Bioethics of Public Policies. Ethical Standards in Crisis Situations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18662/po/11.1sup2/147Keywords:
bioethics, public policies, crisis situations, ethical standardsAbstract
Due to the fact that the value of public health and the value of individual health take precedence in health policies that respond to the pandemic created by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, there must be a number of limitations on autonomy and informed consent, equity in access to health, etc., and the limits of these measures must be clear to both decision-makers and the public, so the measures must be taken and implemented from an ethical perspective. This lecture will address a number of ethical features that should be taken into account during the pandemic. Public health measures must take into account a number of ethical principles, namely: the intervention should be based on research and be proportionate to the threat to public health posed by that infection, or that the public health hazard, in general, represents for a particular society in one area or another of the world. The purpose of the intervention must be dimensioned in such a way that the intervention is based on the scientific results and the professional judgment of the public health experts in the respective region. The results and goals of health policies as well as the reasons why the intervention takes place must be clearly communicated to the public and be understood accordingly (Cook, 2020).
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