Human rights in patient care

Human rights in patient care

Edited by Tamar Ezer and  Judy Overall

Legal, ethical, and human rights norms are an increasingly important component of the delivery of quality medical care. For society’s most marginalized, health care settings are too often places of punishment, coercion, or violations of basic rights to consent and confidentiality, rather than places of treatment and care. At the same time, health practitioners may be unaware of how to incorporate ethical and human rights norms into their work and may suffer from a lack of independence, decent working conditions, and due process protections.

The concept of human rights in patient care brings together the rights of both patients and health care providers and refers to the application of general human rights principles to the context of patient care. It focuses on systemic issues and the role of the state.

This special article collection for Public Health Reviews explores various aspects of human rights in patient care, including balancing with public health and bioethics, state responsibility in private health facilities, and implementation at the health care facility level. There is also a particular focus on palliative care, reproductive health, access to essential medicines, and mental health and on dimensions relevant to particular populations, including migrants and refugees, Roma, and people who use drugs.

Publication charges for this collection were funded by ASPHER. Articles have undergone the journal's standard peer-review process overseen by the Guest Editors, who declare no competing interests.

1. Content Type:Review

   Human rights in patient care and public health—a common ground

   Medical law and public health law have both served extensively as instruments of health protection and promotion—yet both are limited in their effect and scope and do not sufficiently cover nor supply a remedy...

   Authors:Maya Peled-Raz

   Citation:Public Health Reviews 2017 38:29

   Published on: 20 December 2017

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2. Content Type:Review

   International financial institutions and human rights: implications for public health

   Serving as lender of last resort to countries experiencing unsustainable levels of public debt, international financial institutions have attracted intense controversy over the past decades, exemplified most r...

   Authors:Thomas Stubbs and Alexander Kentikelenis

   Citation:Public Health Reviews 2017 38:27

   Published on: 30 November 2017

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3. Content Type:Review

   Palliative care and human rights in patient care: an Armenia case study

   This paper examines palliative care within the human rights in patient care framework, which clarifies state obligations and addresses the rights of both patients and providers. In the context of palliative ca...

   Authors:Gabriela Barros de Luca, Violeta Zopunyan, Naomi Burke-Shyne, Anahit Papikyan and Davit Amiryan

   Citation:Public Health Reviews 2017 38:18

   Published on: 7 August 2017

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4. Content Type:Commentary

   The State’s obligation to regulate and monitor private health care facilities: the Alyne da Silva Pimentel and the Dzebniauri cases

   The Human Rights in Patient Care framework embraces general human rights principles applicable to both patients and health care providers in the delivery of health care. Under this framework, states have a dut...

   Authors:Ximena Andión Ibañez and Tamar Dekanosidze

   Citation:Public Health Reviews 2017 38:17

   Published on: 2 August 2017

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5. Content Type:Review

   Advancing human rights in patient care of Roma: access to health insurance in Macedonia

   Roma in Macedonia suffer from dire health consequences due to economic factors, such as high rates of unemployment and poverty, and social factors, including discrimination by medical providers. Although Maced...

   Authors:Nesime Salioska, Theodore T. Lee and Ryan Quinn

   Citation:Public Health Reviews 2017 38:16

   Published on: 27 July 2017

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6. Content Type:Review

   Forced sterilization of women as discrimination

   There has been a long history of subjecting marginalized women to forced and coerced sterilization. In recent years, the practice has been documented in countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and ...

   Authors:Priti Patel

   Citation:Public Health Reviews 2017 38:15

   Published on: 14 July 2017

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7. Content Type:Debate

   Human rights education in patient care

   This article explores how human rights education in the health professions can build knowledge, change culture, and empower advocacy. Through a study of educational initiatives in the field, the article analyz...

   Authors:Joanna N. Erdman

   Citation:Public Health Reviews 2017 38:14

   Published on: 11 July 2017

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8. Content Type:Editorial

   Human rights and the practice of medicine

   There exists a profound disconnect and misunderstanding of the utility of human rights in the practice of medicine that demands urgent attention. The United Nations Special Rapporteur, Dainius Pūras, reflects ...

   Authors:Dainius Pūras

   Citation:Public Health Reviews 2017 38:9

   Published on: 6 March 2017

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