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Biomedical subjects

R C Fox

Publications and source records attributed to R C Fox.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

The Daedalus effect: changes in ethical questions relating to hepatitis B virus.

The Daedalus myth is a metaphor for aspects of the scientific process. When a problem is solved it often raises others, and when these in turn are solved they generate additional questions. Although perfect solutions may not be possible, major improvements can be made in many cases. Research on the hepatitis B virus is an example. The ability to detect carriers of hepatitis B virus contributed to the control of post-transfusion hepatitis but raised social and ethical problems inherent to the identification of carriers in the community. Partial solutions to this problem resulted from the ability to distinguish infectious from noninfectious carriers by the use of the hepatitis B antigen (HBeAg) test and the development of an effective vaccine against hepatitis B virus. These solutions will undoubtedly lead to other problems and their solutions, which will in turn lead to other ethical and medical questions.

Bioethics↗
PubMed1983

Personhood, medicine, and American Society.

The problems of personhood with which this conference--and our society--grapples are significantly interwoven with modern medicine, its technology, and its science. More importantly, the conceptual language and recurrect themes of personhood questions are shaped by moral philosophers and jurists: "individualism" and "connectedness" are at the core of debates. Existing institutional arrangements have been inadequate to arrive at an effective societal consensus.

Advisory Committees↗
PubMed1982

Critical care at Tianjin's First Central Hospital and the fourth modernization.

This case study of the Critical Care Unit at Tianjin's First Central Hospital, its physician-director, and one of its patients provides a portrait of how the policy of the four modernizations is being applied to the field of medicine in the People's Republic of China. On this unit of an urban hospital the "fourth modernization," science and technology, is systematically brought to bear on the problems of critically ill patients. The Chinese dualities and dilemmas that this "scaling the heights" policy entails are continually played out on the Critical Care Unit. An intricate balancing is involved between modern Western and traditional Chinese medicine, and between rural public health programs and primary and tertiary care services, within a medical morality framework that combines present-day political ideology with age-old ethical precepts. At this juncture the overall balance seems to be moving in the direction of modern, city-based, curative medicine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

The sting of death in American society.

A collective interest in death and dying has progressively developed in American society since the 1960s. Among the factors associated with it are demographic shifts; medical, scientific, and technological advances; changes in the statuses, roles, and outlook of medical professionals, patients, and women; and the affirmation and broadening of individual rights. Life-and-death issues have moved increasingly from private to public spheres of the society and are appearing more frequently in the courts, the media, and the arts. They are also principal foci of several social movements. This pervasive preoccupation with death seems related to deep cultural changes occurring in our society and in its world view.

Attitude to Death↗
PubMed1980

The evolution of medical uncertainty.

Modern developments of scientific medicine have uncovered and created uncertainties and risks that were previously not known or experienced; the stakes have become very much higher. The rise in public expectation, however, is paralleled by a lowered tolerance of uncertainty. Metaphors of "deliverance" and "disaster" abound in discussions of scientific discovery, reflecting differing conceptions and philosophies about errors and mistakes, and the role they play in the physical universe, the biosphere, and human affairs. These concerns highlight the difficulties and dilemmas of finding scientifically adequate, culturally appropriate, and socially effective ways of appraising and controlling risk.

Adult↗