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Ethical issues in community mental health: cases and conflicts
1University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville 32610, USA.
Community Mental Health Journal
|February 1, 1997
Summary
Ethical issues are common in community mental health but overlooked by medical ethics. Pragmatic, daily ethical tensions in community psychiatry warrant more academic attention for better patient care.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Community Psychiatry
Background:
- Ethical issues are prevalent in community mental health settings.
- Academic attention in medical ethics has largely ignored community psychiatry.
Observation:
- Most ethical scrutiny in psychiatry focuses on dramatic issues like sexual relationships, involuntary commitment, and duty to warn.
- Pervasive, pragmatic ethical tensions in daily community psychiatric practice receive minimal attention.
Findings:
- Ethical reasoning is integral to community mental health decision-making.
- Clinical decisions involve moral, social, and legal judgments, not just psychiatric ones.
Implications:
- Both medical ethics and community psychiatry are hindered by this oversight.
- Increased focus on pragmatic ethical issues can improve community mental health practice and patient outcomes.