rss
J Med Ethics 2006;32:329-334 doi:10.1136/jme.2005.011932
  • Law, ethics and medicine

Primary care confidentiality for Spanish adolescents: fact or fiction?

  1. M D Pérez-Cárceles1,
  2. J E Pereñiguez2,
  3. E Osuna1,
  4. D Pérez-Flores3,
  5. A Luna1
  1. 1Department of Legal and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
  2. 2Health Center in Espinardo, Murcia
  3. 3Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of Murcia, Murcia
  1. Correspondence to:
 Assistant Professor M D Pérez-Cárceles
 Department of Legal and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Murcia, E-30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain; mdperez{at}um.es
  • Received 14 February 2005
  • Accepted 3 August 2005
  • Revised 25 July 2005

Abstract

Background: By providing healthcare to adolescents, a major opportunity is created to help them cope with the challenges in their lives, develop healthy behaviour and become responsible healthcare consumers. Confidentiality is a major issue in adolescent healthcare, and its perceived absence may be the main barrier to an adolescent seeking medical care. Little is known, however, about confidentiality for adolescents in primary care practices in Spain.

Objective: To ascertain the attitudes of Spanish family doctors towards the right of adolescents to confidentiality in different healthcare situations and in the prescription of treatment.

Method: A descriptive postal questionnaire was self-administered by family doctors.

Results: Parents of patients under 18 years are always informed by 18.5% of family doctors, whereas parents of those under 16 years are informed by 38.8% of doctors. The patients are warned of this likelihood by 79.3% of doctors. The proportion of doctors supporting confidentiality for adolescents increases with the age and maturity of the patients, whereas workload and previous training has a negative effect.

Conclusions: Spanish laws on adolescent healthcare are not reflected by the paternalistic attitude that Spanish primary care doctors have towards their adolescent patients. Doctors need to be provided with up-to-date and clinically relevant explanations on contemporary legal positions. In primary care, more attention should be paid to adolescents’ rights to information, privacy and confidentiality. Doctors should be more aware of the need to encourage communication between teenagers and their parents, while also safeguarding their patients’ rights to confidential care.

Footnotes

    This Article

    1. Abstract
    2. Full text
    3. PDF

    Responses

    1. Submit a response
    2. No responses published

    Register for free content

    The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

    Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.