Open AccessBe Honest: Individuals’ Moral Responsibility within the COVID-19 Context
Author(s) -
Yusrita Zolkefli
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the malaysian journal of medical sciences/the malaysian journal of medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2180-4303
pISSN - 1394-195X
DOI - 10.21315/mjms2020.27.6.13
Subject(s) - dishonesty , duty , obligation , solidarity , moral responsibility , moral obligation , public relations , context (archaeology) , pandemic , health professionals , comprehension , social responsibility , covid-19 , political science , psychology , social psychology , law , medicine , health care , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , disease , pathology , politics , infectious disease (medical specialty) , biology
We recognise that people lie to health professionals for several reasons. However, these incidents endanger the well-being of the professionals and bring us to the question of whether people have an exclusive moral duty to always profess the truth about their health and other facts, particularly in a pandemic crisis. This review argues that an honest patient is a key to undertaking their roles as health professionals and delivering the best services possible to meet the needs of the patient. Greater awareness and comprehension of the potential ramifications of dishonesty, not only helps establish the moral obligation, to tell the truth, particularly in a pandemic situation, but also translates into a better relationship with health professionals. It also enforces an ethical solidarity on every single of us to show tangible moral response to ensure that those most vulnerable to risks from the pandemic illness such as health professionals are protected as far as possible.