ETHICAL PRATICE

PRIYADHARSHINI S
MOT 1ST YEAR
GUIDED BY: Ms. Shubangi (Assistant professor)
 ETHICS
• What are ethics?
o The term ethics stems from the Greek word ethos, meaning “character”.
o The branch of philosophy called ethics, also referred to as moral
philosophy, that involves systemic study and reflection providing
language, methods, and guidelines to study
o For our purposes we can say that ethics are groupings of rules which act
as reference points for guiding our behaviour.
o Ethics provide basic principles which individuals within a group can use
to determine an appropriate action or response to situations with which
they come into contact.
 MORALITY
The term morality refers to social conventions about right and wrong
human conduct and sets the stage for ethical behavior.
Values, duty, and moral character guide reasoning and inform ethical
decisions.
Values are the beliefs or objects a person holds dear (e.g., life).
Duties describe an action that is required (e.g., provide food and shelter
to care for one’s family).
Moral character describes traits or dispositions that facilitate trust and
human flourishing (e.g., compassion, honesty
 MORAL REASONING
Moral reasoning is a term used to describe the process of reflecting on
ethical issues.
Moral reasoning is about norms and values, ideas of right and wrong,
and how practitioners make decisions in professional work.
Moral reasoning is a reflective process that leads to ethically supported
actions. It is a manifestation of moral character and mindful reflection
 HEALTH CARE IMPLICATIONS
Moral distress is an ethical problem that occurs when practitioners know
the right thing to do but cannot achieve it because of external barriers or
uncertainty about the outcome.
Common ethical concerns that OT practitioners,
• Pressures surrounding billing and productivity
• Issues related to client decision-making capacity and safety
• Difficult client behaviours
• Balancing benefits and burdens in care
• Cultural, religious, and family considerations
• Upholding professional standards and values
• Confidentiality and disclosure.
 PROFESSIONAL VITRUES

Health professionals hold a unique societal role because the public expects
them to uphold particular virtues.
These include the virtues of integrity, benevolence, competence, kindness,
trustworthiness, fairness, conscientiousness, caring and compassion.
1. OT practitioners must be benevolent and focus on what is best
for the client.
2. The practitioner must be competent. All practitioners are responsible
for achieving and maintaining competence in their area of OT practice.
3. practitioners must be caring. Care enhances comfort and recovery and
is an essential feature of professional practice.
4. Finally, practitioners must be compassionate. Compassion serves as a
foundation for collaborative, client- and family-centered care. It
informs shared decision making and contributes to positive outcomes
for clients, practitioners, and organizations.
 MORAL THEORIES
Moral theories and ethical principles provide a language for diagnosing,
communicating, analyzing, and reflecting on ethical questions.
Moral theories are well-developed, systematic frameworks of rules and
principles. They provide reasons and ideals for ethical standards.
The most commonly used ethical approaches in health care are,
1. Principle-based approaches,
2. virtue- and character-based ethics,
3. utilitarianism,
4. deontology.
Cntd.,
• A principle-based approach to ethics relies on ordinary shared moral
beliefs as theoretical content. Principles are duties, rights, or other
moral guidelines that provide a logical approach to analyzing ethical
issues for a given situation.
• A virtue and character- based ethics, Virtues are dispositions of
character and conduct that motivate and enable practitioners to provide
good care. Using this approach, moral goodness is achieved when
behaviors are chosen for the sake of virtue (caring and kindness) rather
than obligation.
Cntd.,
• A Utilitarianism, is concerned with actions that maximize good
consequences and minimize bad consequences. From this perspective,
morally right acts produce the best overall results; that is, the ends
justify the means. The ethical action is one whose outcome brings
about the most good or the least harm overall. Utilitarianism is often
used in public policy development.
• A Deontology is a duty-based moral theory. In this theory, moral rules
are universal and never to be broken; consequently, doing one’s duty is
considered primary, regardless of the consequences. A practitioner
would never keep the truth from a client even if the truth would harm
the client in some way.
 ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

• Autonomy: Autonomy is the ability to act freely and independently on

one’s own decisions. It is often called the principle of self-determination.
• Beneficence: Beneficence refers to actions done on or for the benefit of
others.
• Nonmaleficence: Nonmaleficence is the duty not to harm others.
• Fidelity: Fidelity means being faithful to one’s promises or commitments.
• Justice: Justice refers to equal treatment. It deals with the proper
distribution of benefits, burdens, and resources. Procedural justice is often
used to reflect impartial decision-making procedures. Distributive justice
refers to the equitable allocation of societal resources such as health care.
• Veracity: Veracity refers to telling the truth.
 ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING
PROCESS
• Ethical decision making is a key component of professional reasoning. The
ethical decision-making process provides a structured and systematic way for
practitioners It guides client-centered care.
1. Recognize and define the ethical question.
2. Gather the relevant data.
3. Formulate a moral diagnosis and analyze the problem using ethics
theory/principles.
4. Problem-solve practical alternatives, weight options, and decide on an action.
5. Act on a morally acceptable choice.
6. Evaluate and reflect on the process/action/results.
 RESOURCES AND JURISDICATION
Practitioners who face ethical issues must be knowledgeable about the
resources that exist to support them in this dimension of their clinical
reasoning. Resources are crucial for dealing with the uncertainties
related to ethical issues that practitioners encounter at all levels of
practice.

• Ethics Committees
• Institutional Review Boards
• Codes of Ethics
Cntd.,
ETHICS COMMITEES:
• Ethics committees support practitioners who need assistance in
reasoning about ethical dimensions of care.
• The three primary roles of ethics committees are consultation,
education, and policy review and development.
• Ethics committees provide an environment for safe and open
discussion of basic moral questions, ease the feelings of staff, provide
knowledgeable resources, and empower practitioners and families to
make morally justified decisions.
Cntd.,

• Effective ethics committees are interprofessional in makeup and have strong

institutional support. They analyze cases from many different perspectives to ensure
the best outcome for clients.
Institutional Review Boards :
• All practitioners who are involved in research activity have a moral obligation to
familiarize themselves with the rules, regulations, and ethical obligations of
conducting responsible research.
• To ensure an objective review of ethical issues related to human subject research,
any institution that receives federal funding is required to have an institutional
review board (IRB).
• An IRB is a panel of diverse individuals, including organization staff and at least
one community member, who are responsible for reviewing all research proposals
and grants to ensure that adequate protections for research participants are in place.
Cntd.,
• These protections include informed consent, research design and
methodology, recruitment, the balance of risks and benefits, and
confidentiality. The three fundamental principles that guide the ethical
conduct of research involving human participants are respect for
persons (autonomy), beneficence, and justice.
• Occupational therapy practitioners should refer to their organization’s
specific policies and regulations regarding oversight and training in
the ethical conduct of research.
Cntd.,
Code of ethics:
• Codes of ethics are written documents produced by professional
associations, organizations, or regulatory bodies that state the
commitment to a service ideal, core purpose, or standard of conduct.
• This document serves as resource to all OT practitioners, educators,
students, and researchers encouraging them to attain the highest level
of professional behavior.
Cntd.,
The primary purpose of the “Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics”
(AOTA, 2015a) is to
1. Provide aspirational Core Values that guide members toward ethical
courses of action in professional and volunteer roles and
2. Delineate enforceable Principles and Standards of Conduct that apply
to AOTA members.
Cntd.,
The profession is grounded in seven long-standing “Core Values.” These
values are
1. Altruism
2. Equality
3. Freedom
4. Justice
5. Dignity,
6. Truth
7. Prudence
 CONCLUSION
• Ethical issues are ever present in professional practice and will
continue to challenge OT practitioners as the fields of medicine,
technology, and health care delivery evolve.
• Occupational therapy practitioners must recognize, critically reason,
act, and reflect on ethical issues that arise in their professional roles.
• Occupational therapy practitioners who are reflective and
knowledgeable in ethical decision-making processes are best prepared
to successfully address ethical aspects of practice.
• Ethical behavior is the responsibility of all OT professionals.
REFERENCE
Willard and Spackman 13th edition