Key Terms
Authors
John Rovers, PharmD, MIPH and Erin Ulrich, PhD
Short-term
Pain, excessive bleeding, fever, infection. Long-term: dyspareunia (painful intercourse), difficult childbirth, psycholo
Autonomy
The patient's right to make decisions about their own body and care. Beneficence: Acting in the patient's best interest.
Source
Purtilo R. Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions.
Philadelphia
Saunders; 1999.
Goal
Move from what you should do to what you can do.
Best practice in global health
Understanding the community comes before proposing solutions. Proposing solutions before understanding the community is
Evidence-based principle
Just as clinical recommendations must be evidence-based, cultural recommendations must also be evidence-based. Recommend
Most effective intervention identified in the case
Tostan, a non- governmental organization working in West Africa on community-based change.
Key insight from this step
When the standard tools are insufficient, recognize that limitation and proceed with full awareness of it rather than fo
CRITICAL RULE
Non-action is a valid decision. Doing nothing must be actively considered as an alternative, not just treated as a defau
KEY ETHICAL PROBLEM TYPE IN THIS CASE
Locus of authority. The community holds the authority to make and act on this decision.
WHO FGC definition and risks
World Health Organization, 2018. WHO classification as human rights violation: WHO 61st World Health Assembly, 2008.
Sexual experience of women with FGC
Gruenbaum, The Female Circumcision Controversy, Penn Press, 2001; Ahmadu in Transcultural Bodies, Rutgers, 2007.
Six-step ethical decision-making process
Purtilo R. Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions.