FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct 4, 2006
International honor society publishes new book for pediatric caregivers to understand, negotiate with parents who refuse treatment for children
INDIANAPOLIS — As immigration rates and urban populations grow, cultural competency and sensitivity to a variety of religious and cultural traditions is essential for caregivers—especially when parents refuse care for their children based on these beliefs.
The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International has released its newest book, When Parents Say No: Religious and Cultural Influences on Pediatric Healthcare Treatment by Luanne Linnard-Palmer, EdD, RN, CPON. The book provides caregivers, social services professionals, clergy, healthcare administrators and students the historical background, legal implications and ethical issues involved when families limit or refuse traditional Western medical care based on religious or cultural convictions.
Readers of When Parents Say No learn about the cultural and religious traditions that lead to treatment refusal, how to be an advocate for children and when and how to seek legal assistance.
“Few healthcare professionals know exactly what to do when a parent refuses or limits recommended treatment,” author Linnard-Palmer says. “The well being of the child is the ultimate concern of both parents and healthcare providers—yet, who has the right to say what should and should not be done?”
In her book, Linnard-Palmer elucidates the factors and cultural taboos that influence treatment refusal by more than 30 religious doctrines. Through case examples, she offers guidelines for staff facing parental refusal of pediatric treatment and the legal arguments that can override the right of the patient or the patient's family's to refuse medical treatment.
“We have a pressing need in healthcare to acknowledge and relate to families of different cultures or religious beliefs so that we can develop the best possible care plan for children,” says Nancy Dickenson-Hazard, RN, MSN, FAAN, chief executive officer of the honor society and a pediatric nurse. “Most pediatric healthcare professionals acknowledge they are ill-equipped to negotiate with families during treatment-refusal scenarios. This thought-provoking, non-judgmental book provides members of pediatric healthcare teams with a comprehensive resource to understand and navigate the complex issue of culturally based treatment refusal.”
Linnard-Palmer began her quest to learn about religious and cultural influences in parental treatment refusal when parents of her patient, a profoundly anemic 4-year-old boy with sickle-cell anemia, refused a blood transfusion. The parents, Jehovah's Witnesses, believed their son's soul would be damned from the transfusion. In this case, the pediatrician intervened, obtained temporary guardianship, and the boy was treated successfully.
Other case scenarios in the book include a family that wanted to administer Chinese herbs and concentrated teas via their 10-year-old daughter's nasogastric tube. The girl had irreversible brain damage after a near-drowning accident. After continuing investigations and negotiations, the medical team supported the parents' desires to co-treat the child with traditional Chinese medicine. The parents then consented to further diagnostics and interventions once they felt their beliefs were heard and respected. Another scenario involved a diabetic child of Muslim parents who requested their child receive insulin only from human, rather than pork or beef, sources. When the hospital gave the child a beef-based anticoagulant, the family sought treatment elsewhere.
“The strategic knowledge readers will gain from this book is timely and current,” says Jeff Burnham, honor society editor-in-chief. “Linnard-Palmer eloquently details a variety of treatment refusal examples that have been difficult to gather and specify. Discussing parental rights and child endangerment in a balanced, scholarly manner, she provides a valuable reference for pediatric caregivers in any setting.”
To purchase When Parents Say No, please visit www.nursingknowledge.org . For media inquiries, please contact Leslie Flowers, 317.828.6925, or leslieflowers@sbcglobal.net .
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The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health of people worldwide through leadership and scholarship in practice, education and research. Founded in 1922, the Honor Society of Nursing has inducted more than 400,000 members. Members are active in 119 countries and include practicing nurses, instructors, researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs and others . The society's 446 chapters are located at 535 institutions of higher education throughout the United States, as well as Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Ghana, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, South Korea, Swaziland, Sweden, Taiwan and Tanzania. More information about the society can be found online at www.nursingsociety.org