Abstract

KIE: Al-Mutawa, chief psychologist at Kuwait's psychiatric hospital, focuses on three topics in his brief essay on health care ethics in his country. The first is the conflict between the Western moral framework of many aspects of health care and the religious and social traditions of an Islamic country. This conflict manifests itself in such areas as reproductive medicine, truthtelling and informed consent, and terminal care. The care of the mentally ill is Al-Mutawa's second area of interest, particularly the issues of involuntary commitment, methods of treatment, informed consent, and the allocation of psychiatric resources. Kuwait's proposed independent Health Care Research Centre is the author's third topic. The center will identify and investigate moral and conceptual problems in the provision of health care in Kuwait, and provide a focus for research into the relation between Islamic perspectives and Western technologies and practice.