scholarly journals Courage, Justice, and Practical Wisdom as Key Virtues in the Era of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine J. Fowers ◽  
Lukas F. Novak ◽  
Alexander J. Calder ◽  
Robert K. Sommer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Practical Wisdom ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
Healthy Human ◽  
Health Decisions ◽  
General Argument ◽  
Life And Death

Fowers et al. (2017) recently made a general argument for virtues as the characteristics necessary for individuals to flourish, given inherent human limitations. For example, people can flourish by developing the virtue of friendship as they navigate the inherent (healthy) human dependency on others. This general argument also illuminates a pathway to flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the risks of which have induced powerful fears, exacerbated injustices, and rendered life and death decisions far more common. Contexts of risk and fear call for the virtue of courage. Courage has emerged more powerfully as a central virtue among medical personnel, first responders, and essential workers. Longstanding inequalities have been highlighted during the pandemic, calling for the virtue of justice. When important personal and public health decisions must be made, the central virtue of practical wisdom comes to the fore. Wise decisions and actions incorporate the recognition of relevant moral concerns and aims, as well as responding in fitting and practical ways to the specifics of the situation. Practicing courage, justice, and practical wisdom illuminates a path to flourishing, even in a pandemic.

scholarly journals Media Reports as a Tool for Timely Monitoring of COVID-19–Related Deaths Among First Responders—United States, April 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492199917
Author(s):  
Kaitlin Kelly-Reif ◽  
Jessica L. Rinsky ◽  
Sophia K. Chiu ◽  
Sherry Burrer ◽  
Marie A. de Perio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
First Responders ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Exposure Source ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Traditional Surveillance

We aimed to describe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) deaths among first responders early in the COVID-19 pandemic. We used media reports to gather timely information about COVID-19–related deaths among first responders during March 30–April 30, 2020, and evaluated the sensitivity of media scanning compared with traditional surveillance. We abstracted information about demographic characteristics, occupation, underlying conditions, and exposure source. Twelve of 19 US public health jurisdictions with data on reported deaths provided verification, and 7 jurisdictions reported whether additional deaths had occurred; we calculated the sensitivity of media scanning among these 7 jurisdictions. We identified 97 COVID-19–related first-responder deaths during the study period through media and jurisdiction reports. Participating jurisdictions reported 5 deaths not reported by the media. Sixty-six decedents worked in law enforcement, and 31 decedents worked in fire/emergency medical services. Media reports rarely noted underlying conditions. The media scan sensitivity was 88% (95% CI, 73%-96%) in the subset of 7 jurisdictions. Media reports demonstrated high sensitivity in documenting COVID-19–related deaths among first responders; however, information on risk factors was scarce. Routine collection of data on industry and occupation could improve understanding of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality among all workers.

Healing Fukushima: Radiation hazards and disaster medicine in post-3.11 Japan

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Lin Loh ◽  
Sulfikar Amir
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Radiation Risk ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Radiation Hazards ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

What happens when expertise is forced to face disasters of unprecedented scales? How is knowledge produced in critical moments when every action and decision is a matter of life and death? And how are local social networks mobilized to cope with unforeseen crisis? This paper addresses these questions by examining the emergence of disaster medicine expertise in the aftermath of Fukushima nuclear disaster that struck Japan in 2011. Studies on Fukushima’s impact have to date revolved around the suffering of Tōhoku citizens and the development of Japan’s nuclear energy industry. Acknowledging the gravity of such work, this paper offers an alternative, but equally crucial angle on the disaster: that of the medical caregiving and public health system built in response to radiation hazards resulting from the triple meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Through detailed interviews conducted with eight medical practitioners in Fukushima Prefecture, this paper analyses the significance and impact of Japan’s most recent radiation disaster on its public health infrastructure. To describe the contingent nature of radiation disaster medicine developed in response to radiation risk in Fukushima, we draw on Jasanoff’s characterization of scientific knowledge as ‘serviceable truths’ with regards to public policy and the law, suggesting that expertise in relation to disasters is usefully understood in analogous terms.

scholarly journals Public health decisions: the laboratory's role in the Lorain County, Ohio, investigation.

2002 ◽  
Vol 110 (suppl 6) ◽  
pp. 1057-1059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H Hill ◽  
Susan Head ◽  
Dana B Barr ◽  
Carol Rubin ◽  
Emilio Esteban ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Decisions

PP130 Nudging In Public Health: Accountability For Practical Wisdom

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. 133-134
Author(s):  
Michal Stanak
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Maker ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Practical Wisdom ◽  
Health Gain ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Public Health Decision ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Health Decision ◽  
Public Scrutiny

INTRODUCTION:Nudging is the application of behavioural sciences aimed at influencing behaviour in a non-prescriptive way. It is a tool of public health decision makers to produce health gain. Just like decisions in the field of Health Technology Assessment (HTA), nudging decisions are inevitably value laden. The current European Network for HTA (EUnetHTA) approach to evaluate ethical aspects encompasses mainly utilitarian and principlistic approaches. The aim of this project is to incorporate the virtue ethics approach in public health decision-making processes based on the example of nudging.METHODS:The narrative analysis of nudging is based on a systematic literature search conducted from 28 October to 13 November 2015 in the following databases: Medline via Ovid, Embase, and TRIP Database. A total of sixty-two articles were listed as relevant as a result of searches and, in addition, twenty-five more articles were found through hand searching.RESULTS:Regardless of the potential issues related to nudging (manipulation or coercion), nudging is considered cost-effective and inevitable because of the malleability of human psychology for example, alcoholic drinks served in smaller glasses nudge people to drink less alcohol.No policy intervention, nudging or HTA, is value neutral and hence it requires an ethical evaluation. It takes traits of character, virtues, to discern which principle to apply in what circumstances and phronesis, practical wisdom, is the key virtue of a decision maker. Phronesis is not a moral judgement deduced from principles, but it is context specific, bottom-up, action orientated, and framed through dialogues. It focuses on the agent, the decision maker, who, via the use public scrutiny, should be held accountable for phronetic decisions made.CONCLUSIONS:Nudging is a cost-effective tool that can improve the populations health in a non-prescriptive way. Transparent reporting open to public scrutiny is necessary for the sake of evaluating whether the decisions made were phronetic for it takes traits of character, virtues, to decide between competing moral principles.

scholarly journals The Need For Better Public Health Decisions On Chemicals Released Into Our Environment

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 957-967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey J. Woodruff ◽  
Thomas A. Burke ◽  
Lauren Zeise
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Decisions

scholarly journals Assessing the sensitivity of STD surveillance in the Netherlands: an application of the capture–recapture method

1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. REINTJES ◽  
F. TERMORSHUIZEN ◽  
M. J. W. van de LAAR
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
International Comparisons ◽  
Case Finding ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Health Decisions ◽  
Capture Recapture ◽  
Stratified Analysis ◽  
Municipal Health

The capture–recapture method was used to estimate the sensitivity of case finding in two national STD surveillance systems: (1) STD registration at municipal health services (STD-MHS); (2) statutory notification by clinicians (NNS). To identify those cases common to both surveillance systems, cases from 1995 were compared using individual identifiers. Estimated sensitivities for syphilis were: STD-MHS 31% (95% CI: 27–35%), NNS 64% (56–71%); and for gonorrhoea: STD-MHS 15% (14–18%), NNS 22% (19–25%). The combined sensitivity of both systems was 76% for syphilis and 34% for gonorrhoea. Differences in the sensitivity of the systems were significant. The NNS was more sensitive than the STD-MHS, and the identification of cases was significantly more sensitive for syphilis than for gonorrhoea. A stratified analysis showed comparable results for the two sexes. Knowledge on the sensitivity of surveillance systems is useful for public health decisions and essential for international comparisons.

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