HLT 605 Grand Canyon Week 2 DQ 1

Focus on a “current event” ethical dilemma in public health. Apply the principles of the ethical practices of public health to resolve the issue (see page 125 of the textbook). You may integrate recommendations based on conclusions from public health acts and principles to support your position. Select three other peers’ postings and provide feedback on the presented resolution. Offer further suggestions, details, or examples.

ADDITIONAL INFO 

Ethical dilemmas in public health

Introduction

Since the beginning of time, humans have been faced with ethical dilemmas. The public health profession is no exception. From vaccines for children to obesity and diabetes, public health professionals must grapple with these complex moral issues every day if they are to help their patients lead healthy lives. In this article we will explore some of these ethical dilemmas in detail so that you can understand how they work and what impact they have on public health professionals’ ability to do their jobs effectively.

Vaccines for children

Vaccines are a prime example of the benefits of public health. Vaccines protect you from disease and help keep your community healthy, which means fewer people getting sick and requiring treatment. They’re also one of the only ways to prevent diseases that most people would never see anyway (like smallpox or polio).

The vaccine industry has made tremendous progress in recent years toward increasing vaccination rates, but there are still some areas where we can improve on safety and efficacy—and those are often what make ethical dilemmas arise when it comes to vaccines for children.

Obesity and diabetes

Obesity and diabetes are two of the most pressing health problems in the world, but they’re also one of the most difficult ethical issues to tackle.

The first step is understanding what these conditions are. Obesity occurs when your body has excess fat around it, while diabetes is a disease that causes your blood sugar levels to become too high or low. Although being overweight can contribute to developing either condition or both, there’s no guarantee that it will happen—and even if you do get them both at once (which happens more often than not), there are ways to prevent this from happening again later on down the line!

Now let’s talk about how we can help people who already have these conditions:

Smoking

Smoking is unhealthy. It’s addictive, expensive and bad for the environment. Smoking also leads to other illnesses such as lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. And finally, smoking costs billions in health care costs in the United States every year.

The moral of this story? Don’t smoke!

Gun violence

Gun violence is a complex problem that involves many factors and causes. It’s important to remember that gun violence isn’t just an issue in the United States—it’s an issue around the world, too. In fact, there are many countries where guns are used more often than they would be if there were fewer guns available to criminals or terrorists.

In Canada, we have some of the lowest rates of gun homicides in North America (0.9 per 100k people). But this doesn’t mean we don’t have our own issues with gun ownership: in 2017 alone there were at least 2 incidents where someone was killed after breaking into someone’s home while searching for weapons

Domestic violence

Domestic violence is a serious public health problem. It’s the leading cause of injury to women in the United States, and it’s also one of the most underreported violent crimes.

The consequences are far-reaching: domestic abuse can lead to serious injury or even death; children who witness domestic violence may be more likely to develop mental health issues; it can interfere with your ability to work or take care of yourself and others—and that isn’t even including any of its effects on romantic relationships!

There are many ethical dilemmas facing public health professionals.

There are many ethical dilemmas facing public health professionals. These include:

• How should you treat patients who refuse medical treatment?

• Should you tell people who have been exposed to a disease they don’t know they’re infected with, or wait until they develop symptoms?

• What do you do when someone asks for sex education but then refuses to use contraception when it’s available, even if this means other people might get pregnant or contract an STD?

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you to better understand some of the ethical dilemmas that public health professionals face when they work in their field. We believe that a commitment to ethics is central to the work of public health practitioners, as it allows them to make decisions that are right for their patients and communities. It also means that they can be more empathetic towards those they serve by acknowledging the struggles faced by their clients and understanding why they might not always see things in black-and-white terms like we do!