Ethical challenges faced by French military doctors deployed in the Sahel (Operation Barkhane): a qualitative study

Abstract Background French military doctors are currently deployed in the Sahel to support the armed forces of Operation Barkhane, in medical or surgical units. As well as supporting French soldiers, their other missions are diverse and complex: medical assistance to civilians and persons under cont...

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Autores principales:	Antoine Lamblin, Clément Derkenne, Marion Trousselard, Marie-Ange Einaudi
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Military medical ethics Ethics French military health service War ethics Law of armed conflict Qualitative research Medical philosophy. Medical ethics R723-726
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ec43cbc2e49a4e27910a67c2b72b9f40
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ec43cbc2e49a4e27910a67c2b72b9f402021-11-21T12:02:33ZEthical challenges faced by French military doctors deployed in the Sahel (Operation Barkhane): a qualitative study10.1186/s12910-021-00723-21472-6939https://doaj.org/article/ec43cbc2e49a4e27910a67c2b72b9f402021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00723-2https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6939Abstract Background French military doctors are currently deployed in the Sahel to support the armed forces of Operation Barkhane, in medical or surgical units. As well as supporting French soldiers, their other missions are diverse and complex: medical assistance to civilians and persons under control (PUC), advice to commanding officers. These tasks can create ethical dilemmas when decisions are forced upon doctors that may be in conflict with medical values or fundamental principles. Little is known about the specific dilemmas experienced by French military doctors in overseas operations. We therefore conducted a qualitative study among doctors and surgeons recently deployed to the Sahel to explore and better understand this question. Method Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 20 French military doctors or surgeons deployed since January 2016 in medical or surgical facilities in Mali and Chad. Results All interviewed doctors reported having faced several ethical dilemmas during missions. All reported dilemmas involved the treatment of civilians (while delivering community medical assistance) or of PUC. The dilemmas involved choices as to which patients to treat, the use of care as a means to an end by military authorities, and the level of care attainable in the absence of any possible hospital follow-up. Questions of delivering care at the risk of their own safety or the mission’s and of treating openly hostile patients were also brought up. Several dilemmas stemmed from the dual loyalty problem, namely the conflict between military doctors’ duty of care to patients and to the military institution, but this was not the only factor involved. Contextual factors (restricted resources and security constraints) and psychological factors (especially hostility towards the enemy) were also associated with many of the reported dilemmas. Conclusion This is the first reported study focusing on the ethical dilemmas encountered by French military doctors in overseas operations. It provides unique insights into their ethical experiences and should prove useful in improving operational training for healthcare personnel deployed on overseas missions.Antoine LamblinClément DerkenneMarion TrousselardMarie-Ange EinaudiBMCarticleMilitary medical ethicsEthicsFrench military health serviceWar ethicsLaw of armed conflictQualitative researchMedical philosophy. Medical ethicsR723-726ENBMC Medical Ethics, Vol 22, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Military medical ethics Ethics French military health service War ethics Law of armed conflict Qualitative research Medical philosophy. Medical ethics R723-726
spellingShingle	Military medical ethics Ethics French military health service War ethics Law of armed conflict Qualitative research Medical philosophy. Medical ethics R723-726 Antoine Lamblin Clément Derkenne Marion Trousselard Marie-Ange Einaudi Ethical challenges faced by French military doctors deployed in the Sahel (Operation Barkhane): a qualitative study
description	Abstract Background French military doctors are currently deployed in the Sahel to support the armed forces of Operation Barkhane, in medical or surgical units. As well as supporting French soldiers, their other missions are diverse and complex: medical assistance to civilians and persons under control (PUC), advice to commanding officers. These tasks can create ethical dilemmas when decisions are forced upon doctors that may be in conflict with medical values or fundamental principles. Little is known about the specific dilemmas experienced by French military doctors in overseas operations. We therefore conducted a qualitative study among doctors and surgeons recently deployed to the Sahel to explore and better understand this question. Method Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 20 French military doctors or surgeons deployed since January 2016 in medical or surgical facilities in Mali and Chad. Results All interviewed doctors reported having faced several ethical dilemmas during missions. All reported dilemmas involved the treatment of civilians (while delivering community medical assistance) or of PUC. The dilemmas involved choices as to which patients to treat, the use of care as a means to an end by military authorities, and the level of care attainable in the absence of any possible hospital follow-up. Questions of delivering care at the risk of their own safety or the mission’s and of treating openly hostile patients were also brought up. Several dilemmas stemmed from the dual loyalty problem, namely the conflict between military doctors’ duty of care to patients and to the military institution, but this was not the only factor involved. Contextual factors (restricted resources and security constraints) and psychological factors (especially hostility towards the enemy) were also associated with many of the reported dilemmas. Conclusion This is the first reported study focusing on the ethical dilemmas encountered by French military doctors in overseas operations. It provides unique insights into their ethical experiences and should prove useful in improving operational training for healthcare personnel deployed on overseas missions.
format	article
author	Antoine Lamblin Clément Derkenne Marion Trousselard Marie-Ange Einaudi
author_facet	Antoine Lamblin Clément Derkenne Marion Trousselard Marie-Ange Einaudi
author_sort	Antoine Lamblin
title	Ethical challenges faced by French military doctors deployed in the Sahel (Operation Barkhane): a qualitative study
title_short	Ethical challenges faced by French military doctors deployed in the Sahel (Operation Barkhane): a qualitative study
title_full	Ethical challenges faced by French military doctors deployed in the Sahel (Operation Barkhane): a qualitative study
title_fullStr	Ethical challenges faced by French military doctors deployed in the Sahel (Operation Barkhane): a qualitative study
title_full_unstemmed	Ethical challenges faced by French military doctors deployed in the Sahel (Operation Barkhane): a qualitative study
title_sort	ethical challenges faced by french military doctors deployed in the sahel (operation barkhane): a qualitative study
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ec43cbc2e49a4e27910a67c2b72b9f40
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Ethical challenges faced by French military doctors deployed in the Sahel (Operation Barkhane): a qualitative study

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