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

Abstract #67516

Jeffrey P. Braff, DrPH, Department of Medicine, University of California - San Francisco, Mailstop 1640 Hellman Building C446, 1600 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94115, 415 353-7525, jpbraff@medicine.ucsf.edu

It has been long accepted that although the science of public health informs decision-making, it is in fact politics that decides what those decisions finally are. This sometimes occurs to the detriment of solid public health practice and in the face of solid peer-reviewed evidence, such as the Federal Government’s refusal to support and fund needle-exchange programs in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases. The public health infrastructure in the US now should now find itself on the horns of yet another ethical dilemma: the various large-budget programs currently being proposed and implemented to address the unknown risks associated with the threat of bio-terrorism are resulting in the diversion of already-scarce funds from more traditional public health efforts, such as maternal and child health, environmental health, preventing chronic diseases, and the like. Yet, in light of all this, there seems to be nothing but deafening silence from the public health community. Are research funds in themselves the drivers of public health action, or should the use of those funds be considered as well? What is the ethical responsibility of the public health community to the community in general in the face of mounting pressures to conform to the political realities of public health spending in a post-9/11 world? This presentation will address the ethical responsibilities that we as public health practitioners have to our profession and to the society we serve.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of this presentation, an individual will be able to assess and discuss the implications of re-prioritizing public health spending, evaluate the ethical underpinnings of such re-prioritization, and create a framework to address this issue in their professional and public lives.

Keywords: Funding, Ethics

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.