Why ethical frameworks fail to deliver in a pandemic

Are proposed alternatives an improvement

Bibliographic Data

ID21504041
AuthorsChris Degeling (0000-0003-4279-3443, Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values, Faculty for the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales Australia, corresponding author), Jane Williams (0000-0002-0142-0299, Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values, Faculty for the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales Australia), Gwendolyn L Gilbert (0000-0001-7490-6727, Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia), Jane Johnson (0000-0003-0682-7909, Department of Philosophy Macquarie University Sydney New South Wales Australia)
Year2023
Volume37
Issue8
Pages806-813
Publication date2023-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBioethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-9702 • E-ISSN: 1467-8519
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/bioe.13202
PMID37448131
OpenAlexW4384277181
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited10

In the past decade, numerous ethical frameworks have been developed to support public health decision‐making in challenging areas. Before the COVID‐19 pandemic began, members of the authorship team were involved in research programmes, in which the development of ethical frameworks was planned, to guide (a) the use of new technologies for emerging infectious disease surveillance; and (b) the allocation of scarce supplies of pandemic influenza vaccine. However, as the pandemic evolved, significant practical challenges emerged that led to our questioning the value of these frameworks. We now believe that a normative instrument, such as a framework, cannot adequately or reliably provide the ethical guidance that needs to be incorporated into public health decision‐making during natural disasters or infectious disease emergencies. Recently it has been suggested that there are potentially more dynamic, flexible, and effective ways to navigate decisions involving complex considerations entailed in policies and practices during a public health emergency. In this paper, we first outline the key functions of a public health ethics framework, before describing why we believe it would not be fit for purpose during a crisis. We end by considering whether proposed alternative methods to promote ethical public health decision‐making goals have the potential to meet these objectives

Business · Disease · Engineering ethics · Geography · Management science · Natural disaster · Normative · Pandemic · Political science · Public health · Public relations · Computer Science · Disaster Response and Management · Engineering · Global Security and Public Health · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research

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