Ethics of Chronic Degenerative Disease Management in Lifestyle Medicine Practice: Some Preliminary Considerations in Nigeria

Abstract

Lifestyle medicine practitioners rely more on the natural processes of health recovery through the regeneration of a degenerated body system. Concerns for this study, therefore, are the ethical issues surrounding the contributions of lifestyle medicine practitioners to the overall health status of people in society. The degree of attention to ethical problems among all contributors to health is vital to effective disease treatment. The study was conducted at Dr. Jack’s Wellness Centre which is a lifestyle medicine practicing center located at Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria. The tools used to gather data for this study were primarily qualitative, as the study was exploratory in nature. Tools used for the study includes; Focus Group Discussions (FGD) Guide, In-depth Interviews (IDI) Guide, Key Informant Interviews (KII) Guide, and Observations. Indications from the findings suggest that there are ethical issues (for example, confidentiality) that need to be addressed in the study centre. Other problems include ethical concerns, such as awareness, adherence to moral principles, and conformity to them. The study concluded that the operational methodology of health and wellness at the centre should be enhanced through government intervention and ethics advocacy among budding wellness centres across Nigeria, in addition to other well-established government institutions.