Psychiatric nursing care in Brazil: legal and ethical aspects

Human rights, considered as rights inherent to all human beings, must be respected unconditionally, especially during health care delivery. These rights became actually protected by International Law when the UN was created in 1945 and, later, when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was issued in 1948, giving rise to various subsequent treaties. Based on the historical evolution of Human Rights in the international sphere, associated with the principles of constitutional, penal and civil law and psychiatric patient rights in Brazil, we aim to understand some dilemmas of psychiatric nursing care: individuals' rights as psychiatric patients, hospitalization and nursing professionals' practice. In their practice, nurses attempt to conciliate patients' rights with their legal role and concerns with high-quality psychiatric care. In coping with these dilemmas, these professionals are active in three spheres: as health care providers, as employees of a health organization and as citizens.