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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1410511

Protection on the Right to Refuse Treatment for Patients with Mental Disorders in Chinese Mainland

Provisionally accepted
Xiao-Fu Li Xiao-Fu Li 1Xiaofan Li Xiaofan Li 2*
  • 1 East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
  • 2 Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The right to refuse treatment is still a very unfamiliar concept in theory and practice in Chinese Mainland. It is still questionable whether the relevant laws confirm this right of mental patients. In practice, there is actually a negative attitude towards the right of hospitalized patients with mental disorders to refuse treatment. Based on respect for the autonomy and health rights of patients with mental disorders, the patients’ right to refuse treatment should be confirmed and corresponding legal protection should be provided for this right. A more feasible approach would be to set up an internal review mechanism as a means of protecting the right to compulsory medical treatment of patients with mental disorders.

    Keywords: Right to refuse treatment, Patients with Mental Disorders, legal protection, Medical practice, Chinese mainland

    Received: 13 May 2024; Accepted: 22 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xiaofan Li, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.