Essay Example on Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Substance Abuse Treatment: Challenges & Solutions

Ethics is an intellectual approach that is directed towards moral issues and also a theoretical framework from which individuals critically evaluates their decision towards the daily aspects of life. Typically, the healthcare workers who are involved in the substance abuse treatment area are regularly faced with ethical dilemmas in both the society and individual level. The ethical dilemmas are based on prejudices, judgments, and personal values. Because of the emotional nature of the substance abuse treatment field, the health care providers should have the equipment to explore the ethical dilemma they face while on duty.

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One of the ethical problems that face healthcare workers is HIV/AIDS. Taking the most ethical action becomes a problem, especially when it involves HIV. Since HIV can be transmitted through sexual activity with infected persons and also through the sharing of the drug tools, it evokes essential personal feelings and judgment in the communal as well as in the healthcare service providers.

The representatives for people with HIV have struggled to maintain confidentiality by avoiding routinely reporting and also make sure that the patients have been enough access to healthcare services (Gillon, 2005). Nonetheless, because of both stigmatization of people with HIV and also due to the financial difficulties, the healthcare providers are faced with the ethical problem of preventing the syringe exchange programs from meeting the growing needs of the communities.

Another ethical problem is syringe exchange programs. Ideally, the ethical issue involving the program can be termed to be both personal and societal. The syringe exchange programs are an effective constituent of a broad strategy to hinder the spread of HIV (Rachels & Rachels, 2019). Typically, there are concerns about giving out clean syringes that may motivate individuals to engage in drug use. The needle exchange programs are helping the IDUs to eliminate the health hazards interrelated with drug use. However, research has suggested that the needle exchange program has not increased the number of IDUs but has in-turn decreased the number of syringes discarded in public places. Because of limited funding and community opposition, the syringe exchange programs have been prevented from meeting the needs of the community.

To solve some of the ethical problems relating to a patient in the state of poverty and prescription of drug use, inventing of staff training programs with difficulties associated with ethics. Technically, the moral dilemma is rarely covered in the orientation sessions mainly because of the some of the issues can be personal, and there might be difficulties in attaining the right answers.

Consequently, the intense nature of these problems demands that the daily work of substance abuse treatments be met with a vast knowledge of ethical issues. To solve the syringe exchange program, the health care services must implement the program with caution so that the violations of communitarian ethical policies are reduced. Moreover, the community partners together with the shareholders can partner up to determine the main reason the drug is at variance with the community values and also to pinpoint ways in which the medication can be congruous with their values.

The syringe exchange programs use social technologies such as blogs and online encyclopedias to create awareness. The moral guidelines used in the situation include justice and fairness. Healthcare providers should be fair when allocating care among patients. Furthermore, there must be accountable for their nursing care and also for their action. Accountability means that they must accept responsibility, consequences that can happen as a result of their actions. The healthcare providers also must make sure they do not harm the patients. Healthcare providers should not withdraw any truth from their clients even though it might cause distress.

Utilitarianism is an ethical approach that advocates actions that promote overall happiness and avoiding those that cause unhappiness (Rachels & Rachels, 2019). Utilitarianism suggests that health care providers should make sure that they are committed to making the clients happy. As a result, care providers must make sure they provide quality and safer care and in a competent manner.

Additionally, utilitarianism aims to create healthcare rules and regulations to provide the best standard of health for a significant number of patients. Kantian Deontology uses healthcare policies to distinguish between right or wrong. From the theory, we can confirm that there must be justice and fairness when it comes to providing healthcare. The care must be allocated to all patients regardless of their financial situations. Kantian deontology mainly focuses on the nature of individual actions.

Conclusion

On the other hand, ethical egoism suggests that moral agents should seek to act on their self-interests. For this reason, the nurses should commit to making sure they are well paid for services rendered. Ethical egoism explains that it is right to help others since it is mostly in the nurse's self- interest that the patients recover from what was ailing them. Through ethical egoism, healthcare providers get to give quality care to the patients to maintain their own self- interest (Lindon, 2006). For instance, a nurse may feel happy when a patient recover's from the nurse's intensive care. Besides, ethical egoism compels health care providers to live in a disciplined way.

References

Gillon, R. (2005). Toleration and Healthcare Ethics. Cambridge Quarterly Of Healthcare Ethics, 14(01). https://doi.org/10.1017/s0963180105050115

Lindon, J. (2006). Making time to show you care. Practical Professional Child Care, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.12968/ppcc.2006.3.1.39028

Rachels, S., & Rachels, J. (2019). The elements of moral philosophy (9th ed.). Mcgraw-Hill Education.