Reflections on public health ethics during the pandemic

Ardene Robinson Vollman

Post date: Nov 27, 2020

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been asked questions about whether (or not) the restrictions being placed on the population are ethical. To reflect on this, I reviewed Katherine Pachkowski’s chapter “Ethical practice in community health” in Canadian Community as Partner. I also considered the questions posed in the Public Health Ontario (PHO) Framework, which uses a public health lens to examine three core principles of public health —respect for persons, concern for welfare, and justice—to promote health equity.

Dr. Pachkowski writes, “Public health efforts to manage infectious diseases have raised ethical questions related to the principle of autonomy and individual choice, which are often found in conflict with the collective good in public or population health.”

According to PHO respect for autonomy is valued, but in the public health context autonomy is interpreted in the context of the relationship between individuals and their community. To respect the community requires some level of community engagement (see Canadian Community as Partner, Chapter 5). The PHO Framework poses 10 questions and offers some key points to consider when reflecting on them. To guide your reflections on the ethical considerations of responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, consider accessing this helpful guide to help you to examine the issues systematically while taking into consideration the interests of all stakeholders.

Public Health Ontario. (2012). A framework for the ethical conduct of public health initiatives. Toronto, ON: Queen’s Printer for Ontario.
Available from: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/F/2012/framework-ethical-conduct.pdf