306.655.01
Ethical Issues in Public Health
Location
East Baltimore
Term
2nd Term
Department
Health Policy and Management
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2024 - 2025
Instruction Method
In-person
Tuesday, 3:30 - 6:20pm
Auditors Allowed
No
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Resources
Prerequisite
The COVID pandemic and the corresponding public health efforts to mitigate its toll prompted widespread debate about the appropriate extent of government authority. The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was called a “moral failure.” The former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has been called a “finger-wagging nanny” because of his public health efforts, such as attempting to ban the sale of some large sugary drinks. What do these claims mean? What are the ethical values and the assumptions about public health underlying claims like these? This course examines these ethical questions and others, as they bear on a range of topics in public health.
Provides an introduction to ethical issues in public health. Considers how the pursuit of public health can come into conflict with important values and ethical concerns, such as individual autonomy, privacy, and social justice. Considers the ethical values and moral imperatives that underlie and support public health efforts, and the ethics of a range of public health programs and public health policies, across multiple different public health issues, including obesity prevention, tobacco control, childhood vaccination efforts, and other topics.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Identify and consider ethical issues relevant to public health efforts
- Articulate moral arguments for or against different kinds of public health programs and policies
- Use ethical skills to interpret ethical debates about current public health issues
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
- 10% Participation
- 40% Written Assignment(s)
- 50% Final Paper