[Ethical dilemma for nurses who manage marital violence in clinical setting]

Marital violence or intimate partner violence is a serious and recurring public health issue. In the clinical setting, battered women often seek medical advice, because of the health problems that result from marital violence. Thus, nursing staff are the first persons to come into contact with the battered women. Can nurses execute their notify responsibility to prevent continued injury before obtained the woman's agreement? Will this action violate the principle of autonomy or not? Nurses would face an ethical dilemma when they care for battered women. The purpose of this article is to use Aroskar's ethical decision making model to analyze and clarify the ethical dilemmas involved in managing marital violence, including: under the value systems of the person, the profession, and time to illustrate the basic information, decision theory dimensions, and ethical theories or positions. It is hoped that this article provides an ethical decision making model for the ethical dilemmas facing nurses who manage marital violence in the clinical setting.