The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #51766

James C. Thomas, MPH, PhD, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, CB# 7435, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7435, 919-966-7434, jim.thomas@unc.edu

In February 2002 the American Public Health Association adopted a Code of Ethics. The Code will serve as a centerpiece for further discussion about ethics in public health and as a tool for teaching ethics to students and practitioners of public health. Following the adoption of the Code, what are the next steps in raising the level of discussion about ethics, and in more often and thoroughly living out a high ethical standard? We will discuss in this presentation: potential additional tools for furthering ethics, such as a personal oath for public health professionals; means of building ethics into the structures of public health institutions; and tools for providing practitioners with core competencies in public health ethics.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the potential uses of the public health code of ethics.
• Identify other tools needed to complement the code.

Keywords: Ethics,

Related Web page: www.apha.org/codeofethics

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.