Ethical issues in nutrition and human immunodeficiency virus.
Ethical dilemmas often arise in the provision of healthcare. In view of the advances in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) medical management since the late 1990s, many of the challenges and ethical dilemmas encountered by healthcare professionals have changed from terminal or end-of-life issues to long-term management issues. This article presents 5 case scenarios on common ethical issues faced by those providing nutrition care to people living with HIV/AIDS and addresses key questions to ask in the ethical deliberative process. Ethical dilemmas surrounding the use of complementary and alternative medicine, providing aggressive nutrition support, dealing with third-party payers for supplement reimbursement, and managing patients with mental health disorders and substance abuse issues are discussed, with possible solutions presented from an ethics point of view.
Maillet
Julie O'Sullivan
JO
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07107, USA. maillet@umdnj.edu
Vyas
Alpa
A
Rodrigues
Jocelyn
J