Learning about Public Health Ethics just got easier: In light of the current pandemic, the Oxford University Press has made all 73 chapters of The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics available for free online.
Keywords: Governmental Public Health | Public Health System | Pandemic Planning | Chronic Disease | Infectious disease | Public Health Ethics
Within the handbook, you will find a chapter written by our director Debra DeBruin, PhD and colleague JP Leider, PhD, titled “The US Public Health System and Ethics.” Contributing author Holly A. Taylor describes their chapter: "Debra DeBruin and Jonathon P. Leider begin with an introduction to the depth and breadth of the public health system. The authors note that the public health system is generally “invisible” to the general public, at least until something goes wrong, such as an outbreak of disease or the contamination of a water system. They argue that ethical issues pervade the conduct of public health, from the development of national strategies to day-to-day decisions made by local health officers. They conclude with a focus on the ethics of pandemic influenza planning from the perspective of a local health department, emphasizing the challenge of how best to respond to a public health emergency without exacerbating health disparities among the populations affected."