Should Health Professionals Allow Reporters Inside Hospitals and Clinics at Times of Natural Disasters 英文参考文献.docVIP

Open access, freely available online Essay Should Health Professionals Allow Reporters Inside Hospitals and Clinics at Times of Natural Disasters? Health professionals must protect their patients’dignity and privacy Anant Bhan T he tsunami that marked a solemn end to 2004 left behind unprecedented devastation. The world was shocked at the increasing casualty ?gures and the real-time images of the disaster brought by the news media. These included clips and photographs of dead bodies, grieving relatives, and suffering patients admitted to makeshift emergency wards. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020177.g001 The photographs did help in During disasters, journalists and health professionals must respect patients’ privacy (Illustration: Giovanni Maki) organizing a quick response from the rest of the world, as societal pressure led governments and relief agencies to respond with comprehensive relief measures. Graphic footage and newspaper headlines continue to dwell on this human tragedy. However, both health-care workers and journalists need to carefully consider whether it is ethical to show images of patients in obvious distress and undergoing medical attention in emergency camps, or of dead bodies in hospital morgues. private grief and personal privacy, and reinforces the right of journalists to resist their compulsion to intrude [2]. The Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism, expects professional electronic journalists to treat all subjects of news coverage with respect and dignity, showing particular compassion to victims of crime and tragedy [3]. eletters/326/7393/774); one of the views expressed was the need to show the world the extent of killing and maiming in the war (http:??bmj. /cgi/eletters/326/ 7393/774#31147). Citation: Bhan A (2005) Should health professionals allow reporters inside hospitals and clinics at t