scholarly journals Resource Allocation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Contributions to an Ethical Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarida Sobral ◽  
Bárbara Santa Rosa ◽  
Margarida Silvestre

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought dramatic worldwide consequences affecting social, economic and healthcare systems. Considering that the number of infected patients requiring admission to intensive care units far exceeded the available resources, healthcare professionals have had to face challenging decisions concerning who should benefit from the limited resources and who should not. In this context, after a careful ethical reflection, we propose some principles to be adopted when dealing with allocation resource decisions, based on core ethical values. Ideally, these strategies should be established and integrated into institutional policies before a crisis scenario, in order to anticipate a potential new public health emergency and prevent possible tragic consequences.

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2020-106969
Author(s):  
Joana Teles Sarmento ◽  
Cristina Lírio Pedrosa ◽  
Ana Sofia Carvalho

A public health emergency, as the COVID-19 pandemic, may lead to shortages of potentially life-saving treatments. In this situation, it is necessary, justifiable and proportionate to have decision tools in place to enable healthcare professionals to triage and prioritise access to those resources. An ethically sound framework should consider the principles of beneficence and fair allocation. Scientific Societies across Europe were concerned with this problem early in the pandemic and published guidelines to support their professionals and institutions. This article aims to compare triage policies from medical bodies across Europe, to characterise the process of triage and the ethical values, principles and theories that were proposed in different countries during the first outbreak of COVID-19.


Author(s):  
Rofiah O. Sarumi ◽  
Ann E. Strode

Background: Botswana is one of the countries with the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world. Innovative HIV testing strategies are required to ensure that those infected or at risk of infection become aware of their HIV status and are able to access treatment, care and support. Despite this public health imperative, HIV testing strategies in Botswana will in future be based around the principles in the new Public Health Act (2013). The present article describes the HIV testing norms in the Act, and sets out the strengths and weaknesses of this approach and its implications for healthcare professionals in Botswana.Objectives: To compare international norms on HIV testing with the provisions governing such testing in the new Botswana Public Health Act and to assess the extent to which the new Act meets international human rights norms on HIV testing.Method: A ‘desktop’ review of international human rights norms and those in the Botswana Public Health Act.Conclusion: HIV testing norms in the new Public Health Act in Botswana violate individual rights and will place healthcare workers in a position where they will have to elect between acting lawfully or ethically. Law reform is required in order to ensure that HIV testing achieves the joint goals of public health and human rights.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miribane Dërmaku-Sopjani ◽  
Mentor Sopjani

Abstract:: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently a new public health crisis threatening the world. This pandemic disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus has been reported to be originated in bats and by yet unknown intermediary animals were transmitted to humans in China 2019. The SARSCoV- 2 spreads faster than its two ancestors the SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERSCoV) but has reduced fatality. At present, the SARS-CoV-2 has caused about a 1.16 million of deaths with more than 43.4 million confirmed cases worldwide, resulting in a serious threat to public health globally with yet uncertain impact. The disease is transmitted by inhalation or direct contact with an infected person. The incubation period ranges from 1 to 14 days. COVID-19 is accompanied by various symptoms, including cough, fatigue. In most people the disease is mild, but in some other people, such as in elderly and people with chronic diseases, it may progress from pneumonia to a multi-organ dysfunction. Many people are reported asymptomatic. The virus genome is sequenced, but new variants are reported. Numerous biochemical aspects of its structure and function are revealed. To date, no clinically approved vaccines and/or specific therapeutic drugs are available to prevent or treat the COVID-19. However, there are reported intensive researches on the SARSCoV- 2 to potentially identify vaccines and/or drug targets, which may help to overcome the disease. In this review, we discuss recent advances in understanding the molecular structure of SARS-CoV-2 and its biochemical characteristics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Miani ◽  
Yudit Namer

Abstract Background Social media have in recent years challenged the way in which research questions are formulated in epidemiology and medicine, and in particular when it comes to women’s health. They have contributed to the emergence of ‘new’ public health topics (e.g. gynaecological and obstetric violence, long-Covid), the unearthing of testimonials of medical injustice, and in some cases, the creation of new evidence and changes in medical practice. Main text From a theoretical and methodological perspective, we observe two powerful mechanisms at play on social media, which can facilitate the implementation of feminist epidemiological research and address so-called anti-feminist bias: social media as a ‘third’ space and the power of groups. Social media posts can be seen as inhabiting a third space, akin to what is said off the record or in-between doors, at the end of a therapy session. Researchers somehow miss the opportunity to use the third spaces that people occupy. Similarly, another existing space that researchers are seldom interested in are peer-groups. Peer-groups are the ideal terrain to generate bottom-up research priorities. To some extent, their on-line versions provide a safe and emancipatory space, accessible, transnational, and inclusive. We would argue that this could bring feminist epidemiology to scale. Conclusion Given the emancipatory power of social media, we propose recommendations and practical implications for leveraging the potential of online-sourced feminist epidemiology at different stages of the research process (from design to dissemination), and for increasing synergies between researchers and the community. We emphasise that attention should be paid to patriarchal sociocultural contexts and power dynamics, the mitigation of risks for political recuperation and stigmatisation, and the co-production of respectful discourse on studied populations.


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