Public Health Ethics And The Social Determinants Of Health

This progressive resource places concepts of social determinants of health in the larger contexts of contemporary health ethics and the evolution of social reform. It provides needed analysis of the larger causes behind the immediate causes of illness and epidemics, particularly injustice, systemic inequities, and the cumulative effect of compound disadvantages. This moral approach to collective and individual responsibilities—on the part of practitioners as well as the public—supports a sound blueprint for finding answers to longstanding global and local concerns. Readers are challenged to recognize the critical role of social determinants to their perception of health issues, controversies, and possibilities as the book: · Details the epidemiologic evidence regarding social determinants of health. · Key ethical implications of the evidence regarding social determinants of health. · Considers the role of risky health behaviors in determining population health outcomes. · Addresses ethical questions of priority-setting at the policy and practice levels. · Translates social determinants of health into health policy goals. Half textbook, half monograph, Public Health Ethics and the Social Determinants of Health Is geared toward students in MPH programs as well as public health professionals in diverse contexts such as local health departments and non-profit organizations. It informs public health scientists and scholars, and can also serve as an introductory text for students in public health ethics, or as part of a general applied ethics course.

This volume examines the foundations of health equity. With contributions from distinguished philosophers, anthropologists, economists, and public-health specialists, it centres on five major themes: what is health equity?; health equity and its relation to social justice; health inequalities and responsibilities for health; ethical issues in health evaluation and prioritization; and anthropological perspectives on health equity. [Extrait p. 4 couv.]

As it seeks to protect the health of populations, public health inevitably confronts a range of critical ethical challenges. This volume brings together 25 articles that open up the terrain of the ethics of public health. It features topics such as tobacco and drug control, and infectious disease.

Natural disasters and cholera outbreaks. Ebola, SARS, and concerns over pandemic flu. HIV and AIDS. E. coli outbreaks from contaminated produce and fast foods. Threats of bioterrorism. Contamination of compounded drugs. Vaccination refusals and outbreaks of preventable diseases. These are just some of the headlines from the last 30-plus years highlighting the essential roles and responsibilities of public health, all of which come with ethical issues and the responsibilities they create. Public health has achieved extraordinary successes. And yet these successes also bring with them ethical tension. Not all public health successes are equally distributed in the population; extraordinary health disparities between rich and poor still exist. The most successful public health programs sometimes rely on policies that, while improving public health conditions, also limit individual rights. Public health practitioners and policymakers face these and other questions of ethics routinely in their work, and they must navigate their sometimes competing responsibilities to the health of the public with other important societal values such as privacy, autonomy, and prevailing cultural norms. This Oxford Handbook provides a sweeping and comprehensive review of the current state of public health ethics, addressing these and numerous other questions. Taking account of the wide range of topics under the umbrella of public health and the ethical issues raised by them, this volume is organized into fifteen sections. It begins with two sections that discuss the conceptual foundations, ethical tensions, and ethical frameworks of and for public health and how public health does its work. The thirteen sections that follow examine the application of public health ethics considerations and approaches across a broad range of public health topics. While chapters are organized into topical sections, each chapter is designed to serve as a standalone contribution. The book includes 73 chapters covering many topics from varying perspectives, a recognition of the diversity of the issues that define public health ethics in the U.S. and globally. This Handbook is an authoritative and indispensable guide to the state of public health ethics today.

This Open Access book highlights the ethical issues and dilemmas that arise in the practice of public health. It is also a tool to support instruction, debate, and dialogue regarding public health ethics. Although the practice of public health has always included consideration of ethical issues, the field of public health ethics as a discipline is a relatively new and emerging area. There are few practical training resources for public health practitioners, especially resources which include discussion of realistic cases which are likely to arise in the practice of public health. This work discusses these issues on a case to case basis and helps create awareness and understanding of the ethics of public health care. The main audience for the casebook is public health practitioners, including front-line workers, field epidemiology trainers and trainees, managers, planners, and decision makers who have an interest in learning about how to integrate ethical analysis into their day to day public health practice. The casebook is also useful to schools of public health and public health students as well as to academic ethicists who can use the book to teach public health ethics and distinguish it from clinical and research ethics.

This open access textbook represents a vital contribution to global health education, offering insights into health promotion as part of patient care for bachelor’s and master’s students in health care (nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiotherapists, social care workers etc.) as well as health care professionals, and providing an overview of the field of health science and health promotion for PhD students and researchers. Written by leading experts from seven countries in Europe, America, Africa and Asia, it first discusses the theory of health promotion and vital concepts. It then presents updated evidence-based health promotion approaches in different populations (people with chronic diseases, cancer, heart failure, dementia, mental disorders, long-term ICU patients, elderly individuals, families with newborn babies, palliative care patients) and examines different health promotion approaches integrated into primary care services. This edited scientific anthology provides much-needed knowledge, translating research into guidelines for practice. Today’s medical approaches are highly developed; however, patients are human beings with a wholeness of body-mind-spirit. As such, providing high-quality and effective health care requires a holistic physical-psychological-social-spiritual model of health care is required. A great number of patients, both in hospitals and in primary health care, suffer from the lack of a holistic oriented health approach: Their condition is treated, but they feel scared, helpless and lonely. Health promotion focuses on improving people’s health in spite of illnesses. Accordingly, health care that supports/promotes patients’ health by identifying their health resources will result in better patient outcomes: shorter hospital stays, less re-hospitalization, being better able to cope at home and improved well-being, which in turn lead to lower health-care costs. This scientific anthology is the first of its kind, in that it connects health promotion with the salutogenic theory of health throughout the chapters. the authors here expand the understanding of health promotion beyond health protection and disease prevention. The book focuses on describing and explaining salutogenesis as an umbrella concept, not only as the key concept of sense of coherence.

What can be done about the poor state of global health? How are global health challenges intimately linked to the global political economy and to issues of social justice? What are our responsibilities and how can we improve global health? Global Health and Global Health Ethics addresses these questions from the perspective of a range of disciplines, including medicine, philosophy and the social sciences. Topics covered range from infectious diseases, climate change and the environment to trade, foreign aid, food security and biotechnology. Each chapter identifies the ways in which we exacerbate poor global health and discusses what we should do to remedy the factors identified. Together, they contribute to a deeper understanding of the challenges we face, and propose new national and global policies. Offering a wealth of empirical data and both practical and theoretical guidance, this is a key resource for bioethicists, public health practitioners and philosophers.

Global health is beset by ethical dilemmas surrounding issues such as health inequalities, power differentials, cultural competence, informed consent, and ethics of research. Presenting a solid theoretical foundation for global health work, this text supports students in understanding key areas of concern, ensuring that they are able to practise ethically worldwide. Written in an accessible manner, the book draws on political economy, human rights, and indigenous research methods, as well as cases in clinical work. Designed to encourage further inquiry, it includes discussion questions, lists of recommended resources, and suggested reading.