Conflicts and Ethical Dilemmas in Times of the Covid 19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: Throughout the Pandemic caused by COVID-19, health professionals have faced the fight against this disease in the front line, even without effective treatment, this uncertainty led to the presentation of various ethical crises in health services to be analyzed. Methods: An exploratory, cross-sectional investigation was developed, for which a self-application instrument was designed, in the online interview modality, aimed at doctors and university professors involved with bioethics with the purpose of analyzing ethical aspects in care of COVID-19 patients.Results: 100 interviews were collected for the convenience of their work location, 67% worked in hospitals, 11% in clinics, and 22% in universities teaching the bioethics course. Problematic situations related to high exposure to risks of health professionals, infrastructure gap, ICU beds, and hospital beds were identified as problematic situations. The main conflicts and ethical dilemmas were related to decision-making for the allocation of resources, lack of culture of self-care for the health of the population, the risk of contagion from the doctor, therapies not supported by clinical trials, and patient-physician prioritization. Conclusions: It was evidenced that university doctors and teachers identified various problematic situations, conflicts and ethical dilemmas in the care of COVID-19 patients, which compromise ethical values of maximization of benefits, equity, in addition to ethical principles such as beneficence, justice, reciprocity, solidarity, integrity, respect, vulnerability, dignity, damaging their human and legal rights.