Should public health respect autonomy?
This paper suggests that public health, due to its community orientation, may be ignoring certain ethical principles--namely the rights of individuals and communities to self-determination. The expectation of individual rights as a member of a community is reviewed and the additional right of a community for self-determination is proposed. The influences on ethical evaluations by the legal and economic environments are suggested, using US examples. The conclusion argues that as the focus of health-care delivery changes, it will become more important to consider these questions of group ethics.
Hall
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D003219:Confidentiality / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000191:economics; D006806:Human Rights; D007206:Individuality; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics; D026706:Paternalism; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011634:Public Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D040841:Resource Allocation; D012935:Social Justice; D014481:United States