Journal article
Circumcision and informed consent: Is more information always better?
Medical care, Vol.25(9), pp.856-867
09/1987
DOI: 10.1097/00005650-198709000-00004
PMID: 3695678
Abstract
This study observes that physicians routinely inform parents about a small minority of the medical complications and risks associated with elective circumcisions. When selecting which medical complications to mention to parents, physicians appeared to use a policy based on their subjective assessment of the frequency and seriousness of the complications' occurrence. Subsequent analyses revealed that the physicians' probability estimates were biased and their seriousness assessments were consistently less than those expressed by mothers of newborn sons. Replacing the physicians' policy of partial disclosure with a comprehensive disclosure of “unbiased” information of possible risks and complications had no effect on the mothers' decisions to have their sons circumcised but did generate numerous influences on the mothers' attitudes. Among the effects observed in mothers were a reduction in their confidence in the appropriateness of their decision and a dissatisfaction with their physician's behavior. The implications of these findings to informed consent are discussed, and a greater flexibility in providing informed consent is advocated.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Circumcision and informed consent: Is more information always better?
- Creators
- Jay J.J. Christensen-Szalanski - Department of Management Sciences, University of Iowa, United StatesW. Thomas Boyce - Child Study Unit, University of California, United StatesHarriet Harrell - University of ArizonaMary M. Gardner - University of Arizona
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Medical care, Vol.25(9), pp.856-867
- DOI
- 10.1097/00005650-198709000-00004
- PMID
- 3695678
- NLM abbreviation
- Med Care
- ISSN
- 0025-7079
- eISSN
- 1537-1948
- Number of pages
- 12
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/1987
- Academic Unit
- Management and Entrepreneurship
- Record Identifier
- 9984962895202771
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