ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses three factors that have contributed to shifts in decision-making in healthcare. First, the notion of patient autonomy, which has changed due to the rise of patient-centred approaches in contemporary healthcare and the re-conceptualization of physician–patient relationship. Second, the understanding of patient autonomy has broadened to better engage patient participation. Third, the need to develop cross-cultural healthcare ethics. Our paper shows that the shift in the West from the individual to the relational self indicates an important change in the understanding of autonomy through the lens of culture. Practices that recognize the notion of the relational self allow for a more balanced view of autonomy and a richer conception of moral agency.
