10:832:356 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: World Health Organization, Lifestraw, Admiralty Law
9 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture #1: Introduction to the Class
I. Purpose of the Class
ā¢ Introduction to public health law and ethical concerns within the discipline.
ā¢ Community health and well being versus the rights of the individual.
ā¢ Introduction to begin thinking like a lawyer.
ā¢ Formulating an argument, in an ethical context.
ā¢ Examining multiple sides of an issue.
ā¢ Weighing personal morals and ethics with professional ethics, and how are those concerns
aligned with the law.
II. A Framework for Ethical Decision Making
ā¢https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/a-framework-for-ethical-
decision-making/.
III. Ethics Versus Morals Versus Values
ā¢ Ethics- The basis for a societyās belief system.
ā¢ Society = Ethics.
ā¢ Normative- What we should or should not do based on a reasoned system.
ā¢ Applied- Code of ethics, usually put out by an organization.
ā¢ Example: Professional code of ethics.
ā¢ Morals- An individualās concept of right and wrong, usually based on beliefs created by inter-
personal relationships.
ā¢ Personal = Morals.
ā¢ Example: Believing abortion is wrong.
ā¢ Values- Personal beliefs of what is important, based upon a community standard.
ā¢ Community = Values.
ā¢ Examples:
ā¢ I believe it is right to feed the poor.
ā¢ Morals because it involves a personal belief.
ā¢ My neighborhood pays for a neighborhood watch.
ā¢ Values because it deals with a community held belief.
ā¢ My society prosecutes murderers.
ā¢ Ethics because it deals with a societal belief
IV. The Train Scenario
ā¢ Would you kill one person or a group of five people.
ā¢ Based on numbers, you would only kill the single person.
ā¢ If you based on ages (single person is two years old while the group is eighty years old), you
would save the two year old because they have more potential.
ā¢ If you based it on who they are (single person is an oncologist while the group of people are
mass murderers), you would save the oncologist.
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Lecture #1: Mapping the Issues
I. Definitions of Public Health
ā¢ World Health Organization: Ideal state of mental and physical health.
ā¢ Winslow: Science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting physical health
through organized community efforts.
ā¢ Institute of Medicine: What we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions for people
to be healthy.
ā¢ Cooperative and mutually shared obligation.
ā¢ Some personal responsibility.
ā¢ Not smoking.
ā¢ Exercise.
ā¢ Eating right.
II. The Reach of Public Health
ā¢ Purview of architects, city planners, medical personnel, and government officials.
ā¢ Discreet Powers:
ā¢ Surveillance (screening and reporting).
ā¢ Injury prevention (consumer product safety).
ā¢ Infectious disease control (vaccination, partner notification, and quarantine).
III. Public Health Law Defined
ā¢ Public Health Law- The study of legal powers and duties of the state, in collaboration with its
partners (e.g. health care, business, the community, the media, and academe) to ensure the
conditions for people to be healthy and of the limitations on power of the state to constrain the
autonomy, privacy, propriety, or other legally protected interests of individuals. -Gostin, PHLE,
9.
IV. Why is it Important to Understand the Law and Ethical Constraints Regarding Public Health?
ā¢ As a public health practitioner, or anyone involved in the public health field, you are an
advocate for the overall health of the public.
ā¢ Therefore, as a zealous advocate, you must understand how to promote the policies of your
agency or organization.
ā¢ Knowing the law puts you at an advantage; knowing the ethical approach to a problem puts
you in a superior position.
V. What are the Ethical Issues in Public Health?
ā¢ Ethics OF Public Health (Professional Ethics):
ā¢ Ethics and professionalism.
ā¢ Moral obligation to act for the common good.
ā¢ Ethics IN Public Health (Applied or Situational Ethics):
ā¢ Ethics of the PH enterprise.
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ā¢ Moral standing of the populationsā health.
ā¢ Collective good versus individual interests.
ā¢ Social justice.
VI. Public Perception of the Profession
ā¢ Outbreak Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj9SUJdpJS4.
ā¢ Contagion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sYSyuuLk5g.
ā¢ A Civil Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHRXGQhpib8.
ā¢ The Insider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rkvxi5hdbA.
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Document Summary
A framework for ethical decision making: https://www. scu. edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/a-framework-for-ethical- decision-making/. The reach of public health: purview of architects, city planners, medical personnel, and government officials, discreet powers, surveillance (screening and reporting), injury prevention (consumer product safety), infectious disease control (vaccination, partner notification, and quarantine). Page !2: moral standing of the populations" health, collective good versus individual interests, social justice. Public perception of the profession: outbreak trailer: https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=mj9sujdpjs4, contagion: https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=4sysyuulk5g, a civil action: https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=fhrxgqhpib8, the insider: https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=5rkvxi5hdba. Page !5: you cannot enforce it in every household, example: high fructose corn syrup. State has no power to restrict an individual"s voluntary activities: considered anti-paternalism. , example: the purge, 2. ) The common good is best served by maximizing individual freedoms for everyone: survival of the fittest, serves people who are the strongest and/or smartest, 3. ) Health and safety are private interests: rich versus the poor, dependent on what you can afford, the very wealthy and the very powerful become the same thing, 4. )
