Medical bioethics and Therapeutic Physical Culture: An integral approach to the burn patient

Abstract

In Therapeutic Physical Culture as a medical-pedagogical specialty and the care provided to burn patients, the role of bioethical principles significantly enhances the social focus of therapeutic attention. This is due to the necessary considerations regarding the patient’s status as an autonomous moral subject, given that burn injuries often compromise independence and create a social stigma of disability, leading to increased social vulnerability. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between medical bioethics and Therapeutic Physical Culture in burn patients, with an emphasis on the Cuban legal framework. A mixed methods study was conducted through a clinical case analysis under the lens of principlism. A pre-experimental design was applied to a sample of five physical therapists using a bioethical knowledge and attitude test before and after an educational intervention. Key Findings: Pain management and respect for autonomy were identified as the primary ethical conflicts. The statistical intervention showed a 65.5% increase in the bioethical competence of the sample.The mean score rose from 5.6 to 9.0 points. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that bioethics is not peripheral but central to Therapeutic Physical Culture. Consequently, the application of dynamic informed consent and analgesic optimization are deontological imperatives that guarantee human dignity and the functional efficacy of the treatment.