In a modern and culturally diverse country like the UAE, different cultural and ethnic preferences and practices must be considered when treating adolescent patients. In Middle Eastern societies, adolescence is an age group that that are not recognized as a separate entity, especially in the medical field. While the medical specialties of family medicine or internal medicine usually partner to treat this age group, physicians need to be made aware of the current UAE medical regulations on how to handle ethical dilemmas of treating the adolescent population.

Dr Asma Al Nuaimi, Consultant Paediatric Pulmonologist, Head of Paediatric Department, Zayed Military Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE, spoke today about Ethics in Adolescent Medicine during the Paediatric Conference at the Arab Health Recruitment & Training Fair. The event, which is the largest healthcare recruitment and training fair in the region, concludes tomorrow (20 October) at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi.

According to Dr Al Nuaimi, “The UAE, and in particular the Health Authority Abu Dhabi, is adapting to increase the paediatric age gradually on an annual basis. Currently in the UAE, adolescence ends at the age of 15. However, legally, the consenting age is still 18. Traditionally, parents used to make medical decisions on behalf of their children. The current ethical challenge is whether to treat those adolescents as adults and seek their consent when it comes to medical treatment or to leave the decision to their parents.”

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