About Us
The working group „Public Health Ethics“ is composed of national and international experts and interested scholars. It is a joint working group from the German Academy of Ethics in Medicine (AEM) und the German Society for Public Health (DGPH). It was founded in 2021 with the aim of bringing a public health ethics perspective into discussions about the Covid-19 pandemic and contributing its findings to debates and political decision-making processes. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the complex challenges that political decision-makers face in making ethically sensitive decisions about public health measures under time pressure and conditions of uncertainty. The working group is building on this and is expanding to any issues related to public health ethics. It aims to introduce the perspective of population-based health ethics as an important component, in addition to other professional assessments, in the academic, political and public discourse. Various activities are taking place for this purpose: Examination of the field of „public health ethics“: which topics belong to it and to what extent can or should this field be distinguished from classical bioethics and medical ethics? What ethical considerations and methods are appropriate here? What educational goals should be pursued in public health ethics? What does a future look like in which public health ethics can be better used for advice in policy and practice? What competencies and resources are important here? Another goal is international networking in the field of public health ethics.
Coordination
The working group is co-led by a group of researchers in the areas of Bioethics, Public Health Ethics and Philosophy. More info on their work and contact-information can be found below.
What ist Public Health Ethics ?
Public health ethics deals with all topics in the field of public health, i.e. population-related health, from an ethical perspective. It incorporates empirical findings, e.g. from the fields of public health, sociology, medicine, psychology and politics, and also works empirically itself (e.g. by means of qualitative interviews). It always includes normative theories and concepts (e.g. from the fields of political philosophy, theories of justice, ethics) and discusses ethical values and possible tensions.
A core topic of public health ethics is the examination of justice, or ‘health equity’. What does equity mean in relation to health? Which health inequalities are unjust? How can ‘equity’ be better realised as a value in health? Related to this, the relationship between the individual and society is also discussed. How do individual values relate to collective, community-orientated values? Who bears responsibility for health or for healthy living conditions and fair opportunities for health?
Public health ethics is also at the interface between health policy and public health and can therefore play a mediating and constructive role.
The public health ethics perspective is particularly interesting in many respects with regard to the coronavirus pandemic and climate change. The more individualistically orientated medical ethics reaches its limits here. Public health ethics with its population-based perspective, including topics such as participation, politics/governance, proportionality of measures, marginalisation of disadvantaged groups, etc. can make a significant contribution here. But the role of doctors also comes into focus: What responsibility does this profession bear in the face of such social crises?
Prominent topics in public health ethics are, for example
Ethical issues in environmental factors and climate change; digitalised health; obesity; tobacco use; communicable diseases; mental health; migration, etc.
Ethical discussion of interventions: e.g. prevention, vaccinations, health incentives, nudging, mobile health applications (health apps, social media), public health research, surveillance, screening, etc.
Theories of public health ethics
Methods of public health ethics
History of public health ethics
Definition and delimitation of public health ethics
Health and personal responsibility
Paternalism and freedom
Health and justice
Vulnerability, stigmatisation, discrimination in public health
Social determinants of health and health equity
Right to health / health as a human right
Standards and implementation of health policy and governance
Ethics and justice in global health
Ethics in humanitarian missions and disaster protection
Allocation and resource justice
Participation and inclusion as substantive and procedural values in public health
Events
Upcoming events
An event on public health teaching in the German-speaking context will take place in Mai. For dial-in information, please contact Franziska Max (she/her) (max@em.uni-frankfurt.de).
Teaching
Public health ethics is also part of the medical degree programme at the University of Augsburg. The aim is to show that medicine always takes place in a wider social, political and health context. The public health ethics perspective opens the view beyond the individual clinical setting and integrates the population-related dimension. In Germany, the public health ethics perspective is still a novelty in medical studies.
Public health ethics is also taught in public health degree programmes. However, there are still few structured curricula in Germany. A very good example can be found at the University of Bremen (https://www.ipp.uni-bremen.de/abteilungen/public-health-ethik-und-health-humanities/lehre/)
Especially in English-speaking countries, public health ethics is often part of the philosophy/ethics curriculum.