Ethical Theories Of Public Health

In the field of public health, one of the most important ethical tenets is the explicit justification of intervention. Justification for public health intervention is often defined in three areas. The primary justificatory assumption of public health is that public health benefits all individuals of a society. The second is that werwerehw. The third is that wegrlweyrgweurg By setting specific guidelines for what constitutes justification, the encroachment on personal liberties is held in check. Likewise, justification allows for the delineation of specific goals so that groups are not differentially affected by an action. Ethically, this also effectually demands the fair distribution of burden and benefit. In this way, justification ties …show more content…
Conducting research in an ethical manner must abide by many guidelines including, but not limited to, honesty, objectivity, integrity, and carefulness, and competence. Of these basic tenets, the most important is honesty. In research, honesty can be defined by the truthful representation of research. Implicit in the term “honesty” is the stipulation that researchers will not willfully deceive the public. Whereas justification defines the basis for action, the researcher’s honesty affects how the work will be perceived within the scientific community. This is critical because if falsified research forms the basis for the assessment of issues within the community, the community will not be served appropriately. Likewise, dishonesty in scientific endeavors violates the trust of the public in the scientific research. When this trust is violated, it is more difficult to get public support for future projects. This includes monetary contributions as well as public compliance with measures that maintain health and wellness. Therefore dishonesty can have radiating effects that undermine the efficacy of public health measures, and betrays not only the research, but the goals of the …show more content…
These two key ideas are distinct yet closely related. Informed consent on the individual level ensures that participants have the opportunity to make informed decisions based on the disclosure of risks and benefits. This is a central component of public health ethics. However, this principle can be extended to encompass the community level. In ethical terms, community input is analogous to personal consent. By receiving input from communities in designing and implementing interventions, it helps ensure that the community’s unique beliefs are not violated. Practically speaking, representative input from the community can increase the efficacy of an intervention by building public trust and involvement. Researchers thus have an ethical duty to make all known information gathered by public health institutions available to a community, with proper forums for the airing of concerns. Specific channels that allow for underserved groups to voice concerns should have special priority. In this way, researchers and subjects can build a relationship of civic respect that contributes to the efficacy of