Ethical Behavior of Healthcare Providers as Experienced by Hepatitis B Virus Carriers at Diagnosis: An Examination of the Effects of Standard Precautions

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Infection Prevention and Control Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 66 - 71
• Main Authors: FUKUI, Sachiko, YANO, Hisako, YASUOKA, Saori, OHNISHI, Kayoko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control 25.01.2021
• Subjects: HBV carriers; healthcare professional's ethical behavior; questionnaire; standard precautions
• ISSN: 1882-532X; 1883-2407
• DOI: 10.4058/jsei.36.66

Disease-specific infection control measures have been in place in our country for a long time; however, at present, standard precautions, which are control measures against non-specific diseases, are the backbone of medical-related infection control. Normally, standard precautions are implemented to reduce the risk of infection among both patients and healthcare providers. Since these measures are geared toward and implemented for all patients regardless of their infectious disease status, a possible secondary effect is that patients with infectious diseases can undergo medical treatment without feeling discriminated against. The present study examined the ethical behavior of healthcare providers as experienced by hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers to investigate whether the implementation of standard precautions affected the respect for human rights of patients with infectious diseases. We have identified the year that standard precautions were spread in Japan as 2003, and the scores for 24 items related to the ethical behavior of healthcare providers (124 respondents in the pre-promotion group and 37 respondents in the post-promotion group) were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test (significance level, α=0.05). The results showed that significant differences were found in the scores of eight items related to the discriminatory procedures, explanation of the disease by the physician, and support following disclosure of the diagnosis, indicating an improvement in ethical behavior.The implementation of standard precautions was suggested to have ethical value, not only for preventing infections but also for decreasing discrimination and prejudices experienced by HBV carriers as well as for reducing fear of infecting others around them.