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Henk ten Have

Publications and source records attributed to Henk ten Have.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Ethics committees in Croatia in the healthcare institutions: the first study about their structure and functions, and some reflections on the major issues and problems.

OBJECTIVES: In Croatia, ethics committees are legally required in all healthcare institutions by the Law on the Health Protection. This paper explores for the first time the structure and function of ethics committees in the healthcare institutions in Croatia. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of the healthcare institutions (excluding pharmacies and homecare institutions) to identify all ethics committees. SETTING: Croatia six years after the implementation of the Law on the Health Protection. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Structure and function of ethic committees in the healthcare institutions. RESULTS: 46% of the healthcare institutions in Croatia (excluding pharmacies and homecare institutions) have an ethics committee; 89% of ethics committees have 5 members 3 of whom are from medical professions and 2 come from other fields; 49% of those committees stated that their main function is the analysis of research protocols. Only a small fraction of those ethics committees sent in standing orders, working guidelines or other documents that are connected with their work. CONCLUSIONS: Although there are legal provisions for ethics committees in the healthcare institutions in Croatia, there is an evidence of discrepancies between the practice and the "Law on the Health Protection," suggesting the need for revision of the law. There is a need for creating separate networks of HECs and IRBs in Croatia. In comparison with other countries, the development of ethics committees in Croatia has some similarities with other transitional societies in Europe. Additional research should be undertaken in the work of ethics committees in Croatia in order to understand committees' group dynamics, attitudes, and knowledge.

Croatia↗
PubMed2005

Pragmatic approaches to genetic screening.

Pragmatic approaches to genetic testing are discussed and appraised. Whilst there are various schools of pragmatism, the Deweyan approach seems to be the most appreciated in bioethics as it allows a historical approach indebted to Hegel. This in turn allows the pragmatist to specify and balance principles in various contexts. There are problems with where to draw a line between what is referred to here as the micro- and macro-level of doing bioethics, unless one is simply to be classified as a principlist. Whilst most discussions on genetics occur at a macro level, most specifying must be done also at a micro level - the clinical encounter. Whilst pragmatism encourages us to understand better social and scientific factors and puts into perspective statements like 'playing God', doubts are raised about the 'consensus' process and how one can put aside fundamental values such as the moral status of the embryo on which there is general disagreement. If those doing pragmatism do not endorse these values, there seems to be little ground for process and compromise with those who do. It seems therefore that pragmatism cannot ignore values, even those which are not endorsed by everyone.

Abortion, Eugenic↗
PubMed2005

The measurement of pain, 1945-2000.

Three strands of activity can be identified in the history of pain measurement. The first, psychophysics, dates back to the nineteenth century and measures the effect of analgesia by quantifying the noxious stimulation required to elicit pain, as well as the maximum stimulation tolerated. The second uses standardized questionnaires for patients, developed to categorize pain according to its emotional impact, distribution, character, and other dimensions. The third asks patients to report on pain intensity using rating scales, and is used in clinical trials where analgesics are evaluated and results can be combined to influence clinical guidelines and protocols. Although all three strands have found a place in modern clinical practice or drug development, it is the reporting of pain by patients undergoing treatment using simple scales of intensity which has emerged as the crucial method by which analgesic therapies can now be evaluated and compared.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMed2005

Decision-making in palliative care practice and the need for moral deliberation: a qualitative study.

The development of palliative care is increasing the interest in the moral problems that arise in the practice of palliative care. It is not clear how caregivers deal with these moral problems. In this article, we focus on the decision whether to continue treatment or to withhold it, and discuss the way caregivers deal with this question amongst themselves and in communication or consultation with the patient. We look at moral deliberation, the process of identifying the crucial arguments for this decision in palliative care.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Applying theological developments to bioethical issues such as genetic screening.

Catholic movements within the centre of Roman Catholic doctrine recently have discussed Trinitarian theology as applied to sciences, arts, economics, health and other social areas. We explore the possibilities Trinitarian theology offers to bioethical debate, concentrating particularly on genetic screening and testing. It is important therefore to analyse the philosophical implications of this approach onto the bioethical world, where much disagreement occurs on fundamental issues. It is Catholic basic teaching to recognize and see God's hand in plurality, not merely as a cliche and then doing what we feel is right, but to recognize how to live in a pluralistic world. We recognize, in agreement with these theologians, that in order for a Trinitarian mode of understanding to be used by those doing bioethical debate, there is a need to depart from fundamentalism.

Bioethics↗
PubMed2004

Ethical perspectives on health technology assessment.

This study analyses why ethical aspects play a minor role in health technology assessment (HTA) studies, even when comprehensive approaches of technology assessment are advocated. Technology is often regarded as a value-neutral tool. At the same time, bioethics is dominated by an engineering model. Ethical contributions to evaluation of medical technology should go beyond issues of application in clinical practice and focus also on the definition of problems, the demarcation of technical and nontechnical issues, and the morally problematic implications of technologies.

France↗
PubMed2003

From what should we protect future generations: germ-line therapy or genetic screening?

This paper discusses the issue of whether we have responsibilities to future generations with respect to genetic screening, including for purposes of selective abortion or discard. Future generations have been discussed at length among scholars. The concept of 'Guardian for Future Generations' is tackled and its main criticisms discussed. Whilst germ-line cures, it is argued, can only affect family trees, genetic screening and testing can have wider implications. If asking how this may affect future generations is a legitimate question and since we indeed make retrospective moral judgements, it would be wise to consider that future generations will make the same retrospective judgements on us. Moreover such technologies affect present embryos to which we indeed can be considered to have an obligation.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed2003

Can the four principles help in genetic screening decision-making?

Although principles, as a framework to resolving moral dilemmas are still debated and seem to be in a philosophical quagmire, there are strong arguments that by specification one can resolve case-specific dilemmas in certain areas of bioethics. When it comes to genetic screening and testing however, the problem at the base is a moral disagreement on higher-order principles--such as the status of the embryo and parental issues. No amount of specification can resolve these issues without a dose of relativism. We explore a possibility of agreement on debatable areas specifically in regard to genetics--such as conferring status to the embryo solely for purposes of preventing genetic selection; but it is difficult to see how this can be incorporated into law without extrapolation to other areas. We conclude therefore that the four-principles approach, albeit valuable for expounding opposing views and discussing issues, cannot either alone or by specification, help resolve issues of genetic screening and testing without agreeing on higher order principle. This does not seem to be a possibility in the near future.

Abortion, Therapeutic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Horror regulationum.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Biotechnology↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ethics and the European countries in transition--the past and the future.

This paper surveys the situation regarding bioethical issues in the European transitional societies. It aims at exploring past, present and future characteristics of bioethics in the European countries in transitions, analysing similarities, differences and common themes together with the historical development of bioethics. By carefully studying articles published since the early 1990s, one can perceive a number of bioethical issues, varying from specificities for certain countries to similar problems for all transitional European societies. It seems that more than 15 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Central and Eastern European societies were able to achieve significant improvements in the development of bioethics. However, looking at the bioethical issues important for European transitional societies, it seems that the invisible wall between eastern and western European societies is still there and that it will take years to remove it.

Bioethical Issues↗