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Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate dental medical students’ opinions concerning domestic violence from a social and medical standpoint and from the perspective of the moral values of the physician–patient relationship. Materials and Methods: We performed an observational study with 4- and 5-year dental medical students at the UMF “Carol Davila” in Bucharest from October 2020–May 2021, using a questionnaire containing 20 items on domestic violence (DV). The questionnaire was uploaded online on the e-learning platform where the students have access. To collect the data, we used Microsoft Excel 365, and the statistical analysis was performed using Jamovi. Results: Of the 600 students enrolled, 415 answered the questionnaire, the answering rate being 69.16%. A total of 215 (53.1%) personally knew victims of DV, 4 (1.0%) considered that violence within a couple is necessary for certain situations, 401 (99.0%) considered that domestic violence is a fundamental problem in today’s society, and 170 (41.5%) felt that in domestic violence situations, the blame lies solely with the partner who resorts to physical violence. Regarding the role of the physician, 220 (56%) considered that the physician should breach confidentiality and report cases when patients state they are a victim of DV, 337 (88.2%) thought that free medical treatment should be provided for DV victims who have a dire financial situation, and 212 (56.7%) considered that victims of DV are non-compliant patients. Conclusions: Domestic violence is a phenomenon well-known to stomatology students, which creates the premise of an excellent physician–patient relationship with them, aiding in proper management of ethical issues such as a potential need to breach confidentiality or evaluate the potential conflicts between autonomy and beneficence.

Respecting the consent and confidentiality of a patient is an underlying element in establishing the patient’s trust in the physician and, implicitly, obtaining the patient’s compliance. In particular, cases of inmate patients require increased attention in order to fulfill this goal against a background of institutional interferences, which, in certain situations, may endanger the autonomy of the physician and their respect for the inmate’s dignity. The purpose of this article is to depict the characteristics of consent and confidentiality in a prison environment, in special cases, such as hunger strikes, violent acts, HIV testing, COVID-19 measures, and drug use, bringing into focus the physician and the inmate in the context of the particular situation where the target is disciplining someone in order for them to conform to social and juridical norms. Respecting the dignity of the inmate patient requires an adequate approach of informed consent and confidentiality, depending on each case, considering the potential unspoken aspects of the inmate’s account, which can be key elements in obtaining their compliance and avoiding malpractice claims.

Background and Objectives: It is known that there may be an interconditionality between social status, personality disorders, and aggressive behavior. This study aimed to analyze the social and psychiatric diagnosis characteristics in subjects imprisoned for domestic violence acts compared to other types of aggressive behaviors. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study using psychiatric medical–legal reports at the National Institute of Legal Medicine “Mina Minovici” Bucharest from 2016 to 2020. Results: We included 234 cases in our analysis, from which 132 (56%) were domestic violence offenders (DVO), and 102 (44%) were violence offenders imprisoned for other aggressions (OVO). Overall, DVOs were older than OVOs (43.0 +/− 14.7 vs. 36.1 +/− 16.6 years-old). In both study groups, most subjects were men, but the DVO group had more women than the OVO group: 23 cases (17%) and 3 cases (3%), respectively. In 14 cases (11%), previous criminal records were found from the DVO and 31 (30%) from the OVO group. Significantly fewer DVO were chronic psychoactive substance users: 83 (63%) in the DVO group versus 78 (86%) in the OVO group. Significantly more DVO had suicidal tendencies 26 (20%) compared to OVO 9 (9%). DVO subjects had significantly less often unsocialized conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder compared to the OVO group. Conclusions: We found that DVO, compared to the OVO, were more numerous, older, less abusive, with a less frequent history of psychoactive substance abuse and addictions, and were less frequently indifferent to the committed acts.

The ethical framework of cosmetic surgery is distinct from the one associated with clinical medicine. This distinctiveness has led to significant difficulties in conceptualizing the physician-patient relationship (PPR), as most models have been developed specifically for the latter. The purpose of this article is to show that the PPR in cosmetic surgery can be better described through a distinct approach that we name the anti-paternalistic model of the PPR, and we will briefly present the differences between it and autonomy-based models. We will analyze the principle of non-interference, the variable degree of autonomy of both the patient and the physician within this relationship, the handling of the relevant information, the principle of beneficence as satisfaction, the difficulties regarding the informed consent, the algorithm allowing for the refusal of the procedure, and children-related issues. Based on this analysis, we will show that an anti-paternalistic model of the PPR is preferable to an autonomy-based one, as it allows for better clarification of the underlying ethical issues involved in cosmetic surgery.

Physical violence is a cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. An often-underreported subtype of physical violence is domestic violence (DV). The main aim of this study was to identify DV-specific patterns of traumatic injuries in comparison to other types of interpersonal violence (OV) in a Romanian population from a medical-legal standpoint. We performed a retrospective study drawing on 500 medical-legal certificates (medical-legal document attesting the traumatic injuries) of victims of interpersonal violence issued by the National Institute of Legal Medicine Bucharest during the 2017-2020 period. A total of 500 victims comprised the sample, including 188 DV victims and 312 victims of OVs. A majority of the DV victims were women (153 victims; 81%), whereas a majority of the OV victims were men (231 victims, 74%). Overall, DV victims were older compared with OV victims (40.9 ± 15.4 vs 37.3 ± 14.8 years, respectively). We found a pattern of frequent upper limb injuries specific to DV, whereas head injuries were specific to OV.

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