Emergency Ethics

Emergency Ethics brings together leading scholars in the fields of public health ethics and bioethics to discuss disaster or emergency ethics and ethical aspects of preparedness and response with specific application to public health policy and practice. The book fills a gap in the existing public health ethics literature by providing a comprehensive ethical conception of emergency preparedness as a distinctive form of civic practice brought about by the interrelationships and coordination of many groups, disciplines, and interests and drawing on numerous bodies of knowledge and expertise. It addresses particular aspects of preparedness and response plans, particular decisions that planners and communities have to make, decisions that require balancing many diverse and sometimes conflicting values and identifying and applying a framework of basic ethical principles for preparedness planning, emergency response, and post-disaster recovery. It also explores the relationship between emergency preparedness to other facets of public health practice. The book begins with a broad and synthetic overview of emergency ethics that addresses the central components and ethically significant issues arising in public health preparedness planning, disaster response, and recovery. Following that overview are five chapters that in a philosophically innovative and detailed way delve deeply into important and problematic issues in emergency planning and response, including the allocation of scarce resources, conducting ethical research in the context of public health emergencies, the obligations of public health professionals, communication and engagement with the public, and special moral obligations surrounding vulnerable populations.

Emergencies are extreme events which threaten to cause massive disruption to society and negatively affect the physical and psychological well-being of its members. They raise important practical and theoretical questions about how we should treat each other in times of ’crisis’. The articles selected for this volume focus on the nature and significance of emergencies; ethical issues in emergency public policy and law; war, terrorism and supreme emergencies; and public health and humanitarian emergencies. Together they demonstrate the normative implications of emergencies and provide multi-disciplinary perspectives on the ethics of emergency response.

1. General Introduction -- 2. Unique Aspects of Ethics in Emergency Medicine -- 3. Legal Setting of Emergency Medicine -- 4. What is Ethics? -- 5. An Approach to Ethical Problems in Emergency Medicine -- 6. Autonomy and Informed Consent -- 7. Education and Research -- 8. Privacy and Confidentiality -- 9. Life-Sustaining Treatment - Emergency Department -- 10. Life-Sustaining Treatment - Prehospital -- 11. Professional Relations -- 12. Allocation of Health Care Resources -- 13. Quality of Care -- 14. Threatening Situations -- 15. Ethical Statements - Overview -- Appendix. Prehospital Advance Directives.

Award-winning critic Elaine Scarry provides a vital new assessment of leadership during crisis that ensures the protection of democratic values. In Thinking in an Emergency, Elaine Scarry lays bare the realities of “emergency” politics and emphasizes what she sees as the ultimate ethical concern: “equality of survival.” She reveals how regular citizens can reclaim the power to protect one another and our democratic principles. Government leaders sometimes argue that the need for swift national action means there is no time for the population to think, deliberate, or debate. But Scarry shows that clear thinking and rapid action are not in opposition. Examining regions as diverse as Japan, Switzerland, Ethiopia, and Canada, Scarry identifies forms of emergency assistance that represent “thinking” at its most rigorous and remarkable. She draws on the work of philosophers, scientists, and artists to remind us of our ability to assist one another, whether we are called upon to perform acts of rescue as individuals, as members of a neighborhood, or as citizens of a country.

Part of the "What Do I Do Now?: Emergency Medicine" series, Legal and Ethical Issues in Emergency Medicine uses a case-based approach to cover common and important topics in the legal and ethical dilemmas that surface in the practice of emergency medicine. Each unique case draws upon the four well-established principles of bioethics: beneficence, non-maleficence, respect for autonomy, and justice. Other ethical principles, such as honesty and personal integrity, are also addressed. Chapters are rounded out by key points to remember and selected references for further reading. Legal and Ethical Issues in Emergency Medicine addresses a wide range of topics including HIPPA and confidentiality, advance directives, suicidal patients, refusal of care, expert witness testimony, and more. This book is an engaging collection of thought-provoking cases which clinicians can utilize when they encounter difficult situations in the emergency department. The volume is also a self-assessment tool that tests the reader's ability to answer the question, "What do I do now?"

The essays selected for this volume focus on issues that arise when attempting to design, review and undertake research involving human participants who are experiencing a private or public emergency. The main themes discussed by the essays are: the distinctive and significant ethical questions as to how research participants can be treated during emergency settings; the ethical challenges raised by emergencies for researchers undertaking research and its effects on the nature of research pursued; and procedural obstacles raised by emergencies which can affect the quality of good research ethics review. The volume is unique in that it is the first collection to exclusively deal with all of the central ethical aspects of conducting human subject research in the context of emergency.

The essays selected for this volume focus on issues that arise when attempting to design, review and undertake research involving human participants who are experiencing a private or public emergency. The volume is unique in that it is the first collection to exclusively deal with all of the central ethical aspects of conducting human subject research in the context of emergency.