Playing hockey, riding motorcycles, and the ethics of protection.
Ice hockey and motorcycle riding are increasingly popular activities in the United States that are associated with high risks of head and facial injuries. In both, effective head and facial protective equipment are available.  Yet the debates about safety policies regarding the use of head protection in these activities have taken different forms, in terms of the influence of epidemiological data as well as of the ethical concerns raised.  I examine these debates over injury prevention in the context of leisure activities, in which the public health duty to prevent avoidable harm must be balanced with the freedom to assume voluntary risks.
Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. keb2168@columbia.edu
Kathleen E
KE
Bachynski
D000293:Adolescent; D006260:Head Protective Devices / Q000941:ethics*; D006688:Hockey / Q000941:ethics / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D009049:Motorcycles / Q000941:ethics; D012449:Safety; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult