Biomedical subjects

Fermin Roland Schramm

Publications and source records attributed to Fermin Roland Schramm.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

[Caregivers of elderly with advanced cancer: vulnerable actors].

Cancer presents high prevalence and mortality rates among elderly Brazilians, and family members provide meaningful care, especially during terminal illness. A literature review focused on the impact for families and the physical, psychological, social, and economic burden for family caregivers of seniors with advanced cancer, as well as related interventions. More studies are needed on family caregivers of elderly with advanced cancer in Brazil in order to develop programs to protect these important social actors.

Caregivers↗

PubMed2006

[Medical care, organ and tissue transplants, and targeted policies].

This article reflects on the moral legitimacy of implementing public policies for targeting advanced medical care, specifically in the case of organ and tissue transplants. The article refers to two theoretical approaches: the theory of capabilities by Nussbaum and Sen and the bioethics of protection by Schramm and Kottow, considered complementary in this context. The article begins by characterizing the issue of resource scarcity in transplantation, as well as strategies to overcome this problem. Next, the capabilities approach and bioethics of protection are briefly presented. Finally, from the perspective of the above-mentioned ethical approaches, in situations of scarce health resources such as the Brazilian case, the author contends that it would be morally justified to adopt targeted policies in advanced medical care, including organ transplantation.

Brazil↗

PubMed2005

[Ethically conflicting situations experienced by medical students].

PURPOSE: To identify ethically conflicting situations experienced by medical students of UERJ and recommend new bioethic contents to be incorporated in the curriculum. METHODS: We have carried out an observational, cross sectional study with medical students in the last two years of the course, the period when the practice probation of interns occurs. The students had to fill out a questionnaire with personal data and open questions about conflicting situations from the point of view of ethics and how these situations had been solved, In addition there was a question about ethical issues which they would like to be included in the medical curriculum. RESULTS: Nearly seventy per cent of the students (n = 128) filled out the questionnaire and reported situations and suggestions involving a wide variety of ethical issues, which, in most cases, are not a part of the school curriculum. Conflicts were identified and suggestions were separated into three broad groups: medical learning situations; situations related to medical practice with the patients and situations which involved legal and political health care matters. CONCLUSION: It is fundamental that these contents be included in the medical curriculum thereby enabling future professionals to better face new challenges arising in health care for the population.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

[Conversations on the "good death": the bioethical debate on euthanasia].

Despite extensive current debate on euthanasia, many open and apparently unsolvable issues persist, awaiting a better conceptual treatment. The area includes "prejudices and fundamentalisms" in relation to the theme, still viewed as taboo by a major share of society, specifically in the case of Brazil, while semantic imprecision in the term and argumentative tensions surround the issue, focusing on the principles of sacredness of life, quality of life, and autonomy and the so-called "slippery slope" argument. The purpose of the current essay is thus to serve as a sphere of inquiry concerning euthanasia, moving from historical antecedents towards a better solution to the problem and the demarcation of necessary future perspectives for enhanced understanding of the issue.

Attitude to Death↗

PubMed2004

[The necessary frugality of the elderly].

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the pertinence and moral legitimacy of basing the allocation of public resources for health on the age variable, considered from the perspective of the theory of "justice as equity" as formulated by John Rawls. After characterizing the problem of public resource allocation for health -- confronted with the challenge posed by population aging -- and briefly presenting the concept of equity adopted in this study, as well as discussing the approach by Norman Daniels and Daniel Callahan to resource allocation among different age groups, we conclude that basing resource allocation on the age variable may be considered ethically adequate if we conceive the individual's life as a limited cycle of existence formed by different stages (childhood, adolescence, maturity, old age, and death), during which the needs vary, such that the distribution of resources among different age groups should be based on an ethics of protection.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2004

[The bioethics of protection and the state's role: moral problems in unequal access to drinking water].

The aim of this study is to examine unequal access to drinking water as a public health problem in terms of normative and analytical tools in the bioethics of protection. Therefore, we analyze both the moral implications of unequal treatment of primary needs, such as situations of vulnerability and threat to population groups, and the public sector's responsibility in supplying safe water. In addition, solutions are proposed for the protection of public health and the promotion of legitimate personal development projects. The bioethics of protection reaffirms the state's role in maintaining the drinking water supply and recommends avoiding a policy of privatization of this public good, meanwhile justifying public policies to correct situations of social injustice.

Bioethical Issues↗

PubMed2004

[Home care for the elderly: problem or solution?].

Home care for the elderly has become an important health care tool in both developed and developing countries. However, several ethical, social, and operational concerns have received insufficient attention, and the Brazilian literature on this theme is limited. Starting with a bibliographic review on home care, this paper takes a bioethical approach to potential problems arising from this growing and important patient care modality. A broader ethical approach is needed to implement home care for the elderly, with policies to protect the patient, family, and caregiver, aimed at improving the quality of this program format.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

[Plato's philosophy and the bioethical debate on the end of life: intersections in public health].

This article discusses bioethical aspects of medical futility, focusing on some of its intersections in public health. Starting from a demarcation of finitude in the core of the philosophical and bioethical debate on the end of life, we confront the contemporary criticism regarding medical futility with the ideas of Plato (427-347 B.C.), a philosopher who proposed significant considerations on numerous features of the medicine of his time. We thus explore novel theoretic references to guide the disputes related to this essential problem, the implications of which are decisive to health and life.

Bioethical Issues↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Plato and medicine].

Medicine and philosophy are branches of knowledge that had decisive influence on each other in the time of Ancient Greece, shaping the development of both. A landmark of this interrelationship was the thought of the philosopher Plato (427-347 A. C.), considered the greatest thinker in Western tradition. The text discusses how Platonic reflection reached into the most varied aspects of medicine in the philosopher's days.

Greek World↗