Question

Joan a pediatric therapist, is asked to make a home visit to a Vietnamese child who was recently referred to OT for developmental issues . On examination of the child , she notes red, round, coin sized masks over the child's back. She never asks the mother about the marks. After leaving the home joan wonders if the mother is using a traditional heating treatment. She asks herself, "How can I give this child ethical and quality care while allowing the mother to continue with this harmful practice ? What should i do? Report the situation or no? Any opinion that might change your intial impression?

Answer 1

In my opinion, Joan should ask the mother about the marks. She should immediately confirm whether the marks over the child's back are due to traditional heating treatment or not. It would be not possible for her to provide the ethical and quality care to child without confirming the cause of marks. She should not allow the mother to continue with harmful traditional heating practice. She should immediately warn the mother about the risks associated with the traditional harmful practice.

It would be morally not correct to hide this information because by doing so she would cause harm to the child and risk the child's health. She should immediately report the situation to her senior colleagues and higher officials for the better treatment and quality care of the child.