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When a foreign adolescent orphan refuses to be treated: Considerations on a clinical case

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2015

Carlo Alfredo Clerici ,
Giovanna Casiraghi ,
Laura Veneroni ,
Emilia Pecori ,
Tullio Proserpio ,
Lorenza Gandola  and
Maura Massimino
Carlo Alfredo Clerici*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Fisiopatologia Medico–Chirurgica e dei Trapianti, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy SSD Psicologia, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy
Giovanna Casiraghi
Affiliation:
SC Pediatria, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy
Laura Veneroni
Affiliation:
SC Pediatria, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy
Emilia Pecori
Affiliation:
SC Radioterapia Oncologica 1, SS Radioterapia Pediatrica, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy
Tullio Proserpio
Affiliation:
Cappellania Ospedaliera, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy
Lorenza Gandola
Affiliation:
SC Radioterapia Oncologica 1, SS Radioterapia Pediatrica, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy
Maura Massimino
Affiliation:
SC Pediatria, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Carlo Alfredo Clerici, SSD Psicologia, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, Via Venezian 1, 20133 Milano, Italy. E-Mail: carlo.clerici@unimi.it
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Abstract

Providing medical treatment for unaccompanied foreign minors can prove particularly demanding when a patient is not fully compliant. This report describes the case of a 13-year-old boy from Sub-Saharan Africa brought to Italy to receive treatment for a neoplasm. Right from the start, he showed strong oppositional reactions, with aggressive and self-harming behavior. This made it necessary to activate various different psychological, psychiatric, and social-support resources, and to adapt the proposed treatments to the patient's willingness and ability to cooperate. Here we outline the assessments and actions (also from the economic and organizational standpoint) that need to be implemented in any scheme to bring young foreign orphans to Italy for specialist medical care.

Keywords

AdolescentsOncologySelf-harmNoncompliance
Type
Case Reports
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 13 , Issue 6 , December 2015 , pp. 1791 - 1795
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

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