Four Public Health Ethical Principles
The distribution of resources in public health involves many ethics or ethical principles. The main ethical principles include: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. These ethical principles can affect how a rural areas distribution of resources to public health is viewed among those distributing the resources and those receiving them.
Autonomy can be considered the act of respecting the decisions or choices made by others ("Four fundamental principles of ethics", 2016). This ethical principle may be considered important when considering distributing of resources, when determining where the resources will be distributed and who they will be distributed to. A resident or number of residents in a rural area may make a choice …show more content…
When considering the distribution of resources in rural areas, public health professionals must consider the ethical principle nonmaleficence, in order to provide adequate resources to the appropriate areas needing care.
Justice may be one of the most important ethical principles involved with the distribution of resources in public health. This ethical principle notes the requirement to provide all people with what they deserve, and the requirement to treat people equally and fairly ("Four fundamental principles of ethics", 2016). When distributing resources in public health it is essential that all rural public health areas receive justice when they are receiving resources.
There are conflicting viewpoints of these ethical principles, specifically, autonomy. Autonomy requires that one respect the decisions or choices a person may make ("Four fundamental principles of ethics", 2016). In a rural area a public health professional may be in the process of treating a resident with a chronic illness that could be successfully maintained with proper medical treatment. If this resident decided not to pursue medical treatment, and rely on holistic and/or religious healing methods; the public health professional would have to respect the autonomy of the resident, while also respecting their conflicting viewpoints (Warren & Smalley,
Autonomy can be considered the act of respecting the decisions or choices made by others ("Four fundamental principles of ethics", 2016). This ethical principle may be considered important when considering distributing of resources, when determining where the resources will be distributed and who they will be distributed to. A resident or number of residents in a rural area may make a choice …show more content…
When considering the distribution of resources in rural areas, public health professionals must consider the ethical principle nonmaleficence, in order to provide adequate resources to the appropriate areas needing care.
Justice may be one of the most important ethical principles involved with the distribution of resources in public health. This ethical principle notes the requirement to provide all people with what they deserve, and the requirement to treat people equally and fairly ("Four fundamental principles of ethics", 2016). When distributing resources in public health it is essential that all rural public health areas receive justice when they are receiving resources.
There are conflicting viewpoints of these ethical principles, specifically, autonomy. Autonomy requires that one respect the decisions or choices a person may make ("Four fundamental principles of ethics", 2016). In a rural area a public health professional may be in the process of treating a resident with a chronic illness that could be successfully maintained with proper medical treatment. If this resident decided not to pursue medical treatment, and rely on holistic and/or religious healing methods; the public health professional would have to respect the autonomy of the resident, while also respecting their conflicting viewpoints (Warren & Smalley,