Fielden J
Department of Surgery, Wellington School of Medicine.
Nurs Prax N Z. 2000 Nov;16(3):26-37.
The primary purpose of child abuse policy is to guide the action of health care providers and so ensure that the fundamental rights of those the policy intended to protect are not compromised. This discussion paper explores the ethical considerations underlying child abuse policy from bioethical and from caring ethical perspectives, both of which are outlined briefly. A process that could be used to create or analyse existing child abuse policy, in relation to underlying ethical considerations, definitions of child abuse, level of health care, resourcing needs and relationship to employment policy is outlined. A hypothetical example of such a policy is used to illustrate elements of this process. Assuming that policy is designed to direct action, it is argued that if child abuse policies were rewritten to reflect an ethic of care the quality and scope of health care provided to children and their families would improve. Consequently, stated government objectives of improving child health services, as well as primary health care aims of achieving equitable, accessible and affordable health care for children in New Zealand would be better facilitated.
虐待儿童政策的主要目的是指导医疗保健提供者的行动，从而确保该政策旨在保护的人群的基本权利不受损害。本讨论文件从生物伦理和关怀伦理的角度探讨了虐待儿童政策背后的伦理考量，这两种伦理都将简要概述。文中概述了一个可用于制定或分析现有虐待儿童政策的过程，该过程涉及潜在的伦理考量、虐待儿童的定义、医疗保健水平、资源需求以及与就业政策的关系。文中用这样一项政策的假设示例来说明这一过程的要素。假设政策旨在指导行动，有人认为，如果重写虐待儿童政策以反映关怀伦理，那么为儿童及其家庭提供的医疗保健的质量和范围将会提高。因此，新西兰政府改善儿童健康服务的既定目标以及为儿童提供公平、可及和负担得起的医疗保健的初级卫生保健目标将得到更好的促进。
