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Infectious diseases socially imply individual and community medical problems. Therefore, they require actions aimed at social processes that affect the well-being of the individuals without losing sight of social groups. Faced with this panorama, we ask ourselves: is there a direct relationship between ethics and infectious diseases? To elucidate an answer, let us remember the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic when guidelines based on ethical principles were issued to facilitate medical decisions on allocating scarce resources in periods of maximum demand. In those moments, since there was no inclusive component of society, the decisions made produced massive criticism. The reactions demonstrated the need to analyze in detail the criteria that had been considered correct. Consequently, we affirm that bioethical principles are transcendental in medical decisions and must be examined, not only for the individual but also with a view to public health. Moreover, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic has lived with us for decades, and it continues to show its tragic face in the form of new cases, chronic illnesses, and deaths. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS brings us closer to a complex reality where the fight against disease and global health are interrelated with other problems, such as the need to reduce inequality, for which human rights, gender equality, social protection, and the development of research projects, where the ethics committees in research in community processes are constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women are the primary caregivers of children in palliative care. Research has shown that the presence of intimate partner violence at home exacerbates the vulnerability of the caregiver. Current statistics indicate a high prevalence of violence in Mexico present in the intersectionality between intimate partner violence and the role of the primary caregiver. This study aimed to describe the frequency of intimate partner violence among primary palliative caregivers at the Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional and prospective study with convenience sampling; no sample calculation was performed. All female primary caregivers of children in the palliative care unit were invited to participate. The Scale of Violence and Index of Severity of Violence was used as the measuring instrument. Results: One hundred women participated in the study by submitting their survey in a designated mailbox. No sociodemographic data or patient diagnoses were collected. The frequency of intimate partner violence was 28%, of which 16% were considered severe cases. Women reported psychological violence (36%), sexual violence (23%), and physical violence (22%). Conclusions: Almost one-third of female primary caregivers of pediatric patients at the Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez have been victims of some form of violence by current partners. This study highlights a previously unreported problem and opens the door for studies to correlate intimate partner violence among primary caregivers and the quality of life of children in palliative care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its inception, the life course approach has been widely used in the socio-demographic research and sociological studies. The use of this perspective in health research has spread for some years, although its use in pediatrics has been limited. This work presents the main concepts of the life course approach and some methodological principles for the development of research from this perspective. In addition, a series of research projects that have used this approach as a conceptual basis in their design and implementation are included, as well as some sources of information that can be used for the development of research since this conceptualization in Mexico., (Copyright: © 2019 Permanyer.)

Background: Laws refer that minors do not have the capability to give informed consent for their own medical attention. However, there are special conditions in which they are allowed to decide about their health. The greater the judgement and experience limitations in minors, the less weight is given to the values and objectives they express. Also, the more adverse consequences might be, the higher the level of authority that is demanded to decide on behalf of the minor, thus granting the State the capability to guarantee the well-being of the minor., Case Report: 12-year-old female patient with a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, with precarious social and family background; evolution of the disease obstructed by the disregard of the treatment due to her unsanitary and extreme poverty conditions. Both of her parents died soon after the start of the treatment and she was kept under the care of her half-sister of legal age. The work and the ethical dilemma of the pediatrician and the staff of Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez are exposed within the building of support -networks with the objective of prioritizing the minor's well-being, without allowing family break-up or disintegration, thus succeeding in her recovery., Conclusions: The case was submitted to the Hospital Bioethics Committee. Inter-institutional support networks were built in order to improve dynamics of the family, thus solving the needs of the minor. Despite the misfortune of the situation, the disease was successfully overcome., (Copyright: © 2018 Permanyer.)

Medical care in pediatric patients is conditional to parental consent. Parents decide the time and type of treatment they want their children to receive when they are ill. The physician should request parental consent before carrying out the most appropriate therapy. When parents refuse the treatment offered, the physician should seek alternative therapies that may be better accepted by parents and find the most beneficial treatment for children and their families. If physicians and parents are unable to agree on the best therapeutic methods, then the physician becomes involved in an ethical conflict related to the best interests of the child and parental choices. From the above posture, the following questions arise: What should the physician do when faced with this situation? Should the physician use legal measures to force parents to accept treatment? Under what conditions is it justified to force parents and when should the decision be tolerated? What is the role of the Hospital Bioethics Committee concerning this issue? This second part focuses on proposing four practical criteria to be used by the physician and Hospital Bioethics Committee when all alternative therapies and conciliatory options have been exhausted with parents and they continue to refuse treatment. The physician then has to make a decision because the child is placed at risk of harm. This decision focuses on whether there is danger to the minor arising from the decisions of parents and if such harm is avoidable., (Copyright © 2015 Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.)

Informed consent is a right of all individuals and no one can force anyone to receive treatment against their wishes. The right to accept or refuse treatment persists in individuals who are incompetent from a legal point of view; this is exercised on their behalf by a third party. Children are considered incompetent to make medical decisions about their own health and their parents or legal guardians are empowered to make those decisions. However, parental authority is not absolute and there are situations where their decisions are not the best, sometimes leading to jeopardizing the well-being and even the lives of their children, forcing the state to intervene on behalf of the best interests of the child. This is the reason why it is necessary to ask the following questions: is it really the child's best interest that moves us to legally intervene when a parent refuses to accept the proposed medical treatment or is the damage done to make this decision? What kind of parental decisions are those that should not be tolerated? After a review of the theme, we conclude that if the decision of the parents regarding a medical decision is considered to be made with maleficence that is harmful to the child, it is justified that the State intervenes. Finally, we exposed four criteria that can be used in making decisions in complex cases where parents refuse treatment for their children., (Copyright © 2015. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A.)