Document Type : Letter to Editor

Authors

1 Department of Operating Room, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran

2 Department of Law, Payame Noor Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran

3 Department of Emergency and Critical care, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran

4 Candidate of Medical Education, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

5 RN, York university, Toronto, Canada

Abstract

Ethics and law studies examine several issues in the field of medicine, one of which is the legal aspects related to patients living with mental disability. In a previous article, we introduced a 24-year-old female patient living with mental disability, diagnosed with large tumor growth in her right breast. Inadequate self-care as well as lack of breast self-examination were the causes of delayed referral and late diagnosis. The patient's family stated that no periodic breast examination was performed by the family or health centers. The patient's family did not have sufficient knowledge about caring for patients with mental disabilities. The question that will then arise under such circumstances is, will the legal system protect the incapacitated individuals if they or their family cannot provide for themselves? In this article, we discuss this issue and the existing legal vacuum.

Keywords

  1. Stein A. Toward a Theory of Medical Malpractice. Iowa L Rev. 2011; 97:1201.
  2. Damm R. Incapacitated persons-participation rights and the legal concept of the capacity to consent. Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz. 2016;59(9):1075-84.
  3. Trétarre B, Bourgarel S, Stoebner‐Delbarre A, Jacot W, Bessaoud F, Satge D. Breast cancer and screening in persons with an intellectual disability living in institutions in France. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2017;61(3):266-78.
  4. Migowski A, Dias MBK, Diz MDPE, Sant’Ana DR, Nadanovsky P. Guidelines for early detection of breast cancer in Brazil. II-New national recommendations, main evidence, and controversies. Cadernos de Saude Publica. 2018;34: e00074817.
  5. Torkmandi H PA, Afshar MK, Fayazi S, Abdi M. Health policy Challenge for Breast Cancer Prevention in Mental Retardation: A Case Report. UJPH 2021;10(2):5-1.
  6. Tavajjohi A, Mohammad Kourepaz H. The Typology of Restrictions on the Right to] Access to [Counsel in Security Offenses with Emphasis on Pre-Trial Stage: Comparative Study. Journal of Criminal Law Research. 2019;7(27):75-108.
  7. Seifi Zeinab G, Shahmoradi Zavareh M. A Comparative Study of Husband's Non-Financial Rights in Iranian and French Law. Journal of Law Research. 2019;22(86):217-40.
  8. Rahbari E, Lajmorak H. A Comparative analysis on Legal Protection of Sport Publicity or Image Right. The Judiciarys Law Journal. 2019;83(108):71-93.
  9. Skalnaya MG, Skalny AV. Essential trace elements in human health: a physician’s view. Publishing House of Tomsk State University, Tomsk. 2018;224.