Environmental Ethics and Justice (25) Flashcards
Ethics:
- related to morality or a “set of core beliefs or commitments of a person or society that identifies what is most important, valuable, or right with regard to conduct and character”
- a reasoned or systematic approach to figuring out what is the right or wrong thing to do or stand for
Code of Ethics for the National Environmental Health Association:
“To prolong life, eliminate and/or control disease, and create and maintain an environment that is conducive to humankind’s full development.”
Twelve Principles of Ethical Practice of Public Health (First Six):
. Public health should address principally the fundamental causes of disease and requirements for health, aiming to prevent adverse health outcomes.
- Public health should achieve community health in a way that respects the rights of individuals in the community.
- Public health policies, programs, and priorities should be developed and evaluated through processes that ensure an opportunity for input from community members.
- Public health should advocate and work for the empowerment of disenfranchised community members, aiming to ensure that the basic resources and conditions necessary for health are accessible to all.
- Public health should seek the information needed to implement effective policies and programs that protect and promote health.
- Public health institutions should provide communities with the information they have that is needed for decisions on policies or programs and should obtain the community’s consent for their implementation.
Twelve Principles of Ethical Practice of Public Health (Last six):
- Public health institutions should act in a timely manner on the information they have within the resources and the mandate given to them by the public.
- Public health programs and policies should incorporate a variety of approaches that anticipate and respect diverse values, beliefs, and cultures in the community.
- Public health programs and policies should be implemented in a manner that most enhances the physical and social environment.
- Public health institutions should protect the confidentiality of information that can bring harm to an individual or community if made public. Exceptions must be justified on the basis of the high likelihood of significant harm to the individual or others.
- Public health institutions should ensure the professional competence of their employees.
- Public health institutions and their employees should engage in collaborations and affiliations in ways that build the public’s trust and the institution’s effectiveness.
Common Ethics Elements Across Health Professions:
- Dedication to service of the client
- Respect for other professionals
- Assurance of high levels of competence
- Protection of confidentiality
- Performance with honesty and integrity
- Avoidance of conflicts of interest
- Informed consent and cooperation with clients
- Service to the community
- Promotion of the profession itself
Sustainability:
- recognition that human activity places large demands on the natural environment
- development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations
- conduct environmental health work in a way that allows future generations to meet their health needs as well
Global health:
recognition that local health concerns have a global context
Healthfulness:
the health of humans and the environment needs to be restored, balanced, and harmonized
Interconnection:
environmental health actions have far-reaching consequences (biological, physical, social, economic)
Respect for all life (human and non-human):
- Anthropocentric: value of nature depends on benefit to humans
- Nonanthropocentric: humans are on earth to care for the natural world
Global equity:
everyone is entitled to just and and equal access to the basis resources needed for an adequate and healthy life
Respectful participation:
respect the considered and responsible choices of stakeholders, whether individuals or organizations (facilitated by “right to know”)
Realism:
ethics should be based on a realistic understanding of the health sciences and the risks and benefits of proposed activities and investments
Precautionary principle:
if technology or actions might cause harm, and there is scientific uncertainty as to what and how much, then other actions should be taken to anticipate and prevent that harm
Favorable consequences of the precautionary principle:
- highlights data gap and research needs
- places burden of proof on the proponent (e.g. manufacturers)
- assumes avoiding harm is more important than incurring benefits
- assumes a long-term view
- takes into account historical and sociological knowledge
