Ethical Principles in Psychiatry: The Declarations of Hawaii and Madrid

Abstract

The profound changes of social and cultural structures of societies, due to tremendous economic, scientific and technical developments not the least those of medicine, challenge the normative context of the traditional physician-patient relationship. Society responded by a vast variety of normative regulations, from very general and basic to more or less specific ones, from laws with legally binding power over morally binding codes to guidelines and recommendations. The following chapter describes ethical standards specifically developed by and for psychiatrists in the Declarations of Hawaii and Madrid. Although health political slogans continuously state the importance of treatment and care standards based on genuine respect for the individual patient's dignity and integrity, experience demonstrates the opposite. In the time of crisis patterned not only by economic, but also of ethical confusion, it is even more important to have a clear ideal frame of reference for our clinical and public health activities. The Declarations of Hawaii and Madrid, and their continuous development should be used as such frame of reference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)