Title
Food refusal in prisoners: a
communication or a method of self-killing? The role of the psychiatrist and resulting
ethical challenges.
Author
Brockman B
Address
St James' Hospital, Portsmouth, Hampshire. Source J Med Ethics, 1999 Dec, 25:6, 451-6
Abstract
Food refusal occurs for a variety of reasons. It may be used as a political tool, as a
method of exercising control over others, at either the individual, family or societal
level, or as a method of self-harm, and occasionally it indicates possible mental illness.
This article examines the motivation behind hunger strikes in prisoners. It describes the
psychiatrist's role in assessment and management of prisoners by referring to case
examples. The paper discusses the assessment of an individual's competence to commit
suicide by starvation, legal restraints to intervention, practical difficulties and
associated ethical dilemmas. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most prisoners who refuse
food are motivated by the desire to achieve an end rather than killing themselves, and
that hunger-strike secondary to mental illness is uncommon. Although rarely required, the
psychiatrist may have an important contribution to make in the management of practical and
ethical difficulties. Language of Publication
English
Unique Identifier
20101414 Order full text for this
document
MeSH Heading (Major)
Communication|*; Ethics, Medical|*; Fasting|*PX;
Forensic Psychiatry|LJ/*MT; Patient Advocacy|*;
Physician's Role|*; Prisoners|*PX; Suicide|*PX
MeSH Heading
Countertransference (Psychology); Great Britain;
Human; Mental Competency; Mental Disorders|DI;
Motivation; Physician-Patient Relations; Politics
Publication Type
JOURNAL ARTICLE; REVIEW; REVIEW, TUTORIAL
ISSN 0306-6800
Country of Publication
ENGLAND |