Health Ethics in Pakistan: A Literature Review of its Present State

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

12-1-2001

Journal

Journal of Health Population and Nutrition

Volume

19

Issue

1

Keywords

Ethics; Healthcare; Medical; Medical research; Pakistan

Abstract

National literature on ethics provides an insight into the nature and development of a dialogue on health issues within a population. This study investigated the health ethics discourse in Pakistan. The purpose was to critically reflect on the nature and level of such discussions with the aim of stimulating an interest in the ethical implications of health and medicine in developing countries. The study evaluated the literature on biomedical and health ethics published in Pakistan during 1988-1999. Overall, there is a dearth of published discourse on healthcare ethics in Pakistan. Values that are considered to stem from religious teachings predominate in discussions relating to medical ethics. A lack of effective policy and legislation concerning the ethical practice of medicine is reported to have negative effects on the profession. Research ethics has not been captured in the published papers in Pakistan. Consideration of ethical issues in health is at an early stage in the country and may reflect the situation in a large part of the developing world.

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