title: Ethical issues in nutrition and human immunodeficiency virus.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07107, USA. maillet@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Julie O'Sullivan
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Maillet
authors.forename: Alpa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vyas
authors.forename: Jocelyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodrigues