Topic
COVID-19
Access all of our work relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ethics tools for decision-makers: Responding to public health threats
Policy Briefing
Published 17/05/2022
Drawing on our in-depth work on public health ethics, we have published ethics tools to help decision-makers develop a proportionate response to public health threats.
Summary
- The state has responsibilities to enable people to live healthy lives and reduce health inequalities.
- There are no easy answers, but responses to public health threats can be guided by the values of reducing suffering, treating people with respect, and fairness.
- Options for public health interventions range from doing nothing to removing choice altogether.
- Decision makers should aim for a proportionate response that takes into account the nature and degree of the harm posed, the certainty of the evidence, the intrusiveness of the intervention, and the views of those affected.
- The application of each intervention is likely to generate further ethical questions and decision makers need to be alert to the need for transparency and accountability in decision making processes.
