PHSC 7 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Justifiable Homicide, Public Philosophy, Public Health
29 Apr 2018
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Public Health & Ethics Chapter 3 Notes
- Role of government in public health
o As early as ancient Rome
▪ Sanitation
▪ Management of epidemics
o Early English law
▪ oserig the puli’s health as reogized as oe of the ore
resposiilities of the goeret
o Colonial U.S.
▪ Act of quarantine passed in 1648
▪ the asis of goeret as a ipliit soial otrat i hih the
individual and the state were bound by reciprocal obligations, which
required government to serve the common good and promote the
geeral elfare
o Balance between government intervention in health and personal civil liberties
- Legal guidelines
o Legal priiples typially ahored i our atio’s ultural ad oral traditios
that illuminate our political values and public philosophy and inform ethical
delieratio, aalysis, ad justifiatio of poliies ad deisios i puli health
- Proposals for new interventions must contain:
o Reasons for such interventions
o Data about the significance of the problem and the effectiveness of the
intervention
o Benefits, harms, and fairness of intervention
- Las authorize ad ostrai oth puli ad priate atio
o Public: rights and restrictions of government
o Private: maintain individual liberty
o Example: tobacco control minimizes individual rights or smokers and promotes
rights of the public to live healthy, smoke-free lives
- Legal action and ethics are both used to determine the need and goals of public health
actions and to determine if legal intervention is required
- Different levels of legal intervention: some broader like stopping at red lights, some
more specific like immunization requirements
- Influenced by cultural norms and values
Public Health Ethics
- Draw on moral norms, values, and professional codes
- proides a ogoig systeati approah to assess ad proide justifiatios for hat
should be done within the boundaries allowed by the law, or alternatively how the law
should e haged
Social values and law continue to evolve over time
Need to understand legal authority in reference to social context
- Relevant legal cases, laws, and regulations, limitations and constraints
- Laws set guidelines for how government authority can and should be implemented
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Document Summary
Legal guidelines: legal pri(cid:374)(cid:272)iples (cid:862)typi(cid:272)ally a(cid:374)(cid:272)hored i(cid:374) our (cid:374)atio(cid:374)"s (cid:272)ultural a(cid:374)d (cid:373)oral traditio(cid:374)s that illuminate our political values and public philosophy and inform ethical deli(cid:271)eratio(cid:374), a(cid:374)alysis, a(cid:374)d justifi(cid:272)atio(cid:374) of poli(cid:272)ies a(cid:374)d de(cid:272)isio(cid:374)s i(cid:374) pu(cid:271)li(cid:272) health(cid:863) Legal action and ethics are both used to determine the need and goals of public health actions and to determine if legal intervention is required. Different levels of legal intervention: some broader like stopping at red lights, some more specific like immunization requirements. Draw on moral norms, values, and professional codes (cid:862)pro(cid:448)ides a(cid:374) o(cid:374)goi(cid:374)g syste(cid:373)ati(cid:272) approa(cid:272)h to assess a(cid:374)d pro(cid:448)ide justifi(cid:272)atio(cid:374)s for (cid:449)hat should be done within the boundaries allowed by the law, or alternatively how the law should (cid:271)e (cid:272)ha(cid:374)ged(cid:863) Social values and law continue to evolve over time. Need to understand legal authority in reference to social context. Relevant legal cases, laws, and regulations, limitations and constraints. Laws set guidelines for how government authority can and should be implemented.
