May 2016
Public Health Ethics: Cases Spanning the Globe
Editors: Barrett, D.H., Ortmann, L.H., Dawson, A., Saenz, C., Reis, A.,Bolan, G.
Recently launched in the WHO Global Health Ethics Seminar in Fiocruz on May 05, the book highlights ethical issues and dilemmas that arise in the practice of public health.
The book reviews three seminal cases that shaped the ethics of public health research and practice over the past century.
The first case example is Jacobson v Massachusetts, set in the beginning of the twentieth century. Jacobson is a foundational U.S. public health legal case that supports states’ rights to create and enforce laws and regulations that limit individual autonomy to protect the public’s health and stop the spread of communicable disease.
The second case study, from the mid-1900s, looks at two ethically troubling U.S. Public Health Service (PHS ) protocols for studying sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the U.S. state of Alabama and Guatemala . These experiments, like most research protocols, were not intended to benefit the subjects; rather their intent was the broader benefit of the public’s health.
The final case, a contemporary example of the New York City A1C Registry to monitor and address the diabetes epidemic in the city, demonstrates how addressing the ethical dimensions of public health interventions can facilitate their implementation.
Related articles in HCS-Manguinhos:
Irrazábal, Gabriela. Acerca de la emergencia y consolidación de la bioética como disciplina desde una perspectiva sociológica. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Dic 2015, vol.22, no.4, p.1121-1140. ISSN 0104-5970
Santos, Roberta de Freitas and Cerqueira, Mateus Rodrigues. South-South Cooperation: Brazilian experiences in South America and Africa. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Mar 2015, vol.22, no.1, p.23-47. ISSN 0104-5970
Barbosa, Tyara Kropf, Roa, Alejandra Carrillo and Almeida, Neilia Barros Ferreira de. Biblioteca virtual sobre bioética e diplomacia em saúde. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Mar 2015, vol.22, no.1, p.308-312. ISSN 0104-5970
Barbosa, Vilmar et al. Bioética: um ponto de encontro. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Out 1994, vol.1, no.1, p.109-120. ISSN 0104-5970
Palma, Alexandre and Vilaça, Murilo Mariano. Conflitos de interesse na pesquisa, produção e divulgação de medicamentos. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Set 2012, vol.19, no.3, p.919-932. ISSN 0104-5970
