Principles for the justification of public health intervention.

OBJECTIVES The objective of this paper is to discuss principles relevant to ethical deliberation in public health. METHODS Conceptual analysis and literature review. RESULTS Four principles are identified: The Harm Principle, The Principle of Least Restrictive Means, The Reciprocity Principle, and The Transparency Principle. Two examples of how the principles are applied in practice are provided. INTERPRETATION The paper illustrates how clinical ethics is not an appropriate model for public health ethics and argues that the type of reasoning involved in public health ethics may be at potential variance from that of empirical science. Further research and debate on the appropriate ethics for public health are required.