Freedom and mosquito control
When opting out constitutes a veto of public health interventions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21513865 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Parker Crutchfield (0000-0002-8729-8561, Department of Medical Ethics, Humanities, and Law, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA, corresponding author), Casey Chmura (Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 379-385 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Medical Ethics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0306-6800 • E-ISSN: 1473-4257 |
| Publisher | BMJ (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1136/jme-2024-110523 |
| PMID | 40897538 |
| OpenAlex | W4413928221 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 20 |
As the climate continues to change, mosquito-borne illness will spread, especially in temperate areas. The most effective method of disease-preventing mosquito control is the community-wide application of insecticides. Although these chemicals are justifiably believed to be safe, some health agencies allow individuals to opt out of receiving the public health intervention. Unlike other public health interventions that allow opt-outs, we argue that allowing opt-outs may could undermine the efficacy of the intervention result in a net loss of freedom. Therefore, the ability to opt out should be limited in certain circumstances, which we outline in this discussion
Business · Environmental health · Opt-out · Political science · Psychological intervention · Public health · Public health interventions · Veto · Law · Medicine · Mosquito-borne diseases and control · Public Health Policies and Education · Zoonotic diseases and public health
| Highly cited | No |
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