As a public health information professional, I definitely can’t disclose my friend’s husband HIV status to my friend without his consent. The husband has the right to maintain confidentiality of his health status. On my friend side, whether she should know her husband HIV status depends on moral and legal obligations. As her husband legal sexual partner, her husband is morally obligated to let his spouse know of his status as it can not only affect her health but also their future family planning. The husband’s doctor or the medical center where he did HIV testing or getting treatment should also be responsible to give him counseling about HIV and getting his sexual partners tested for HIV too. However , final decision to let his wife and partners know of his HIV status still lies in the husband’s hand. We medical professionals and public health professionals cannot disclose the information without his consent. If there is any legal obligation to disclose status to spouses and I am certain that my friend did not know of her husband HIV status, I should contact medical center or doctor responsible for the husband’s HIV testing and treatment to inform my concern regarding my friend health and that she is in blind about her husband HIV status. It should be their responsibility to let her know. And I shouldn’t be telling my friend directly as a public health professional who is neither involved in treatment and care of the husband and my friend, since it will be breaching confidentiality and privacy of the patient.
Reply To: Topic 3 Ethics-1
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