New Nuffield Council Working Party: the ethics of public health
Tue, 28 February 2006
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics today announced the start of a new Working Party that will consider the ethical issues surrounding public health.
Public health has been described as ‘what we, as a society, collectively do to assure the conditions for people to be healthy’.1 Over the centuries, public health has been significantly improved by measures such as health awareness campaigns and vaccination programmes. However, public health interventions also raise a number of complex ethical issues.
“The study will focus on a range of ethical tensions, for example, the difficulties in balancing individual choice and community benefit,” said Professor Sir John Krebs, Chair of the Working Party and Principal, Jesus College, Oxford. “We will also examine the circumstances in which people make choices, and the responsibilities of other parties that influence them. For example, what role does industry play?”
The Working Party will draw on a number of case studies to explore these and related questions, such as: to what extent should private and public healthcare providers influence health-related behaviour? Should public healthcare systems, like the NHS, provide treatment to individuals who have behaved in ways that harm their health? What are the obligations of governments in controlling the spread of infectious diseases?
The Working Party includes members with expertise in health economics, law, philosophy, public health policy, health promotion and social science. The group will meet throughout 2006 and 2007, and their discussions will be informed by a number of fact-finding meetings. Members of the public, professionals and organisations will be invited to contribute to a consultation exercise in the summer of 2006. A Report is expected to be published in autumn 2007.
1 Institute of Medicine (1988) The Future of the Public Health (Washington, USA: The National Academies Press).
Notes to editors
1. Further information:
Catherine Joynson
Communications & External Affairs Manager
Nuffield Council on Bioethics
28 Bedford Square
London WC1B 3JS
Tel: +44 (0)20 7681 9619
Fax: +44 (0)20 7637 1712
Email: cjoynson@nuffieldbioethics.org
2. Background
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is an independent body which examines the ethical issues raised by developments in medicine and biology. Established in 1991, it is funded by The Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council and The Wellcome Trust. www.nuffieldbioethics.org
3. Members of the Working Party
Professor Sir John Krebs FRS (Chairman), Principal Jesus College, Oxford.
Dr Raghib Ali, Clinical Lecturer, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Green College, University of Oxford
Professor Tom Baldwin, Department of Philosophy, University of York, member of the Council
Professor Roger Brownsword, Professor of Law, King’s College London, member of the Council
Professor Sir Kenneth Calman KCB FRSE, Vice-Chancellor and Warden, University of Durham, member of the Council
Professor Christine Godfrey, Professor of Health Economics, Centre for Health Economics & Department of Health Sciences and Clinical Evaluation, University of York
Professor Trisha Greenhalgh OBE, Professor of Primary Health Care and Programme Director, Unit for Evidence-Based Practice and Policy, Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences (PCPS), University College London
Professor Sally McIntyre, Director, MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.
Professor Jonathan Montgomery, Professor of Health Care Law at the University of Southampton School of Law
Julia Unwin, Senior Associate, Kings Fund, Deputy Chair, FSA
4. Terms of Reference
1 To identify and consider ethical, legal and social issues arising when designing measures to improve public health.
2 To consider, by means of case studies:
a the variety of aims for such measures, such as informing individual choices and protecting the wider community, and their relative priorities;
b the role of autonomy, consent and solidarity;
c issues raised by decisions about, and perceptions of, risk;
d criteria for the allocation of resources in specific areas of public health;
e the special situation of children and those who are poor or socially excluded.
3 To examine the implications of the above for the development of frameworks for policy making in public health.
Last Updated Tue, 28 February 2006