7587. Ethics of Public Health

This seminar will consider both the normative foundations of public health and ethical issues relevant to formulating public health policy on a series of health issues. Topics it will address include the following: the strengths and limitations of various ethical frameworks for public health ethics; ethical issues related to resource allocation and rationing in a period of relative economic scarcity; why and how should collective choices be made and policies implemented to address health inequalities; justice and access to health care; ethical dilemmas in public health decision-making at the beginning and end of life; the ethics of decision making about proceeding with the development of controversial new technologies and conducting the first-in-human research trials; the ethics of vaccine policy; the ethics of food policy; ethical and privacy issues related to the introduction of electronic medical records and the use of health surveillance technologies; ethical and public policy issues related to quarantines and public health emergencies; the ethical implications and dilemmas of policy making related to genetic screening, testing, and therapy; and a public health ethics perspective on policies relating to alcohol, tobacco, and, and drugs.