when faith and medicine collide

[Guest guest]

When faith and medicine collide

By ConlonTue Dec 26, 8:07 PM ET

Any nurse can walk into a bad situation. The one Luanne Linnard-Palmer can't

forget came as she readied a little boy for a blood transfusion only to be told

by his mother " You know you're damning his soul to hell! "

The child's mother was a Jehovah's Witness, a faith that rejects blood

transfusions. Her son had sickle cell anemia and had become extremely weak.

" It blew me away, " Linnard-Palmer recalls years later. " I worried not only

about my own reaction but what was going to happen to this child with a lifelong

disease. "

The incident planted the seeds for a newly published book by the California

nurse, " When Parents Say No: Religious and Cultural Influences on Pediatric

Healthcare Treatment, " published by Sigma Theta Tau International.

In the case that was seminal to the book, doctors went to court and got a

four-hour guardianship of the child so they could carry out the transfusion

against his mother's will.

The boy went home after the transfusion and the nurse who had been so affected

by the case has no idea what happened to him after that.

" American families move, change jobs. There are no longitudinal studies looking

at this, at what happens the next time they receive medical care, " she said in

an interview.

The challenges she recounts are both religious and cultural.

A 14-year-old Muslim girl with severe burns on her arm from a cooking oil spill

was recovering after surgery until her parents heard the surgeon talk about a

graft made with pig skin. They demanded it be removed and the girl was

ultimately left with almost no function in her lower arm.

A preteen girl with a large and rapidly growing neck tumor was recommended for

immediate chemotherapy but her family said they needed three to five days to

pray with their Christian congregation beforehand. After officials threatened to

take guardianship of the child, she was brought back for treatment after just

one day.

" But the family had been willing to risk, not maybe death, but the need for

immediate treatment in order to fulfill their duties spiritually, "

Linnard-Palmer said.

" Just recently we had an Hispanic mother who said through interpreters that in

her background men were the decision makers. Her young son is a very brittle

diabetic cared for by an uncle who loads him up with sugar after school, " she

said.

" So now he's very ill. But she said she couldn't go against the men in her

house. If they're going to give him sodas and cookies they're going to do this, "

she added.

LAYING-ON OF HANDS

Linnard-Palmer, a pediatric nurse at California Pacific Medical Center in San

Francisco and a professor of nursing at Dominican University of California in

San , believes that more time, training and money are being spent these

days on helping medical personnel deal with religious and cultural issues when

it comes to caring for children.

Large urban hospitals, which tend to have more resources, have been out in

front. Her hospital has an hour-long conference every two weeks to discuss such

problems, she said, and when an incident occurs there is intervention by

psychologists and chaplains as well as medical personnel.

While the Jehovah's Witnesses are often mentioned, Linnard-Palmer says she has

found increasing complications involving fundamental Christians.

" Over and over I see people who say they won't consent until they speak to a

minister or have a laying-on of hands, " she added, causing delays in treatment

but not necessarily refusals.

Gaining temporary guardianship through the courts is a well-established

precedent, she said, though it does not happen all that often. It can have

different results -- with some parents relieved that the matter has been taken

out of their hands despite their wishes but others who are left in rage.

The extent of the problem in the United States has not been well documented.

One often-quoted study published in the journal " Pediatrics " in 1998 found 141

deaths of children in the United States over a 20-year period who were denied

medical treatment for religious reasons but whose survival rate with treatment

would have exceeded 90 percent.

That study estimated that there were many more deaths which could not be

documented.

Rita Swan, one of the authors of that study, told Reuters she believes the

problem today is not as bad as it was in the United States 20 years ago. But she

said the problem is still very difficult to measure since some religious groups

are not forthcoming and deaths due to treatment delays are not always recorded

with that as the cause.

" While we don't hear of as many deaths in faith-healing sects as we used to,

opposition to vaccines, for example, is increasing and outbreaks of

vaccine-preventable disease are increasing, some tied to religious exemptions

and some not, " she added.

Her group -- Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty

(http://www.childrenshealthcare.org) -- tracks a wide range of cultural and

religious problems affecting children.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

When faith and medicine collide

By ConlonTue Dec 26, 8:07 PM ET

Any nurse can walk into a bad situation. The one Luanne Linnard-Palmer can't

forget came as she readied a little boy for a blood transfusion only to be told

by his mother " You know you're damning his soul to hell! "

The child's mother was a Jehovah's Witness, a faith that rejects blood

transfusions. Her son had sickle cell anemia and had become extremely weak.

" It blew me away, " Linnard-Palmer recalls years later. " I worried not only

about my own reaction but what was going to happen to this child with a lifelong

disease. "

The incident planted the seeds for a newly published book by the California

nurse, " When Parents Say No: Religious and Cultural Influences on Pediatric

Healthcare Treatment, " published by Sigma Theta Tau International.

In the case that was seminal to the book, doctors went to court and got a

four-hour guardianship of the child so they could carry out the transfusion

against his mother's will.

The boy went home after the transfusion and the nurse who had been so affected

by the case has no idea what happened to him after that.

" American families move, change jobs. There are no longitudinal studies looking

at this, at what happens the next time they receive medical care, " she said in

an interview.

The challenges she recounts are both religious and cultural.

A 14-year-old Muslim girl with severe burns on her arm from a cooking oil spill

was recovering after surgery until her parents heard the surgeon talk about a

graft made with pig skin. They demanded it be removed and the girl was

ultimately left with almost no function in her lower arm.

A preteen girl with a large and rapidly growing neck tumor was recommended for

immediate chemotherapy but her family said they needed three to five days to

pray with their Christian congregation beforehand. After officials threatened to

take guardianship of the child, she was brought back for treatment after just

one day.

" But the family had been willing to risk, not maybe death, but the need for

immediate treatment in order to fulfill their duties spiritually, "

Linnard-Palmer said.

" Just recently we had an Hispanic mother who said through interpreters that in

her background men were the decision makers. Her young son is a very brittle

diabetic cared for by an uncle who loads him up with sugar after school, " she

said.

" So now he's very ill. But she said she couldn't go against the men in her

house. If they're going to give him sodas and cookies they're going to do this, "

she added.

LAYING-ON OF HANDS

Linnard-Palmer, a pediatric nurse at California Pacific Medical Center in San

Francisco and a professor of nursing at Dominican University of California in

San , believes that more time, training and money are being spent these

days on helping medical personnel deal with religious and cultural issues when

it comes to caring for children.

Large urban hospitals, which tend to have more resources, have been out in

front. Her hospital has an hour-long conference every two weeks to discuss such

problems, she said, and when an incident occurs there is intervention by

psychologists and chaplains as well as medical personnel.

While the Jehovah's Witnesses are often mentioned, Linnard-Palmer says she has

found increasing complications involving fundamental Christians.

" Over and over I see people who say they won't consent until they speak to a

minister or have a laying-on of hands, " she added, causing delays in treatment

but not necessarily refusals.

Gaining temporary guardianship through the courts is a well-established

precedent, she said, though it does not happen all that often. It can have

different results -- with some parents relieved that the matter has been taken

out of their hands despite their wishes but others who are left in rage.

The extent of the problem in the United States has not been well documented.

One often-quoted study published in the journal " Pediatrics " in 1998 found 141

deaths of children in the United States over a 20-year period who were denied

medical treatment for religious reasons but whose survival rate with treatment

would have exceeded 90 percent.

That study estimated that there were many more deaths which could not be

documented.

Rita Swan, one of the authors of that study, told Reuters she believes the

problem today is not as bad as it was in the United States 20 years ago. But she

said the problem is still very difficult to measure since some religious groups

are not forthcoming and deaths due to treatment delays are not always recorded

with that as the cause.

" While we don't hear of as many deaths in faith-healing sects as we used to,

opposition to vaccines, for example, is increasing and outbreaks of

vaccine-preventable disease are increasing, some tied to religious exemptions

and some not, " she added.

Her group -- Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty

(http://www.childrenshealthcare.org) -- tracks a wide range of cultural and

religious problems affecting children.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

When faith and medicine collide

By ConlonTue Dec 26, 8:07 PM ET

Any nurse can walk into a bad situation. The one Luanne Linnard-Palmer can't

forget came as she readied a little boy for a blood transfusion only to be told

by his mother " You know you're damning his soul to hell! "

The child's mother was a Jehovah's Witness, a faith that rejects blood

transfusions. Her son had sickle cell anemia and had become extremely weak.

" It blew me away, " Linnard-Palmer recalls years later. " I worried not only

about my own reaction but what was going to happen to this child with a lifelong

disease. "

The incident planted the seeds for a newly published book by the California

nurse, " When Parents Say No: Religious and Cultural Influences on Pediatric

Healthcare Treatment, " published by Sigma Theta Tau International.

In the case that was seminal to the book, doctors went to court and got a

four-hour guardianship of the child so they could carry out the transfusion

against his mother's will.

The boy went home after the transfusion and the nurse who had been so affected

by the case has no idea what happened to him after that.

" American families move, change jobs. There are no longitudinal studies looking

at this, at what happens the next time they receive medical care, " she said in

an interview.

The challenges she recounts are both religious and cultural.

A 14-year-old Muslim girl with severe burns on her arm from a cooking oil spill

was recovering after surgery until her parents heard the surgeon talk about a

graft made with pig skin. They demanded it be removed and the girl was

ultimately left with almost no function in her lower arm.

A preteen girl with a large and rapidly growing neck tumor was recommended for

immediate chemotherapy but her family said they needed three to five days to

pray with their Christian congregation beforehand. After officials threatened to

take guardianship of the child, she was brought back for treatment after just

one day.

" But the family had been willing to risk, not maybe death, but the need for

immediate treatment in order to fulfill their duties spiritually, "

Linnard-Palmer said.

" Just recently we had an Hispanic mother who said through interpreters that in

her background men were the decision makers. Her young son is a very brittle

diabetic cared for by an uncle who loads him up with sugar after school, " she

said.

" So now he's very ill. But she said she couldn't go against the men in her

house. If they're going to give him sodas and cookies they're going to do this, "

she added.

LAYING-ON OF HANDS

Linnard-Palmer, a pediatric nurse at California Pacific Medical Center in San

Francisco and a professor of nursing at Dominican University of California in

San , believes that more time, training and money are being spent these

days on helping medical personnel deal with religious and cultural issues when

it comes to caring for children.

Large urban hospitals, which tend to have more resources, have been out in

front. Her hospital has an hour-long conference every two weeks to discuss such

problems, she said, and when an incident occurs there is intervention by

psychologists and chaplains as well as medical personnel.

While the Jehovah's Witnesses are often mentioned, Linnard-Palmer says she has

found increasing complications involving fundamental Christians.

" Over and over I see people who say they won't consent until they speak to a

minister or have a laying-on of hands, " she added, causing delays in treatment

but not necessarily refusals.

Gaining temporary guardianship through the courts is a well-established

precedent, she said, though it does not happen all that often. It can have

different results -- with some parents relieved that the matter has been taken

out of their hands despite their wishes but others who are left in rage.

The extent of the problem in the United States has not been well documented.

One often-quoted study published in the journal " Pediatrics " in 1998 found 141

deaths of children in the United States over a 20-year period who were denied

medical treatment for religious reasons but whose survival rate with treatment

would have exceeded 90 percent.

That study estimated that there were many more deaths which could not be

documented.

Rita Swan, one of the authors of that study, told Reuters she believes the

problem today is not as bad as it was in the United States 20 years ago. But she

said the problem is still very difficult to measure since some religious groups

are not forthcoming and deaths due to treatment delays are not always recorded

with that as the cause.

" While we don't hear of as many deaths in faith-healing sects as we used to,

opposition to vaccines, for example, is increasing and outbreaks of

vaccine-preventable disease are increasing, some tied to religious exemptions

and some not, " she added.

Her group -- Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty

(http://www.childrenshealthcare.org) -- tracks a wide range of cultural and

religious problems affecting children.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

When faith and medicine collide

By ConlonTue Dec 26, 8:07 PM ET

Any nurse can walk into a bad situation. The one Luanne Linnard-Palmer can't

forget came as she readied a little boy for a blood transfusion only to be told

by his mother " You know you're damning his soul to hell! "

The child's mother was a Jehovah's Witness, a faith that rejects blood

transfusions. Her son had sickle cell anemia and had become extremely weak.

" It blew me away, " Linnard-Palmer recalls years later. " I worried not only

about my own reaction but what was going to happen to this child with a lifelong

disease. "

The incident planted the seeds for a newly published book by the California

nurse, " When Parents Say No: Religious and Cultural Influences on Pediatric

Healthcare Treatment, " published by Sigma Theta Tau International.

In the case that was seminal to the book, doctors went to court and got a

four-hour guardianship of the child so they could carry out the transfusion

against his mother's will.

The boy went home after the transfusion and the nurse who had been so affected

by the case has no idea what happened to him after that.

" American families move, change jobs. There are no longitudinal studies looking

at this, at what happens the next time they receive medical care, " she said in

an interview.

The challenges she recounts are both religious and cultural.

A 14-year-old Muslim girl with severe burns on her arm from a cooking oil spill

was recovering after surgery until her parents heard the surgeon talk about a

graft made with pig skin. They demanded it be removed and the girl was

ultimately left with almost no function in her lower arm.

A preteen girl with a large and rapidly growing neck tumor was recommended for

immediate chemotherapy but her family said they needed three to five days to

pray with their Christian congregation beforehand. After officials threatened to

take guardianship of the child, she was brought back for treatment after just

one day.

" But the family had been willing to risk, not maybe death, but the need for

immediate treatment in order to fulfill their duties spiritually, "

Linnard-Palmer said.

" Just recently we had an Hispanic mother who said through interpreters that in

her background men were the decision makers. Her young son is a very brittle

diabetic cared for by an uncle who loads him up with sugar after school, " she

said.

" So now he's very ill. But she said she couldn't go against the men in her

house. If they're going to give him sodas and cookies they're going to do this, "

she added.

LAYING-ON OF HANDS

Linnard-Palmer, a pediatric nurse at California Pacific Medical Center in San

Francisco and a professor of nursing at Dominican University of California in

San , believes that more time, training and money are being spent these

days on helping medical personnel deal with religious and cultural issues when

it comes to caring for children.

Large urban hospitals, which tend to have more resources, have been out in

front. Her hospital has an hour-long conference every two weeks to discuss such

problems, she said, and when an incident occurs there is intervention by

psychologists and chaplains as well as medical personnel.

While the Jehovah's Witnesses are often mentioned, Linnard-Palmer says she has

found increasing complications involving fundamental Christians.

" Over and over I see people who say they won't consent until they speak to a

minister or have a laying-on of hands, " she added, causing delays in treatment

but not necessarily refusals.

Gaining temporary guardianship through the courts is a well-established

precedent, she said, though it does not happen all that often. It can have

different results -- with some parents relieved that the matter has been taken

out of their hands despite their wishes but others who are left in rage.

The extent of the problem in the United States has not been well documented.

One often-quoted study published in the journal " Pediatrics " in 1998 found 141

deaths of children in the United States over a 20-year period who were denied

medical treatment for religious reasons but whose survival rate with treatment

would have exceeded 90 percent.

That study estimated that there were many more deaths which could not be

documented.

Rita Swan, one of the authors of that study, told Reuters she believes the

problem today is not as bad as it was in the United States 20 years ago. But she

said the problem is still very difficult to measure since some religious groups

are not forthcoming and deaths due to treatment delays are not always recorded

with that as the cause.

" While we don't hear of as many deaths in faith-healing sects as we used to,

opposition to vaccines, for example, is increasing and outbreaks of

vaccine-preventable disease are increasing, some tied to religious exemptions

and some not, " she added.

Her group -- Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty

(http://www.childrenshealthcare.org) -- tracks a wide range of cultural and

religious problems affecting children.

__________________________________________________