Public Health Ethics | Center for Bioethics

The Center for Bioethics advances public health practice and policy that promotes population health while being socially responsible and worthy of trust. We foster this aspect of our mission through academic scholarship, educational opportunities, and statewide collaboration to create ethical guidelines and policies.

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Improving Crisis Preparedness: Lessons from Acute Care Settings in Minnesota During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Improving Crisis Preparedness is a project led by the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota. The project will solicit healthcare stakeholder input on the COVID-19 response and develop recommendations for improving the state’s crisis preparedness and response frameworks. Under contract with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), this project aims to gather input from diverse healthcare stakeholders throughout the state to assess the adequacy of those frameworks and make recommendations for improvements. Virtual listening sessions are planned with various healthcare stakeholder groups, including clinicians and hospital/health system leadership. The project team will then draft recommendations for revisions to the state’s crisis preparedness and response framework.

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Ethical Allocation of Scarce Resources

After the end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, Debra DeBruin, PhD, has worked with the Minnesota Department of Health and statewide groups of stakeholders and subject matter experts to draft guidance for ethical management of scarce resource situations.

More information can be found on:
https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/ep/surge/crisis/index.html

Minnesota COVID Ethics Collaborative

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), State Health Care Coordination Center (SHCC), Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA), and the University of Minnesota convened a statewide advisory group, the Minnesota COVID Ethics Collaborative (MCEC), to rapidly share expertise and support sound ethical guidance to cope with the moral challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, such as allocation of scarce medical resources in the event that need surges beyond supply. This multidisciplinary group brought together experts from organizations across the state including ethics, law, public health, medicine, nursing, disaster planning, and spiritual care.

MCEC created a number of statewide guidance documents that have been adopted and disseminated by the Minnesota Department of Health.

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Publications

Leider, J., DeBruin, D., & Lim, S. (2024) Ethical and Operational Strategies for Scarce Resource Allocation. JAMA Health Forum, 5(9):e242940. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.2940

Riggan, K. A., Kesler, S., DeBruin, D., Wolf, S. M., Leider, J. P., Sederstrom, N., Dichter, J., & DeMartino, E. S. (2024). Minnesota hospitals' plans for implementing statewide guidance on allocation of scarce critical care resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayo Clinic proceedings. Innovations, quality & outcomes, 8(6), 537–547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2024.09.003

Riggan, K. A., Nguyen, N. V., Ennis, J. S., DeBruin, D. A., Sharp, R. R., Tilburt, J. C., Wolf, S. M., & DeMartino, E. S. (2024). Behind the Scenes: Facilitators and Barriers to Developing State Scarce Resource Allocation Plans for the COVID-19 Pandemic. CHEST, 166(3), 561-571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2024.04.006

Eyal, N., Wynia, M. K., Harter, T. D., DeBruin, D., & Eberl, J. T. (2023). Why Dropping Most Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates is Now Ethical. Health Affairs Forefront. https://doi.org/10.1377/forefront.20231206.51079

Leider, J. P., Lim, S., DeBruin, D., Waterman, A. T., Smith, B., Ghimire, U., & Hick, J. L. (2023). Using a web platform for equitable distribution of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies: A case study in resource allocation. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1226935.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1226935

Wrigley-Field, E., Berry, K. M., Stokes, A. C., & Leider, J. P. (2023). COVID-19 Vaccination and Racial/Ethnic Inequities in Mortality at Midlife in Minnesota. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 64(2),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.08.005

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Recordings

Whose Job Is It, Anyway? The Ethics and Management of Hospital Efforts on Social Determinants of Health
Kelsey N. Berry, PhD, Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics
April 25, 2025

Where Do We Go From Here? Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Pediatric Health Disparities in 2025 and Beyond
Monique Jindal, MD, MPH, Northwestern University and Lurie Children's Hospital
Nathan T. Chomilo, MD, FAAP, FACP, University of Minnesota Medical School
April 4, 2025

Ethics At the Intersection: Discussing End of Life Choices With American Indian and Alaska Native Patients
Mary J. Owen, MD, University of Minnesota Duluth
Nov 15, 2024

Reimagining Rural Health Equity: Understanding Disparities And Advancing Rural Policy, Practice, And Research
Anne Sosin, MPH, Dartmouth College, Elizabeth Carpenter-Song, PhD, Dartmouth College
Oct 25, 2024

Ending Unequal Treatment: A Systems Approach
Georges C. Benjamin, MD, MACP, FACEP (E), FNAPA, American Public Health Association, Monica E. Peek, MD, MPH, MS, FACP, University of Chicago
Sep 13, 2024

Separating Fact from Fiction: Developmental and Ethical Considerations in Pediatric Gender Health
A. Kade Goepferd, MD, Children's Minnesota, Ian Wolfe, PhD, MA, RN, HEC-C, Children's Minnesota
Apr 12, 2024

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