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Ethical and Professional Dilemmas of Health Care Workers in COVID19 pandemic

Tanuj Sharma
Rajasthan Hospital, Jaipur

Medha Mathur
Community Medicine, Geetanjali Medical College & Hospital, Udaipur

Simran Jiwani
Department of Oncology, Geetanjali Medical College & Hospital, Udaipur

Navgeet Mathur
General Medicine, Geetanjali Medical College & Hospital, Udaipur

Pranati Vyas
Undergraduate Student, Pacific Institute of Medical Sciences, Udaipur

Anjana Verma
Community Medicine, Geetanjali Medical College & Hospital, Udaipur

Ashish Patyal
Anaesthesiology, Geetanjali Medical College & Hospital, Udaipur

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic poses numerous substantial professional and ethical challenges to healthcare professionals.

Objectives: To assess the ethical dilemmas faced by the health care workers. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted for 8 weeks of duration among the health care workers in a tertiary care hospital of southern Rajasthan after their consent.

Results: Total of 201 study subjects comprised of doctors (35.3%), nursing staff (32.8%), Postgraduate students (22.8%), interns (4.9%) and other staff (3.98%) of hospital. Dilemma faced by health care workers due to inadequacy of personal protective equipment while serving patients was 54.2%, due to COVID inappropriate behaviour of patients was 64.5%, due to human right issues was 72.1 %,due to revelation of the patients’ status was 54.7% and due to dilemma of termination of services was 52.7%.

Conclusion: This study concluded that the pandemic triggered a situation that unwinds the fact that ethical and professional dilemmas are prevalent among medical health care professionals and they are equally struggling with the issues which is in addition to the responsibility of treating and caring for patients.

Keywords: Pandemic, Professionalism, Ethics, Health care providers.

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