Graduate Research Degree Awarded - Mandy (Mervat) El Ali

Congratulations to Mandy (Mervat) El Ali - Graduate Research Degree Awarded 29th May 2025

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Supervisors: Professor Lynn Heather Gillam; Dr Jenny O'Neill; Dr Sharon Maree Licqurish
Advisory Committee: Professor Lena Sanci and Professor Victoria Palmer

Thesis Title: The Ethical Terrain of a Non-Disclosure Directive: The Experiences and attitudes of Registered Nurses with disclosing medical information to children hospitalised with a serious illness.

Thesis Summary: This study examined the experiences and attitudes of nurses caring for seriously ill children when faced with non-disclosure directives. Building on existing research on the withholding of diagnoses and prognoses in clinical settings, this study expanded the scope to encompass all forms of information withholding, from routine procedures to major surgeries. Hospitalised children represent a uniquely vulnerable population, and despite cognitive diversity across their different ages and stages, nurses consistently demonstrate a strong commitment to veracity. This commitment often clashed with the constraints of enforced silence, highlighting the ethical and emotional complexities of delivering child- and family-centred care under a non-disclosure directive.

Date awarded: 29th May 2025