The Application of Australian Rights Protections to the Use of Hepatitis C Notification Data to Engage People ‘Lost to Follow Up’

IF 1.4 3区哲学 Q2 ETHICS

Public Health Ethics Pub Date : 2024-05-18 DOI:10.1093/phe/phae006

Freya Saich, Shelley Walker, Margaret Hellard, Mark Stoové, Kate Seear

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Hepatitis C is a global public health threat, affecting 56 million people worldwide. The World Health Organization has committed to eliminating hepatitis C by 2030. Although new treatments have revolutionised the treatment and care of people with hepatitis C, treatment uptake has slowed in recent years, drawing attention to the need for innovative approaches to reach elimination targets. One approach involves using existing notifiable disease data to contact people previously diagnosed with hepatitis C. Within these disease surveillance systems, however, competing tensions exist, including protecting individual rights to privacy and autonomy, and broader public health goals. We explore these issues using hepatitis C and Australia’s legislative and regulatory frameworks as a case study. We examine emerging uses of notification data to contact people not yet treated, and describe some of the ethical dilemmas associated with the use and non-use of this data and the protections that exist to preserve individual rights and public health. We reveal weaknesses in rights protections and processes under Australian public health and human rights legislation and argue for consultation with and involvement of affected communities in policy and intervention design before notification data is used to increase hepatitis C treatment coverage.

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澳大利亚权利保护措施在使用丙型肝炎通知数据吸引 "失去随访 "者方面的应用

丙型肝炎是一种全球性的公共健康威胁，影响着全球 5600 万人。世界卫生组织承诺到 2030 年消灭丙型肝炎。虽然新的治疗方法彻底改变了丙型肝炎患者的治疗和护理，但近年来治疗接受率有所放缓，这使人们注意到需要采用创新方法来实现消除丙型肝炎的目标。然而，在这些疾病监测系统中存在着相互竞争的矛盾，包括保护个人隐私和自主权以及更广泛的公共卫生目标。我们以丙型肝炎和澳大利亚的立法与监管框架为案例，探讨了这些问题。我们研究了新出现的使用通知数据来联系尚未接受治疗者的情况，并描述了与使用和不使用这些数据相关的一些道德困境，以及为维护个人权利和公共健康而存在的保护措施。我们揭示了澳大利亚公共卫生和人权立法在权利保护和程序方面的薄弱环节，并主张在使用通知数据提高丙型肝炎治疗覆盖率之前，应与受影响社区进行协商并让其参与政策和干预措施的设计。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Public Health Ethics PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-MEDICAL ETHICS

CiteScore

3.10

自引率

9.50%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Public Health Ethics invites submission of papers on any topic that is relevant for ethical reflection about public health practice and theory. Our aim is to publish readable papers of high scientific quality which will stimulate debate and discussion about ethical issues relating to all aspects of public health. Our main criteria for grading manuscripts include originality and potential impact, quality of philosophical analysis, and relevance to debates in public health ethics and practice. Manuscripts are accepted for publication on the understanding that they have been submitted solely to Public Health Ethics and that they have not been previously published either in whole or in part. Authors may not submit papers that are under consideration for publication elsewhere, and, if an author decides to offer a submitted paper to another journal, the paper must be withdrawn from Public Health Ethics before the new submission is made. The editorial office will make every effort to deal with submissions to the journal as quickly as possible. All papers will be acknowledged on receipt by email and will receive preliminary editorial review within 2 weeks. Papers of high interest will be sent out for external review. Authors will normally be notified of acceptance, rejection, or need for revision within 8 weeks of submission. Contributors will be provided with electronic access to their proof via email; corrections should be returned within 48 hours.