Ethics tools
We list here tools for implementing ethical actions in a pandemic.
In contrast to resources, which are usually references, tools provide a practical means to build skills or assist in an action.
- Advocate for Local Health Department Priorities in the Next COVID Relief Package, National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO)
- Net-Map Toolbox, Eva Schiffer – Influence mapping of social networks can be used to determine relevant stakeholders.
- Stakeholder Analysis Toolkit, Manchester Metropolitan University – Toolkit outlines a four-step process to conducting detailed stakeholder analysis: 1) identify stakeholders, 2) create a stakeholder map, 3) identify stakeholder allegiance, and 4) create a stakeholder management strategy.
- Board Member Asset Map, Chicago Foundation for Women – Maps connections outside the organization and contributions and interests within the organization.
- VA Staff Discussion Forums on Ethics Issues in Pandemic Influenza Preparedness: A Guide, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) – A template for holding ethics discussions among internal stakeholders for decision making that is open, transparent, and inclusive.
- Net-Map Toolbox, Eva Schiffer – Influence mapping of social networks can be used to determine relevant stakeholders.
- COVID-19 GIS Hub, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) – a compilation of maps, datasets, apps, and other tools to understand, prepare, and respond to COVID-19.
- Decision-making in Public Health Ethics, UNC Gillings School of Public Health – Online videos include information on group decision-making, fair procedures, identifying stakeholders, and applying ethics tools.
- Good Decision Making in Real Time: Practical Public Health Ethics for Local Health Officials, National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) – This course provides tools and practical examples to address ethical challenges that commonly arise in public health practice.
- Ethical Framework for Decision Making in HPC During the COVID-19 Pandemic, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) – Checklist of questions for palliative care providers to consider when providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- INVOLVE Toolkit: Fair Process Leadership – Communication Diagnostic, The Foundation for Fair Process Leadership Communication – A questionnaire to assess the readiness of organizations to deploy fair process in their work.
- So You Want to Start an Ethics Committee, National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) – Step-by-step guide for creating an ethics committee, including sample documentation from health departments that have established ethics committees.
- Establishing an Ethics Committee, National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) – Resources for local health departments seeking to establish ethics committees.
- Ethics Planning and Assessment Tool: A Healthcare Guide for Pandemic Flu Planning, New Jersey Hospital Association – This toolkit is intended to facilitate the incorporation of ethical principles into pandemic planning.
- An Ethics Framework for the COVID-19 Reopening Process, Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics – How to ethically assess reopening policies and plans.
- Checklist for Integrating People with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs into Emergency Preparedness, Planning, Response & Recovery, Western University of Health Sciences Harris Center for Disability and Health Policy – This checklist can be used to evaluate current capacity of critical elements that integrate people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs into emergency planning, response, and recovery, develop inclusive emergency plans, policies, processes, and evaluate progress and identify areas that need continued attention.
- COVID-19 Vaccination Program Planning: A Checklist for State and Territorial Health Officials, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) – This checklist provides health departments with practical steps to take to prepare for the dissemination and distribution of a vaccine for COVID-19.
- Contact Tracing Staffing Calculator, Prevent Epidemics – An excel calculator to estimate staff resources needed for scaling up contact tracing.
- Social Distancing Tracker, Surgo Foundation – Real-time information on how Americans are responding to social distancing policies. Data is captured for all 50 states.
- COVID-19: Simple Answers to Top Questions, Risk Communication Field Guide, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) – A comprehensive compilation of top questions and “message maps” to help organize complex information and make it easier to express current knowledge.
- COVID Ready Communication Playbook, Vital Talk – Practical advice on how to talk about difficult topics related to COVID-19.
- COVID-19 Fact Sheets, COVID-19 Health Literacy Project – Accessible information about COVID-19 for a variety of topics available in more than 30 languages.
- Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Manual, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Information on the psychology of a crisis, preparing messages for different audiences, community engagement, crisis communication plans, working with the media, and other topics.
- Communicating During an Outbreak or Public Health Investigation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Information about evolving communication strategies during an outbreak, risk perception and communication, trust and credibility, and common communication tools to use during an outbreak.
- 12 Considerations for Accessible Emergency Communications, Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies – Key considerations to help guide emergency communications for populations with access and functional needs.
- COVID-19 advice for the public: Advocacy, World Health Organization (WHO) – Links to printable and digital materials for accessible information about COVID-19.
- Pandemic Flu Response Educational Toolkit, University of Missouri School of Medicine – Downloadable tools to convene a meeting with community members and facilitate dialogue about pandemic preparedness and response plans.
- COVID-19 Vaccination Program Planning: A Checklist for State and Territorial Health Officials, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) – This checklist provides health departments with practical steps to take to prepare for the dissemination and distribution of a vaccine for COVID-19.
- Hospital Capacity Data, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Protect Public Data Hub – Downloadable data set can be used to analyze health care system capacity and resources in a particular region.
- The COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index, Surgo Foundation – Identifies communities that may need the most support in responding to coronavirus.
- Social Vulnerability Index, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) – The Social Vulnerability Index can be used to identify communities that may need additional support in preparing for hazards or recovering from disasters. SVI considers socioeconomic status, household composition/disability, race/ethnicity/language, and housing/transportation to determine an area’s overall social vulnerability. Data can be downloaded as ArcGIS Shapefiles or .CSV format. Prepared county maps can also be downloaded as PDFs here.
- The COVID Racial Data Tracker, COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic – COVID-19 case data by race and ethnicity.
- Addressing the Needs of People with Disabilities in Public Health Emergencies, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – These slides cover tools that can be used to plan and respond to emergencies.
- Vulnerable and At-Risk Populations Resource Guide, UNC Gillings School of Public Health – A comprehensive resource for how to identify and plan for at-risk populations.
- COVID-19 Response Health Equity Strategy: Accelerating Progress Towards Reducing COVID-19 Disparities and Achieving Health Equity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – This document outlines strategies to work towards health equity in the context of COVID-19.
- Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide, The Annie E. Casey Foundation – Seven steps in this guide provide a framework for incorporating race equity and inclusion into organizational operations.
- Racial Equity Toolkit: An Opportunity to Operationalize Equity, Racial Equity Alliance – Appendix C is a racial equity tool worksheet that can be used to assess potential plans and policies.
- Recommendations for Addressing Equity in the COVID-19 Response, Massachusetts General Hospital – Practical steps for hospitals working to ensure equity.