Ethics in Public Health Practice

Abstract

This chapter outlines a foundation for addressing ethical concerns in public health practice, which is informed by the approach of Alasdair MacIntyre's definition of practice. It talks about the goal of public health and views practice as directed toward fulfillment of that goal and related goods, providing a common ground on which to base further discussions. It cites the foundational values of public health practice in identifying the common moral governance. It also looks at a common element of recent arguments on the importance and value of health that is necessarily for human well-being and flourishing, a perspective essential for discussions of the role of human rights and equity in public health ethics. The chapter delves into considerations of value that are related to the ends of public health but are also critical in the assessment and implementation of how those ends are achieved. It highlights the task of ethics that involves a continuing examination of means and ends in an iterative process. Though written before the COVID-19 pandemic, the chapter addresses the importance of public health preparedness for disasters and pandemics, including an outline of Preventive Ethics as central to ethical planning and implementation of public health prevention and response.