scholarly journals Public health ethics: informing better public health practice

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy M. Carter ◽  
Ian Kerridge ◽  
Peter Sainsbury ◽  
Julie K. Letts
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Public Health Ethics ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Health Ethics

scholarly journals In defence of a single body of clinical and public health, medical ethics

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (S2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Unger ◽  
Ingrid Morales ◽  
Pierre De Paepe ◽  
Michel Roland
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Public Health Ethics ◽  
List Type ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Health Ethics ◽  
Medical Associations ◽  
Patient’S Autonomy ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Background Since some form of dual clinical/public health practice is desirable, this paper explains why their ethics should be combined to influence medical practice and explores a way to achieve that. Main text In our attempt to merge clinical and public health ethics, we empirically compared the individual and collective health consequences of two illustrative lists of medical and public health ethical tenets and discussed their reciprocal relevance to praxis. The studied codes share four principles, namely, 1. respect for individual/collective rights and the patient’s autonomy; 2. cultural respect and treatment that upholds the patient’s dignity; 3. honestly informed consent; and 4. confidentiality of information. However, they also shed light on the strengths and deficiencies of each other’s tenets. Designing a combined clinical and public health code requires fleshing out three similar principles, namely, beneficence, medical and public health engagement in favour of health equality, and community and individual participation; and adopting three stand-alone principles, namely, professional excellence, non-maleficence, and scientific excellence. Finally, we suggest that eco-biopsychosocial and patient-centred care delivery and dual clinical/public health practice should become a doctor’s moral obligation. We propose to call ethics based on non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice – the values upon which, according to Pellegrino and Thomasma, the others are grounded and that physicians and ethicists use to resolve ethical dilemmas – “neo-Hippocratic”. The neo- prefix is justified by the adjunct of a distributive dimension (justice) to traditional Hippocratic ethics. Conclusion Ethical codes ought to be constantly updated. The above values do not escape the rule. We have formulated them to feed discussions in health services and medical associations. Not only are these values fragmentary and in progress, but they have no universal ambition: they are applicable to the dilemmas of modern Western medicine only, not Ayurvedic or Shamanic medicine, because each professional culture has its own philosophical rationale. Efforts to combine clinical and public health ethics whilst resolving medical dilemmas can reasonably be expected to call upon the physician’s professional identity because they are intellectual challenges to be associated with case management.

Ethical principles and ethical issues in public health

2021 ◽  
pp. 261-272
Author(s):  
Nancy Kass ◽  
Amy Paul ◽  
Andrew Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Public Health Ethics ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Health Ethics ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
Social Justice Theory

Public health ethics considers moral dimensions of public health practice and research. While medical ethics dates back hundreds of years, and bioethics writings emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, ‘public health ethics’, articulated as such, did not appear significantly in the literature for several more decades. There has been great interest recently in defining public health ethics, examining how it resembles or differs from medical ethics or bioethics, outlining frameworks and codes, and providing conceptual and practical guidance on how ethics can inform public health practice and research. This chapter describes the emergence of public health ethics; work in bioethics with relevance for public health; the relevance of social justice theory in addressing public health problems; and discusses literature on ethics and public health research, including whether public health research ethics might differ from ethical guidance for other human research. The chapter concludes with an overview of ethics issues related to genetic research and emerging technologies.

Public Health Ethics: an Introduction and Overview

2019 ◽  
pp. xxix-xxxiv
Author(s):  
Anna C. Mastroianni ◽  
Jeffrey P. Kahn ◽  
Nancy E. Kass
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Public Health Ethics ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Health Ethics ◽  
Concise Overview

Public health is fundamentally concerned with promoting the health of populations through the prevention of disease and injury. It is, at its core, a moral endeavor, because the end it seeks is the advancement of human well-being. Vexing ethics issues are inherent in all aspects of public health practice and policy. This chapter provides a concise overview of the topics and issues examined in the Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics.

scholarly journals 25.G. Round table: Public health codes of ethical professional conduct for effective practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Public Health Ethics ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Professional Conduct ◽  
Pilot Site ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Professional Activities ◽  
Health Ethics

Abstract One of the major outputs of the WHO Regional Office for Europe “Coalition of Partners” initiative has been the development of the “Road map for professionalization of the public health workforce in Europe.” Public health ethics was considered as one of the key pillars for practice for the workforce. The report highlighted the case and urgent need for development of Public Health Codes of ethics and professional conduct (CoC) as an essential part of workforce development strategies. The development of CoCs is considered essential to pursue the mission and moral mandate of public health and to clarify the purpose of professional activities in public health. Scotland has been working as an initial pilot site in Europe to consider developing a CoC for its workforce as part of its public health reform program. The purpose of this roundtable workshop is to share and reflect on the learning from the process, experience and findings from development of the Scottish CoC as the first pilot site in Europe and implications for development of such codes in other public health systems. The workshop will also share the evidence, rationale and background to CoC with research and learning from around the world on the issue. The Roundtable will include brief presentations by an experienced expert panel of senior public health leaders, ethicists and academics who have been working on development of public health Codes of professional conduct. This will be followed by reflection, consultation and debate with participants around the case, nature and options for development of codes of practice and distinguishing features for public health practice. There are issues to whether there is need for country specific, regional or global codes of ethics taking account core public health values and implications for practice. One of the key issues identified is fundamental importance of ensuring such work is linked to a strategy and activities to build competency and capacity around public health ethics and law and to ensure resources, systems and robust education and training activities are put in place for a sustainable development of the issue. Key messages The Development of CoCs is important in order to support the workforce, pursue the mission and moral mandate of public health and clarify the purpose of professional activities. There is need to develop activities and strategy for building competency and capacity in public health ethics alongside development of Code of ethics and professional conduct.

scholarly journals Looking Ahead: Addressing Ethical Challenges in Public Health Practice

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy M. Baum ◽  
Sarah E. Gollust ◽  
Susan D. Goold ◽  
Peter D. Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Justice ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Public Health Ethics ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Health Ethics ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Global Health Ethics

In recent years, scholars have begun to lay the groundwork to justify a distinct application of ethics to the field of public health. They have highlighted important features that differentiate public health ethics from bioethics, especially public health’s emphasis on population health rather than issues of individual health. Articulations of public health ethics also tend to emphasize the role of social justice compared to the predominance of autonomy in the bioethical literature. Now that the field of public health ethics is developing a unique focus and a language of its own, including a code of ethics disseminated by the American Public Health Association, the future of public health ethics may well be global health ethics, focusing on issues of global justice. As public health ethics evolves from its nascent stage of reflection to a place of action and application in the national and global arenas, two interrelated developments will need to occur: (1) public health professionals, including practitioners, policymakers, and scholars, will need a richer understanding of the ethical challenges practitioners face on a daily basis and (2) scholars will need to develop useful tools (i.e., frameworks) that practitioners may employ for identifying and tackling these ethical challenges.

scholarly journals Ethical Issues In Public Health Research

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Abu Sadat Mohammad Nurunnabi ◽  
Mahmood Uz Jahan ◽  
Shaorin Tanira
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Public Health Ethics ◽  
Scientific Integrity ◽  
Health Ethics ◽  
Health Goals

Public health is the societal approach to protecting and promoting health. Public health ethics can be defined as the identification, analysis, and resolution of ethical problems arising in public health practice and research. The emerging interest in ethical issues in public health research and practice reflects both the important societal role of public health and the growing public interest in the scientific integrity of health information and the equitable distribution of health care resources. This article provides an overview of ethical issues in public health research for young researchers and readers who do not necessarily have an in-depth knowledge of public health ethics. A framework of ethics analysis geared specifically for public health is needed to provide practical guidance for public health professionals and researchers in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Medical Research Council is playing a role in setting a standard in the field of biomedical research including public health concerning its strategy and ethical issues and by helping different health institutes to build up a research environment. Though public policy is based on many factors in addition to public health goals and ethical reasoning, it should not lead to the politically preferable option for a given time. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bioethics.v1i3.9630 Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2010; 1(3): 15-21

An Overview of Ethics and Environmental Health

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.

An Overview of the Ethics of Injury in Public Health

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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