Health Ethics Project

CMET/AIIMS was involved in a WHO-SEARO Multi-centric research project entitled “Teaching and Application of Health Ethics in South East Asia (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka). The objective of this study was to identify the ethical dilemma faced by the clinicians and to examine the ethical issues involved in patient - doctor relationship and allocation of resources. This study involved qualitative design, viz., in-depth interview of a cross section of faculty members from various clinical specialties and a questionnaire survey using simulated case scenario. The study revealed a wide variation in the perception of doctors regarding kind of ethical dilemma they faced and the manner in which they attempted to resolve the same. A variation in the pattern is also noticed across different countries depending upon their socio-cultural ethos. The study brought out the need for developing training modules for the teachers to effectively deal with ethical problems.