Stakeholder Theory

As an aspiring healthcare professional, the ethical analysis and assessment readings for this week came across as quite insightful. Of particular relevance is the case involving Multiple Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB) and how public health officials tried to apply Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) to contain the progression of the condition in kids adopted from a country with high TB prevalence. The stakeholder theory according to Bernheim et al. (2013) is vital in sustaining the trust between public health workers and people within the community who need their services. With the importance of the stakeholder theory reinforcing the ethical consideration of utility in mind, a hypothetical question that comes to mind is this: what if the medication for treating MDR TB had the potential for abuse of some sort?

In that case, if state statutes authorize public health officials to quarantine the infected children then that would not only be ethically justifiable but more than likely will be upheld in a court of competent jurisdiction. In the assessment outlined by Bernheim et al. (2013), it is clear that without concrete action the TB infection would possibly affect the other inhabitants of the community. Taking a close look at the moral arguments the adoptive parents could advance, the precedent set by Jacobson comes to mind. Much like Jacobson the adoptive parents in this case have neither the medical qualification nor reason to deny appropriate medical attention to the affected children, without which the rest of the community will bear the cost of infection.

Even though isolating the infected children will be ethically justifiable, there also needs to be some level of balance through reciprocity. In this special situation specifically, access to parents, food, clothing and shelter for the children will be essential. Reciprocity in this regard perhaps is the only way to ensure least infringement on parental rights