Book reviews: Rewriting Christine

THE BOOK OF THE CITY OF LADIES by Christine de Pizan. Translated by Earl Jeffrey Richards. Persea Books, 1982.

COMIC WOMEN, TRAGIC MEN: A STUDY OF GENDER AND GENRE IN SHAKESPEARE by Linda Bamber. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1982. 211 pp. ($18.50)

THE UNDISCOVERED CONTINENT: EMILY DICKINSON AND THE SPACE OF THE MIND by Suzanne Juhasz. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1983.

REGINA by Leslie Epstein. Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, New York. 251 pp. ($13.95). Avon Books ($3.95).

MORE WORK FOR MOTHER: THE IRONIES OF HOUSEHOLD TECHNOLOGY FROM THE OPEN HEARTH TO THE MICROWAVE by Ruth Schwartz Cowan. Basic Books, New York, 1983. 219 pp.     

Cervical manipulation--how might informed consent be obtained before treatment?

This article discusses methods and mediums of obtaining informed consent in physiotherapy clinical practice, specifically in relation to cervical manipulation. Whilst cervical manipulation is a useful method of treatment for spinal joint pain and dysfunction, it has also been shown to be ineffective or even positively harmful. Legal precedents have set boundaries for informing patients of such adverse consequences. However, a degree of uncertainty exists in the physiotherapy profession, as in other health care professions, as to how to obtain informed consent in a busy clinical setting in order to discharge the legal duties owed. Obtaining meaningful informed consent in clinical practice raises issues of patient comprehension, memory and decision-making capacity. A large quantity of research directed at enhancing patient understanding has been undertaken in recent years. The important findings are that a variety of communication methods and mediums need to be employed in both providing information and assessing patient understanding. A combination of verbal, written and audiovisual information provides patients with maximum opportunity to be involved in treatment decisions.