title: Was the tragedy of Tovia Laufau caused by an absence of trust?
abstract: The case of Tovia Laufau concerned a Samoan boy who died of osteosarcoma of the leg. He was diagnosed after a delay and eventually died after his parents did not present him for the treatment recommended for his condition. His parents were given a suspended sentence under s 152 of the New Zealand Crimes Act for failing to provide a child with necessary medical treatment. The case is analysed in terms of the need to enter into a conversation in which trust is the underpinning of a constructive discussion of the possibilities of treatment and the formulation of mutually acceptable regimens of care for difficult and uncertain treatments. This need is heightened when there are cultural barriers to be overcome and a significant divergence in understandings of an illness and value commitments between parents, or patients, and their caregivers.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Grant
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gillett
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D001859:Bone Neoplasms; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D057210:Delayed Diagnosis; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand; D012516:Osteosarcoma; D010287:Parent-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology; D010290:Parents; D018947:Samoa / Q000208:ethnology; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D035502:Trust