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The disposal of the aborted fetus--new guidelines: ethical considerations in the debate in Sweden.

During the 70s and 80s ethical debate concerning the fetus became intensive. The great advances made in medical technology and research and improvements in prenatal diagnosis as well as in embryological research have led us to believe that the fetus is an individual with recognised claims to protection. In Sweden the aborted fetus has previously been considered merely as a risk-disposal problem, equivalent to dangerous and infected material and there have been no specific guidelines for the treatment of the fetus after abortion. In July 1990 treatment of aborted fetuses was changed with the general guidelines from the National Board of Health and Welfare. The present paper sets out the main contents of the guidelines and discusses the gradually changing views concerning the status of the human fetus in Sweden, as well as the public debate which has been a contributing factor to these changes.

Aborted Fetus↗

Support for ethical dilemmas in individual cases: experiences from the Neu-Mariahilf Hospital in Göettingen.

Prompted by a recommendation of the two Christian hospital associations in Germany, the Neu-Mariahilf Hospital in Göttingen set up a health ethics committee in autumn 1998. It is the committee's task to give support to staff members, patients and their relatives in individual cases where ethical dilemmas arise. The following article describes the committee's work by means of three cases.

Christianity↗

A migrating pacemaker.

A deceased 79 year old man with a permanent cardiac pacemaker was due to be cremated, but the pacemaker generator was not detectable by palpation. A hand held metal detector to locate the device so that it could be extracted before cremation.

Aged↗

Review of epidemiological studies on the occupational risk of tuberculosis in low-incidence areas.

This review summarizes the epidemiological evidence for occupationally acquired tuberculosis and considers the implications for the prevention of tuberculosis. The relevant epidemiological studies were identified on the basis of the Medline data bank, starting with the year 1966. The evaluation of occupational groups with an elevated tuberculosis risk is exclusively based on epidemiologic studies of good or acceptable quality, applying clearly defined criteria of methodological quality. In summary, the available epidemiological evidence suggests that the risk of tuberculosis is elevated in the following occupational groups: hospital employees in wards with tuberculosis patients; nurses in hospitals; nurses attending HIV-positive or drug-addicted patients; pathology and laboratory workers; respiratory therapists and physiotherapists; physicians in internal medicine, anaesthesia, surgery and psychiatry; non-medical hospital personnel in housekeeping and transport work; funeral home employees, and prison employees. However, the epidemiological evidence is limited for all these occupations, with the exception of the nurses, because of the lack of methodologically adequate studies that have got the statistical power to differentiate between specific work tasks. There is a need for large population-based studies with precise definition of exposure, which should include molecular epidemiologic methods in the investigation of occupational risk factors of tuberculosis.

Allied Health Occupations↗

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder following recovery of war dead.

Persons who handled human remains in Operation Desert Storm (N = 116) were compared with those who did not handle remains (N = 118) on symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Subjects who handled remains reported more intrusive and avoidant symptoms than other subjects. Subjects who were inexperienced at handling remains had more symptoms than those who were experienced. Within the experienced group, there was a significant correlation between the number of remains handled and level of symptoms reported.

Adolescent↗

Symptoms of PTSD following recovery of war dead: 13-15-month follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: The authors explored whether individuals who participated in the recovery of war dead were more likely to experience later symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than were individuals who were not involved in the recovery of war dead. METHOD: PTSD symptoms were assessed by questionnaire in men and women who had or had not handled human remains during the Persian Gulf War: 116 men and women who had and 118 who had not handled human remains participated in the study 3-5 months after returning from the war; 55 of the subjects who had and 56 of those who had not handled human remains participated in a follow-up assessment 13-15 months after their return. RESULTS: Subjects who had been involved in the recovery of war dead had significantly higher symptom levels than comparison subjects at both time points. CONCLUSIONS: After more than 1 year, individuals who had handled human remains during wartime were at higher risk for PTSD symptoms than those who had not.

Adult↗

Posttraumatic stress disorder and identification in disaster workers.

OBJECTIVE: Disaster workers who work with deceased victims are at increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Identification with the deceased has been proposed as one of the mechanisms in this stress-illness relationship. To examine this hypothesis, this study investigated three types of identification with the dead in a group of disaster workers: identification with the deceased as oneself, identification with the deceased as a friend, and identification with the deceased as a family member. METHOD: Fifty-four volunteer disaster workers who worked with the dead following an explosion on the USS Iowa naval ship were assessed 1, 4, and 13 months after the disaster. PTSD symptoms (measured with the DSMPTSD-IV scale), intrusive and avoidant disaster-related symptoms (measured with the Impact of Event Scale), somatization and general distress (measured with the SCL-90-R), and health care utilization were assessed. RESULTS: Disaster workers who reported identification with the deceased as a friend were more likely than those who did not to have PTSD, more intrusive and avoidant symptoms, and greater levels of other posttraumatic symptoms including somatization. Disaster workers who reported identification with the deceased as a family member had greater intrusive symptoms 1 month after the disaster than those who did not. There were no differences between those who did and did not identify with the deceased as self. Health care utilization was not associated with identification. CONCLUSIONS: Identification with the deceased is a risk factor for PTSD and posttraumatic symptoms in disaster workers exposed to the dead. Identification with the dead as a friend is specifically associated with higher risk for these workers.

Adult↗

Mu-Ghayeb: a culture-specific response to bereavement in Oman.

Studies with normal subjects and patients suggest that in grieving the dead, the bereaved has to go through a progressive course of psychological and social reorganization. The Mu Ghayeb belief in Omani society involves a complete denial of the loss for a relatively long period with the expectation of the return of the dead. This belief persists even after an elaborate ritual of burial and a prescribed period of mourning. The deceased are expected to leave the grave after burial and join their families when the spell placed on them by a sorcerer is broken or counteracted. Although the Mu Ghayeb belief is inconsistent with Muslim religion, it may be explained in terms of sudden and untimely death which used to be rife in the seafaring Omani society.

Attitude to Death↗

An end to D-I-Y cremation?

This article examines whether to be lawful a cremation must be carried out in accordance with the Cremation Acts. It argues that it need not be but points out that any lacuna in the Acts will be plugged if and when the new consolidated Cremation Regulations are passed. It then considers the implication of this reform for the disposal of babies born dead before the legal age of viability.

History, 19th Century↗