The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #56517

Ann Robertson, DrPH and Alison Thompson, MA. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, McMurrich Building, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada, (416)978-6051, a.robertson@utoronto.ca

Public health ethics, as field of study distinct from clinical/medical bioethics, is an emerging field of study in academic settings. As part of a larger effort to address what the conceptual and content boundaries of this field are, or ought to be, a group at the University of Toronto hosted an international working symposium to discuss and outline a research agenda for public health ethics. The symposium was organized into four major areas of ethical concern central to public health: individual rights and the common good; risk and precaution; surveillance and regulation; and, social justice and global health equity. A half-day was devoted to each area and included: a presentation of the general ethical issues related to the area; an application of these to a specific public health case study; and, finally, small-working-group sessions to articulate further questions raised by the two presentations. This paper will discuss the results of the symposium in terms of the research questions proposed for each of the four areas. These included questions such as: How ought we to judge the "riskiness" of people with certain kinds of illnesses to pose harm to themselves or others? What are the ethical tensions between the extremes of “coercive treatment” and “abandonment”, and what are the implications of these tensions for practice and policy? How is "competence" related to "best interests"? Who ought to make those decisions and how? This paper will conclude with a proposal for an overall framework for a research agenda in public health ethics.

Learning Objectives:

• To become familiar with the general scope and content of public health ethics;
• To be able to distinguish public health ethics from clinical bioethics;
• To become acquainted with the research possibilities in public health ethics

Keywords: Ethics, Public Health Research

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.