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

Abstract #73620

Michael Sage, BS, MPH¹, Ruth Gaare Bernheim, JD, MPH², Alan Melnick, MD, MPH³, Suzanne Nichols⁴, James C. Thomas, MPH, PhD⁵, Clayton Williams, MPH⁶, Lawrence Gostin, JD, LLD (Hon)⁷, Kathy Vincent⁸, V. James Guillory, DO, MPH⁹, Joseph D. Kimbrell, MA, LCSW¹⁰, and Magdelena Merrill, MPH⁶. (1) National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, MS F-28, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-7302, mjs6@cdc.gov, (2) Institute for Practical Ethics, University of Virginia, P.O.Box 400800, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, (3) Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97239, (4) Oklahoma State Department of Health, 100 NE 10th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73117, (5) School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Department of Epidemiology, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, (6) Public Health Leadership Society, 1600 Canal Street, Suite 501, New Orleans, LA 70112, (7) Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center; Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene, Georgetown University Law Center, Georgetown University Law Center, 600 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001, (8) Alabama Department of Public Health, The RSA Tower, Suite 1552, P. O. Box 303017, Montgomery, AL 36130, (9) Departments of Preventive Medicine and Family Medicine, University of Health Sciences, 1750 Independence Ave, Kansas City, MO 64106-1453, (10) Program Director, National Network of Public Health Institutes, 1600 Canal Street, Suite 501, New Orleans, LA 70112

In response to the absence of an explicit set of ethical guidelines for organizations charged with assuring the health of the public, the Public Health Leadership Society (PHLS), with considerable input from the broader public health community, developed 12 Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health (also referred to as the Code). The crux of public health ethics is captured by the balance that must be maintained between the exercise of power to ensure health, and the necessity of avoiding potential abuses of power. Given recent events, society is increasingly demanding explicit attention to ethics. Using the framework of the 12 Ethical Principles, this presentation highlights the ethical issues of public health practice through the presentation of, and discussion around, several timely case studies by experts and practitioners.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session participants will:
• Become familiar with the 12 Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health;
• Deepen their understanding of the application of the Principles through exploration of several timely case studies from the field;
• Will come away with an understanding of how to better align public health practice with the Ethical Prinicples;
• Will have had the opportunity to share and discuss ideas for future case studies to be documented as a part of the Public Health Leadership Society's growing library of case studies in public health ethics that will be used to advance ethical practices in public health.

Keywords: Ethics, Health Law

Related Web page: www.phls.org; www.apha.org/codeofethics

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.