This book focuses on ethical issues faced by a variety of healthcare practitioners across the Anglophone African continent. This important resource contains in-depth discussions of the most salient current ethical issues by experts in various healthcare fields. Each profession is described from both an African and a South African perspective, and thus contributes to dialogue and critical thinking around African ethics and decision-making. In this way the book provides readers with an understanding of the ethical issues at hand in various professions, including the practical implications of the ethical issues and how to address those effectively. This is a beneficial resource for all those involved in the various healthcare professions addressed in this book, including undergraduate students, lecturers, researchers and practitioners across the continent. Simply put, with the dynamic changes and challenges in healthcare across the globe and in Africa, this is an indispensable resource for healthcare practitioners.

By analyzing the amalgam of Greek philosophy, Jewish and Christian teachings, and secular humanism that composes our dominant ethical system, the authors of this volume explore the question of whether or not Western and non-Western moral values can be commingled without bilateral loss of cultural integrity. They take as their philosophical point of departure the observation that both ethical relativism and ethical absolutism have become morally indefensible in the context of the multicultural American life, and they variously consider the need for an ethical middle ground.

Healthcare ethics cannot be limited in scope to apply only to the patient but needs to apply to the healthcare practitioner as well. The relationship between the patient and the healthcare practitioner has shifted from a power relationship to a complementary relationship. Leadership, mentorship and coaching play important roles in facilitating this shift. Several themes informed this book on healthcare ethics: Vulnerability in healthcare ethics, Decisions between right and wrong, Quality of healthcare, Life-ending decisions, Community-based research, Ethical decision-making, Spritiuality in healthcare

Mainstream medical ethicists engaged in impartial ethics traditions often overlook the gross disparities in health care that divide our society along color lines. This collection challenges that oversight by bringing ethicists face to face with the plight of a particularly underserved population--African Americans. Health care professionals document disparities in health status and access to care, focusing on issues such as AIDS, homelessness, infant mortality, and distribution of doctors. They discuss distrust and suspicion of the medical community, lack of respect for cultural differences, and self-help approaches. Each chapter is followed by a commentary by a well-known medical ethicist. This anthology enhances traditional medical ethics discourse by presenting the ethical voices and perspectives of African Americans. It is an important guide to developing a culturally aware medical ethics for all ethnic groups ill-served by the nation's health care system.

Cross- Cultural Perspectives in Medical Ethics, Second Edition, is an anthology of the latest and best readings on the medical ethics of as many of the major religious, philosophical, and medical traditions that are available today.