家庭成員共同決定——儒家家庭本位思想在臨床決定中的體現

Family Co-Determination: Confucian Familism and its Contemporary Application to Informed Consent

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

儒家家庭本位思想對於中國傳統社會有著極其深刻的影響，而這種影響直到今天仍然發揮著巨大的作用，並由此形成了中國特有的社會結構和家庭觀念。在中國家庭中，家庭成員之間的關係更加密切，遇到重大事情，往往會由家庭成員共同做出決定。由於這種特殊的文化氛圍，在臨床決定的時候，應該用家庭共同決定代替個人自主決定，這種模式既能保障個人權利，維護個人利益，同時也是尊重家庭決定，營造和諧的家庭關係。

Family involvement in medical decision making is a common practice in China due to the influence of Confucianism, which emphasizes the family as an organic unit. Instead of speaking of the individual’s right to choose and make a decision, the Confucian model for “informed consent” calls for “family co-decision making” or “co-determination.” The essay argues that China has long-standing moral traditions such as Confucianism, with its inherent ethical views toward family values that are still pertinent to a person’s daily life in general and bio-medical issues in particular.

The author points out that those who acknowledge the role of the family in medical decision making feel much more satisfied. Sometimes both medical and non-medical burdens related to family roles and relationships are taken into consideration, but a patient who has good family relationships would rather family members be actively involved in the decision making. In addition, as young people are becoming increasingly individualistic under the influence of Western culture, family medical co-decision making can promote the Confucian values of family, family responsibility, and the well-being of individuals.

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