HLT 520 Week 8 Anencephaly Discussions Paper

HLT 520 Week 8 Anencephaly Discussions Paper

 

HLT 520 Week 8 Discussion 1 Latest-GCU

A baby is born with anencephaly, or absence of the entire brain above the brainstem. The brainstem is intact, which means that the baby can breathe and have a heart beat and blood pressure, but there is no chance for any human brain function or cognition, due to this birth defect. The health care team begins to educate the mother, since children with this deficit generally die shortly after birth. However, the mother is devoutly religious, and her minister has told her that if she prays hard enough to God, that God will work a miracle and her baby’s brain will heal itself. She is insistent that all possible care be given to her baby, including a months-long stay in the ICU, constant care by a caregiver, regular brain scans, and other expensive modalities. The hospital, finding her adamant, asks the court for guardianship of the baby, with the medical plan to provide only maintenance care with no life-prolonging techniques until the baby dies. What are the ethical issues at play here? How do the principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmalfeasance, and justice manifest themselves? If you were called as an ethical consultant, what would you do/recommend?

HLT 520 Week 8 Discussion 2 Latest-GCU

A 94-year-old woman is admitted to your hospital with dehydration, trouble breathing, and possible kidney failure. She is clearly in advanced Alzheimer’s, weighs about 95 pounds, and shows multiple bruises on her body. She cannot talk. Her caregiver attributes the bruises to a blood disorder that reduces clotting. What are your thoughts about this situation? What kind of investigation would you conduct? What actions would you take to be in compliance with ethical principles

 

GCU HLT 520 Bioethics Interview Assignment

Details:

1) Contact the chair of a local hospital’s bioethics committee and interview him/her regarding the use of the committee at that facility, how the committee functions, how it makes decisions and recommendations, and the chair’s views on the impact the committee has had on the facility. If possible, attend one of the committee’s meetings.

2) Write a paper (1,250-1,500 words) that describes your findings and observations. Include additional resources that support, reinforce, or even challenge your findings and observations.

3) Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

4) This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.

 

ADDITIONAL INFO 

Anencephaly Disorder

Introduction

Anencephaly is a genetic disorder that affects the development of your baby’s skull, brain and skull bones. In most cases, anencephaly is fatal before birth. But in some cases, it can be life-threatening during pregnancy or labor.

What is Anencephaly?

Anencephaly is a birth defect of the brain, skull and scalp. It’s a type of neural tube defect that affects how your baby develops during pregnancy.

The developing brain and nervous system begin as an embryonic disc shaped structure called a neural tube. This region becomes more complex as it matures into your child’s head and face (the face) before becoming divided into two parts: an upper part that includes your eyes; and lower part where you will grow arms and legs later on in life!

Anencephaly is always fatal.

Anencephaly is always fatal. There are no treatments or cures for anencephaly, and it is a prenatal diagnosis. The condition occurs when the brain or skull fails to develop properly during pregnancy. This can be detected before birth by ultrasound examination of your baby’s head and then confirmed with further testing after birth.

Diagnosis of Anencephaly

• Diagnosis is usually made by ultrasound.

• A fetal MRI can be used if the diagnosis is not clear.

• Amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling (CVS), and other blood tests may be used to confirm the diagnosis of anencephaly.

Treatment for Anencephaly

The baby will never be able to walk, talk or see. It’s a tragic condition that has no cure. In order to give the parents time with their child, doctors may recommend that they hold the body of their child in their arms for as long as possible following birth. This can help them cope with the loss and allow them to bond with their baby even though they cannot see or touch him/her at this point in time.

If your child was born without significant brain function (anencephaly), don’t worry—you’re not alone! Many families struggle with grief after losing a baby who didn’t make it past 20 weeks gestation; however, there are resources available through organizations such as [The Center for Genetics and Society](https://www.geneticsandsociety.org/) that provide support groups for new parents who have lost children due  to genetic disorders such as anencephaly

Anencephaly is more common among Hispanic women.

Anencephaly is more common among Hispanic women than other ethnic groups.

It’s also more likely to occur in births to Hispanic mothers, but it can occur at any stage of pregnancy (although it’s rare for anencephaly to occur after 20 weeks).

Anencephaly occurs in about 1 out of 1000 pregnancies in the US and Europe, but there are no racial differences in its incidence rate.

Prognosis for Anencephaly

Anencephaly is always fatal. It’s more common among Hispanic women and their babies are at a higher risk of death from complications like respiratory distress syndrome or other causes.

Conclusion

Anencephaly is a serious condition that can be fatal. The most common cause of anencephaly is a chromosomal abnormality, which means the fetus has an extra or missing chromosome. This disturbance in cell division leads to the death of part or all of the fetus’s brain, skull and scalp. A second cause is excessive amniotic fluid in pregnant women who have other health problems such as diabetes mellitus or high blood pressure.