The Role of Ethics in Public Health, Essay Example

A moral community is a voluntary group that is held together by the common vision of improving the society’s well-being. The caring for other people’s health, common good and prosperity of others can encourage people to take part (inactive members) or take action (active members).

Public health practice today mostly uses the approach of utilitarianism. This means that the health care practice is looking to create the best outcome for the most possible people, instead of focusing on duties and roles, according to deontology (Kant).

Precautionary principle is most closely aligned with the theory of environmental justice. While the precautionary principle in nursing is designed to support equity, social justice for disadvantaged groups related to health care choices and accessibility. Focusing on marginalized populations within the society, social justice is promoted by programs to support the rights of all population groups in the society. This rights’ support is delivered through scientific research, which can -for example- determine risks for lung cancer associated with smoking. On the other hand, the Rights Theory (Hobbes) also resembles the precautionary principle. The society’s normative framework should be built on the community’s justified claims for the society. (caring for their health and informing them of the risks).

The precautionary principle can be used to tackle social injustice and environmental issues that are imposing risks on certain groups within the society. There are certain illnesses that are related to each other. While unsatisfactory evidence exists for the exposure to mold at an early age and future development of respiratory illnesses, including severe asthma, health care professionals should not be waiting until research is complete and evidence is provided through follow-up case studies. I would like to see health education programs developed and rolled out for at-risk populations to help them understand the risks of poor housing, the build-up of mold in relation with respiratory illnesses. While it is commonly known now that second-hand smoking can affect children’s respiratory health and parents are advised not to smoke indoors, other allergens should also be included in the health prevention recommendation. While in many cases, disadvantaged populations suffer from mold in their homes due to poor heating and housing quality, they should be provided with advice on how to eliminate the problem.

I would like to talk to health legislators about food standards and healthy lifestyle education. While in America, most supermarkets and hypermarkets label their food, low income and socio-economic level groups in the society do not fully understand the implications of connection between calorie intake, exercise, fat, carbohydrates. Therefore, I would like to see new initiatives that focus on simple, low-cost methods to target not only the general population, but those whose health education level is low, therefore, they are at risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Just generosity is the principle of distributing resources based on humanitarian considerations. Just generosity can be viewed as an ethical virtue. One example would be to distribute screening programs and treatment among low-income populations for TB. They are more at risk and less likely to have health insurance that covers check-ups.

In the case of a flu epidemic, as a health care professional, I would have the duty t and responsibility to be prepared for dealing with the situation. My role as a community health nurse or an RN hospital nurse would be to serve patients. Based on the principle of deontology, focusing on duties and rules, the moral choice would be to report for work. According to Kant, duties and rules are unconditional.