Ethics in Child Health: Responding to requests for novel/unproven alternative and complementary treatments

With the advent of two modern developments – the democratization of knowledge through the availability of the Internet, and the expectation of patient engagement in the management of their own conditions – there appears to be an acceleration of requests from consumers for service providers to know about, and perhaps to endorse and support, the use of ‘complementary and alternative’ therapies.

In their desire to do the best for their children, parents are often susceptible to the lure of interventions that promise more than they can provide. The authors Hurvitz and Noritz explore these issues thoughtfully and sensitively. They offer sensible and useful ways for service providers to consider the challenges of working openly and honestly with families. To illustrate their approach consideration is given to the challenges associated with a specific contemporary ‘alternative’ therapy that is growing in popularity and complexity.

01 Themes for discussion (video)
02 Introduction
03 Clinical scenario 1
04 Clinical scenario 2
05 Clinical scenario 3
06 Evaluation framework (video)
07 Doing what is right for the child
08 Patient/family autonomy versus societal responsibility (video)
09 Clinician responsibilities to the family that uses CAM (video)
10 Be open-minded
11 Be non-judgmental
12 Set priorities
13 Clinician responsibilites (video)
14 Understand the unspoken agenda: what is behind the request for CAM? (video)
15 Epilogue (videos)
16 Themes for discussion

References
User Guide
Learning Account

Edward A. Hurvitz, Professor and Chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, USA

Garey Noritz, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University, USA

• We offer clinicians and other professionals a set of guiding principles that overlap with and complement principles of ‘best practice’ and practical clinical wisdom. The authors are distinguished experts drawn from all over Europe and North America. The emphasis throughout is on clinical methods, the use of appropriate investigations and treatments, and the avoidance of unnecessary or potentially harmful interventions:

  • Complements your clinical training to improve knowledge and clinical practice in an important but often neglected area of practice;
  • Newly-recorded original video content for an immersive and personal learning experience;
  • Interact with the material by answering reflective activities to immerse yourself in a personal response to ethical issues;
  • Read further with references and supplementary materials;
  • Receive a PDF certificate on completion, and  documents of your submitted responses and personal notes.

This online resource is designed to help clinicians, therapists, nurses, as well as parents and families, to place practical ethical thinking at the heart of care. It will be very useful for doctors and professionals in training or already involved in child healthcare, including paediatric neurologists and paediatricians in senior positions, child psychiatrists in training, developmental specialists, rehabilitation specialists and policymakers.