Question

Review the "Correspondence of the 12 Ethical Principles with the 10 Essential Public Health Services" section of the assigned reading, "Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health," developed by the American Public Health Association. Select one of the 12 ethical principles discussed in the reading and describe a situation in which that principle applies in public health. How does this affect a public health practice

Answer 1

A) Review of correspondence of the 12 ethical principles with the 10 essential public health services.

There are 12 ethical principles corresponding to 10 essential public health services.

1. The first among the 10 essential public health services is health status monitoring to identify community health issues. The corresponding ethical principles are 5 (collecting information) and 7 (act on that information).

2. The second essential public health service is diagnosing and investigating health problems and health hazards in the community. The corresponding ethical principle is 5 (collecting information).

3. The 3rd essential public health service is informing, educating, and empowering people about health issues. The corresponding ethical principles are 4 (advocacy and empowerment) and 6 (provide information).

4. The 4th essential public health service is community partnership mobilization to solve and identify health problems. The corresponding ethical principle is 6 (collaboration).

5. The 5th essential public health service is developing policies and plans to support community health and individual efforts. The corresponding ethical principles are 1 (protection and promotion of health), 3 (processes meant for community input), and 5 (collection of information).

6. The 6th essential public health service is the enforcement of laws and regulations for health protection and ensuring safety. The corresponding ethical principles are 2 (achievement of community health respecting the individual rights), 3 (community feedback), and 7 (actions should be taken on information).

7. The 7th essential public health service is linking people to required personal health services and provide assurance about healthcare when it is otherwise unavailable. The corresponding ethical principles are 4 (advocate and empower; basic resources available to all) and 8 (incorporate diversity).

8. The 8th essential public health service is the assurance of competent public health and personal healthcare workforce. The corresponding ethical principle is 11 (professional competence).

9. The 9th essential public health service is the evaluation of effectiveness, quality, and accessibility of individual and population-based health services. The corresponding ethical principles are 3 (feedback of community) and 5 (collection of information).

10. The 10th essential public health service is new insights’ research and solutions to health issues. The corresponding ethical principle is 5 (collection of information).

For ethical principles 9 (enhancing social and physical environments) and 10 (protection of confidentiality), there is no corresponding essential public health service.

B) Collection of information is the 5th ethical principle. This principle has a significant role in the case of an epidemic. Information of epidemic like the number of infected people, the number of days for recovery, the medicines given, the effectiveness of medicines given, the food taken, other environmental factors, the causative organism, carrier of the disease etc. are important information that needs to be collected. This information is very important in the research for new insights and innovative solutions, the 10th essential public health service and many more essential public health services as given above.