Galea Responds to "Consequential(ist) Epidemiology: Finally"

Commentary An Argument for a Consequentialist Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of the causes and distributions of diseases in human populations so that we may identify ways to prevent and control disease. Although this definition broadly serves us well, I suggest that in recent decades, our discipline’s robust interest in identifying causes has come at the expense of a more rigorous engagement with the second part of our vision for ourselves—the ...

How to be a consequentialist about everything

Over the last few decades, there has been an increasing interest in global consequentialism. Where act-consequentialism assesses acts in terms of their consequences, global consequentialism goes much further, assessing acts, rules, motives — and everything else — in terms of the relevant consequences. Compared to act-consequentialism it offers a number of advantages: it is more expressive, it i...

Æ Sandro Galea Æ

j Abstract Background This study examined the use of professionals for mental health problems among New York City residents who were directly affected by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) or had a probable diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression in its aftermath. Correlates of help seeking from professionals for mental health probl...

Comparing Consequentialist Solutions to the Nonidentity Problem

It finally happened to me.

It finally happened to me: I was sued for malpractice by the family of a patient who had died suddenly. My inner turmoil in the aftermath of this traumatic event affected me deeply. While I was an experienced family doctor dedicated to patient-centered medicine, the event challenged my customary approach to my patients. I share three vignettes from my practice that describe my inner dialogue bo...