Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

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In this paper, different definitions of moral conflict and moral dilemma at two levels of recognition and observing moral duties are taken into consideration and some instances of usage of conflict in physiology (conflict of stimulant and goals) and sociology(conflict of roles and norms)are mentioned. Also concepts and constraints used in the moral dilemma, especially the concept of "ought to" and the concept of "Inescapable of wrongdoing" are surveyed in a logical analysis. If in definition of moral dilemma, the concept of “ought to” and “duties” being transformable to “commensurable reasons” and their justificatory values, many of apparent moral dilemmas will be solvable and only if the values contained in the duties, being incommensurable and non-infringement, moral wrongdoing will be inevitable. In this research, it will become clear that why and how proponents of the possibility of moral dilemmas under pressure of logical argument against the possibility of moral dilemmas and criticisms of opponents, in order to provide the necessary features for a genuine dilemma have suggested variety and supplementary definitions of moral dilemmas such as: natural, disjunctive, two shape and prohibition definitions. Natural definition of moral dilemma represents a situation in which the agent sees himself as both a moral duty, while he can't do it well. In disjunctive definition agent is required to perform either task. In two shape definition (consisting of the "ought to" and "ought not to"), on the one hand the agent ought to do and on the other hand ought not to do the same. In prohibition definition, the agent should not perform any of the two while he has no choice but to do one.

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Moral intelligence is the capacity of understanding right from wrong, choosing what's right and then behaving morally. This research was aimed to determine the moral intelligence status of the faculty and staff of the Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences.This descriptive/analytical research was done through cross-sectional method in 2011. Research population was comprised of the faculty and staff of public health and paramedical schools of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Sample size was 100 people who were obtained by using stratified-random sampling method. Required data was gathered by a Lennick and Kiel valid questionnaire. Data analysis was done through the SPSS16 software.Research findings indicated that both faculty and staff have "very good" status in integrity, forgiveness and responsibility. Also, faculty members and staff have "very good" and "good" status in compassion respectively. The status of moral intelligence in faculty members and staff is "very good". There is a statistical meaningful relationship between age and moral intelligence status (P=0.04) but there is no relationship between other demographic variables and emotional intelligence.Moral intelligence status of faculty and staff can help the university to conduct its role in moral development of students effectively.

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Traditional and complementary medicine centers, as providers of health services, have a special responsibility towards patients and clients. With increase in the number of these centers, the role of traditional and complementary medicine has become more important in the analysis, diagnosis, and treatment of illnesses. The accurate and fast performance of medical approaches using evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, with consideration of the rights, integrity, and dignity of clients are among the priorities and necessities that can have a significant impact on the satisfaction and acceptance of the scientific and legal institutions, parallel to the deployment of new services provision systems. Lack of sufficient scientific evidence of efficiency and effectiveness, lack of definition and determination of authorities to handle complaints, the legal process of ethical and legal aspects of medical errors has caused challenges for the field of complementary and alternative medicine. Thus, this legal void must be filled through formulation and revision of laws and regulations, defining of the practical and acceptable set of scientific resources, and determination of authorized service centers to resolve complaints and to punish. It is hoped that the results of this review study increase the information of the professionals in this field and attract the attention of authorities of medical ethics to this field.

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Protecting patient’s secrets and private information such as disease name and diagnosis can play an important role in establishing trust in the treatment team. The present study aimed to investigate the issues surrounding the confidentiality of patients’ disease names and diagnoses in hospitals affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 216 patients in internal, surgical and women’s wards who had been hospitalized for at least 24 hours. Research tool was a questionnaire consisting of two parts: demographic data, and questions on the disclosure or confidentiality of information such as disease names. Patients' views were investigated through simple sampling method, and data were analyzed using SPSS software and chi-square test. Of the 216 patients entered in the study, 122 (56.5%) were male and 94 (43.5 %) were female. Participants were aged between 16 and 80, and their mean age was 47 ± 18.6 years.

The results showed that 49 (22.7 %) of the patients did not approve of an open display of their disease names and diagnoses above their beds, while a difference was observed between male and female patients in this regard (P < 0.50).  Moreover, there was no relationship between patients’ educational levels and their perspective on other patients’ caregivers finding out about their disease names or diagnoses (P < 0.578).

In this study, a significant percentage of patients were found to be opposed to the disclosure of their diagnoses and disease names. Considering that this phenomenon may prevail among special disease or emergency room patients, it is recommended that authorities take measures against disclosure of patients’ disease names and diagnoses.

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