
authors.forename: Jeanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D003219:Confidentiality; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012424:Rural Population; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000451:nursing*; D013179:Spouse Abuse; D014481:United States