Commentary on “The limits of law in the protection of public health and the role of public health ethics”

Abstract This discussion revises and extends Jonny Anomaly's ‘public goods’ account of public health ethics in light of recent criticism from Richard Dees. Public goods are goods that are both non-rival and non-excludable. What is significant about such goods is that they are not always provided efficiently by the market. Indeed, the state can sometimes realize efficiency gains either by supplying such goods directly or by compelling private purchase. But public goods are not the only goods that the market may fail to provide efficiently. This point to a way of broadening the public goods account of public health to accommodate Dees' counterexamples, without abandoning its distinctive appeal. On the market failures approach to public health ethics, the role of public health is to correct public health-related market failures of all kinds, so far as possible. The underlying moral commitment is to economic efficiency in the sense of Pareto: if we can re-allocate resources in the economy so as to raise the welfare of some without lowering the welfare of any other, we ought to do so.

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Aging Populations and Public Health Ethics

The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190245191.013.19 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 180-191

Author(s):

Lois Shepherd

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Public Health Ethics ◽

Difficult Situation ◽

Health Ethics ◽

Health Goals ◽

Aging Populations ◽

The Relationship ◽

Field Of Inquiry

This chapter examines three primary public health goals relating to elderly populations: promoting healthy aging (including aging in place), reducing health inequities, and extending life spans. It then considers the ways in which programs or policies to advance population-wide goals are challenged to meet ethical responsibilities to protect older adults from harm, respect their autonomy and dignity, and treat them fairly or justly when resources are limited. Lastly, by looking at a difficult situation commonly faced in hospitals—the discharge of an elderly patient who may not be able to safely return home—the chapter introduces questions about the relationship between public health ethics, clinical ethics, and social justice, and about the future role of public health as a field of inquiry and action.

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Quebec's Public Health Ethics Committee: A Model for the Public Health Agency of Canada

Alberta Law Review ◽

10.29173/alr1267 ◽

1969 ◽

pp. 511

Author(s):

Mireille Lacroix

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Federal Agency ◽

Health Agency ◽

Public Health Agency ◽

Public Health Ethics ◽

The Public ◽

Health Ethics ◽

Government Of Canada ◽

Organizational Features

The federal government of Canada has recently undertaken to modernize its public health infrastructure, including setting up the Public Health Agency of Canada (Agency). The structure and organizational features of this Agency are still being determined, however. After a brief discussion of public health ethics, this article examines Quebec's Comité d'éthique de santé publique (CESP) in detail and proposes the CESP as a model for the new federal Agency. The author explores the role of the CESP in public health activities and programs. She discusses the membership and transparency of the CESP and also critiques its circumscribed mandate, with the view of examining whether Quebec's CESP could serve as a model for the newer federal Agency.

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An Overview of Ethics and Environmental Health

The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190245191.013.60 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 697-703

Author(s):

David B. Resnik

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Environmental Health ◽

Environmental Ethics ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Biomedical Ethics ◽

Public Health Ethics ◽

Social Utility ◽

Toxic Substances ◽

Health Ethics ◽

Wide Range

This chapter provides an overview of the ethics of environmental health, and it introduces five chapters in the related section of The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics. A wide range of ethical issues arises in managing the relationship between human health and the environment, including regulation of toxic substances, air and water pollution, waste management, agriculture, the built environment, occupational health, energy production and use, environmental justice, population control, and climate change. The values at stake in environmental health ethics include those usually mentioned in ethical debates in biomedicine and public health, such as autonomy, social utility, and justice, as well as values that address environmental concerns, such as animal welfare, stewardship of biological resources, and sustainability. Environmental health ethics, therefore, stands at the crossroads of several disciplines, including public health ethics, environmental ethics, biomedical ethics, and business ethics.

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An Overview of the Ethics of Injury in Public Health

The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190245191.013.51 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 597-603

Author(s):

Adnan A. Hyder

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Injury Prevention ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Public Health Ethics ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Health Ethics ◽

Prompt Attention ◽

And Control

This chapter briefly introduces ethics issues in injury prevention and control in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), using a series of examples that prompt attention to the ethical principles of autonomy and justice. The chapter also introduces the section of The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics dedicated to an examination of injury and public health ethics, with attention given to the complex ethical challenges arising in injury prevention and control in LMICs. The section’s two chapters discuss public health ethics issues arising in the prevention and control of unintentional injuries and intentional injuries, respectively. Those chapters define a set of ethics issues within international injury work and provide an initial analysis of the nature of those ethics issues, their specificity, and potential pathways for addressing them.

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Innovative methods in teaching public health ethics. The need to adapt to the new times: from challenge to opportunity

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.729 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

A Buron Pust ◽

A Segura

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Teaching Strategies ◽

Flipped Classroom ◽

Role Playing ◽

Public Health Ethics ◽

Master Of Public Health ◽

Health Ethics ◽

Parliamentary Debate ◽

Massive Online Open Courses ◽

Open Courses

Abstract Background Public Health Ethics (PHE) has been taught first as optional and later as a mandatory subject in the Master of Public Health in Barcelona for about 6 years. During these years, professors have adapted the methodology to make it more attractive and to maximize students' participation and time spent debating and practicing moral reasoning. Objectives To showcase 3 different teaching strategies or methods, presenting for each of them: resources required, outcomes so far in terms of satisfaction and exam performance, as well as the pros and cons from the teacher's perspective. Results Flipped-classroom strategy: theoretical content is delivered outside the classroom, and the practice into the classroom. Works well but needs incentives for compliance in reading. Versatile debating Methods: from parliamentary debate, to role-playing, online debate, etc. Depending on the Case-study, some work better than others; in the online they practice written deliberation skills, but it is important to set rules. MOOC: Massive Online Open Courses in PHE. Can be used as independent teaching material, it is a great tool to introduce PHE into other PH areas and non-teaching environments. Conclusions So far, these methods have proven to increase students' motivation and engagement in Public Health Ethics. Key messages Practising reflection and debating skills is an essential part of PHE. Modern teaching strategies, more interactive and online-based, can help maximising the time spent in these activities. Although challenging and time-consuming at first, these methods also increase students' interest in PHE.

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