Riassunto analitico
The relation between multiculturalism and medical Law, nowadays, has never been more interlinked and concomitantly so delicate and complex. In fact, our world is rapidly changing and this change has brought not only a different prospective of the world, but also transformations in the cultural sensitivity of citizens that should learn how to become culturally sympathetic and internationally focused. In an attempt to define multiculturalism as an aspect of globalization, that inevitably concerns a process of interaction and integration among people and countries, as well as the circulation of cultures, ideas, styles, languages, technologies, religious beliefs, the preface of this dissertation will be firstly centered on the fundamental role played by the gradual acknowledgment of social and cultural differences in order to encourage and admit them as part of self-expression. Accepting and creating space for different values, ideas, decisions and beliefs, contribute to comprehend and respect social conflicts without rejecting or belittling divergent opinions as manifestation of a minority. The dialogue and comparison of cultural identities and the interest that circulates around the themes raised by multiculturalism indicates how this phenomenon also raises questions about certain decisive aspects of social life including health and medical Law. This thesis will be divided into three main sections that respectively analyze and focus on three different points of view that frequently collide since health care involves a multidimensional nature influenced by a range of factors, such as social, emotional, physical, environmental and so on. Health also involves fundamental rights constitutionally granted that base most of the European countries. The core of this thesis is the first section dedicated to patients – including foreigners and migrants – their autonomy and self-determination as a declination of the fundamental right to health; the examination continues with the role of ethnicity, religion and cultural background in the process of decision-making concerning health and life in general. Attention will be put on the communicative barriers between doctors and their patients especially when different essential values and principles are involved. Ineffective medical practice derived from a lack of information and reciprocal communication, consequently implies bad outcomes and serious consequences. The second section in fact, is targeted on the position and responsibility of doctors, that, despite technological and scientific progress, new means of diagnosis, innovative knowledge generated by scientific research and the opportunities offered by pharmacotherapy, are asked to make hard clinical decisions conditioned by structural and organisational context. Therefore, medicine has always been, and remains, exposed to multiple risky situations, related not only to the patient’s illness or to the combination of diseases thereof – which are further influenced by age, sex, genetic predispositions, culture, lifestyle, religion and geographic location – but also to pharmaceutical and/or surgical treatments involving adverse reactions and complications. Assuming the inextricable link between medicine and morality and the bond attaching medical Law to the process of decision-making, an assessment of the significance and utility of ethics, deontology, professional regulation and values will be made in order to try and understand the role played by medical conscience and conscientious objection in determining accountability. The last section entitled “Caring for migrants and minority patients” concludes this dissertation by explaining the European Union’s project concerning the so called “Migrant Friendly Hospitals – MFH” born into the European public health program, focusing on the contribution given by the hospitals of Bradford and Reggio Emilia.
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