Abstract
BackgroundTeaching ethics in public health programmes is not routine everywhere – at least not in most schools of public health in the European region. Yet empirical evidence shows that schools of public health are more and more interested in the integration of ethics in their curricula, since public health professionals often have to face difficult ethical decisions.DiscussionThe authors have developed and practiced an approach to how ethics can be taught even in crowded curricula, requiring five to eight hours of teaching and learning contact time. In this way, if programme curricula do not allow more time for ethics, students of public health can at least be sensitised to ethics and ethical argumentation. This approach – focusing on the application of seven mid-level principles to cases (non-maleficence, beneficence, health maximisation, efficiency, respect for autonomy, justice, proportionality) – is presented in this paper. Easy to use ‘tools’ applying ethics to public health are presented.SummaryThe crowded nature of the public health curriculum, and the nature of students participating in it, required us to devise and develop a short course, and to use techniques that were likely to provide a relatively efficient introduction to the processes, content and methods involved in the field of ethics.
Highlights
Introduction ofEthical principles, checklist, scheme for ethical judgement formation (Table 2).Exploring and critically examining possible scenarios for resolving a case togetherGroup discussion, led by facilitatorFacilitator and all studentsSolving a case study1) Identification of the ethical challenge and conflict, 2) phrasing it in ethical language, 3) suggesting a solution by developing an ethical judgement based on an ethical argument.Groups of students (4-6 in one group), facilitator goes from group to group to check if there are questions.At least 1-2 hoursPresentation of resultsPresentation in class by representative(s) Students; facilitator of groups, discussion of group results. participates in discussions1-2 hours of health exist
Summary: The crowded nature of the public health curriculum, and the nature of students participating in it, required us to devise and develop a short course, and to use techniques that were likely to provide a relatively efficient introduction to the processes, content and methods involved in the field of ethics
At the same time, evidence strongly suggests that public health professionals often receive little training and guidance on how to reach decisions informed by careful ethical thinking and become confident in a moral sense about the ‘trade-offs’ they are frequently required to make in practice [1,3]
Summary
Content foundations for teaching and learning in public health ethics: the choice of mid-level principles Teaching and learning in public health ethics involves making choices about what to teach, as well as how to teach it. Participants are asked to: Identify as as possible what they believe to be the ethical challenges and potential conflicts within the case; Frame these challenges in explicitly ethical language (i.e. according to the principles and other normative moral theory so far discussed within the course and contained in their ‘toolbox’); Suggest a ‘solution’ or otherwise a way of dealing with the case through the development of an ethical argument that again uses the resources of the ‘toolbox’ At this last stage of the small group work phase, the groups formulate a justification for action that both elucidates the normative processes that have led them to their conclusion; and present an argument as to how and why
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