Public health programmes pose some very important ethical problems. One of the most pressing is the possible conflict between individual interests (and rights) and collective interests, which becomes particularly important in the public health surveillance setting. The present article first looks at the definitions of "public health surveillance" in a historical context and then identifies the ...

The main question examined is: How do nurses and other healthcare professionals ensure ethical interprofessional collaboration-in-practice as an everyday practice actuality? Ethical interprofessional collaboration becomes especially relevant and necessary when interprofessional practice decisions are contested. To illustrate, two healthcare scenarios are analyzed through three ethics lenses. Bi...

The authors review the principle features of the managed care system in an effort to understand the ethical assumptions inherent in managed care. The interrelationships among physician incentives, responsibilities of patients and the physician-patient relationship are examined in light of the ethical concerns identified in the managed care system. The managed care system creates ethical tension...

A potential conflict is built into the roles of dentists and researchers with regard to ethical principles such as beneficence, nonmaleficence, respect for autonomy, and justice. The practitioner has an obligation to do what is believed to be best for the individual patient: the dentist as researcher has an obligation to use rigorous experimental methods, including randomized control trials (RC...

This paper focuses on invasive therapeutic procedures, defined as procedures requiring the introduction of hands, instruments, or devices into the body via incisions or punctures of the skin or mucous membranes performed with the intent of changing the natural history of a human disease or condition for the better. Ethical and methodological concerns have been expressed about studies designed t...

Given the focus on health systems in the post-millennium development goal era and moving towards the sustainable development goals, there is a compelling need for a common framework for health policy and systems research ethics to guide researchers and facilitate review by research ethics committees. A consultation of global health policy and systems research and ethics experts was convened to ...

This paper examines the effects of environmental factors on the ethical behavior of managers using computers at work in Mainland China. In this study, environmental factors refer to senior management, peer groups, company policies, professional practices, and legal considerations. Ethical behaviors include attitudes to disclosure, protection of privacy, conflict of interest, personal conduct, s...

The technology associated with the care of surgical patients and the level of sophistication of biomedical research accompanying it are evolving at a rapid pace. Both new and old bioethical issues are assuming increasing levels of prominence and importance, particularly in this age of molecular medicine. The authors explore bioethical issues pertinent and relevant to surgeons. Four specific are...

This article summarizes the major categories of ethical violations encountered during submission, review, and publication of scientific articles. We discuss data fabrication and falsification, plagiarism, redundant and duplicate publication, conflict of interest, authorship, animal and human welfare, and reviewer responsibility. In each section, pertinent historical background and citation of r...

A conflict of interest exists when a health care provider's primary interest is at risk of being biased by a secondary interest that would cause harm. This concerns the different fields of professional practice. Based on a supplement of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) about conflicts of interest inviting to analyze the situation under the "Do No Harm" ethical principle, d...