Ethical Decisions in Designing Patient-Centered Health Interventions

Designing patient-centered health interventions requires ethical decision-making to address various ethical concerns that may present. The ethical provision of beneficence, non-maleficence, and autonomy remains vital. Beneficence and non-maleficence require that healthcare providers, constituting interdisciplinary healthcare teams, design therapeutic approaches that promote the welfare of the patients and do no harm to them. This means that these approaches must respect their personal beliefs and meet their preferences. This may be useful when initiating therapy.

Autonomy implores caregivers to give patients greater authority over their healthcare decisions. In this regard, providers should only facilitate their patients’ decision-making process. Uncertainties may arise during clinical ethical decision-making processes. Ethical dilemmas that often accompany ethical decision-making processes may generate points of uncertainty in ethical decision-making. An example of a moral question that may arise is a patient refusing an effective therapeutic plan because it is not aligned with their beliefs or values