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Engage with stakeholders

Public health policies and programs should be developed with input from those who will be affected by them.

 

  • Public engagement and involvement of relevant stakeholders should be part of all aspects of plan­ning. WHO Ethics in Pandemic Flu
  • Public engagement and involvement are essential to build public will and trust and should be evidenced throughout the planning and response process. CDC Ethics in Pandemic Flu
  • Ensure that those affected by the decisions have a voice in decision making and agree in advance to the proposed process. CDC Ethics in Pandemic Flu
  • Governments and the health care sector should engage stakeholders (including staff, the public and partners) in determining what criteria should be used to make resource allocation decisions (e.g., access to ventilators during the crisis, and access to health services for other illnesses), should ensure that clear rationales for allocation decisions are publicly accessible and should provide a justification for any deviation from the predetermined criteria. University of Toronto
  • The inclusion of stakeholders in the decision-making process, as well as the presence of communication mechanisms, ensures that those affected will be informed of the developing protocol. Indiana University
  • Discussions with citizens and faith-based communities regarding potential barriers to adherence to funeral and burial procedures will prepare these communities for potential delays and alterations that may occur while attempting to follow cultural practices. Indiana University
  • Engage, empower, and train community members to conduct and disseminate health assessments. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.1.2.
  • Empower community members and stakeholders to be active participants in the decision-making process. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.2.10.
  • Engage individuals and communities in the development of individual and collective solutions to public health issues. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.3.5.
  • Incorporate individual and community experiences and perspectives in the development of individual and collective solutions to public health issues. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.3.6.
  • Create meaningful opportunities for ongoing dialogue with stakeholder communities and the public at large to identify health challenges, opportunities, and priorities for action. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.4.1.
  • Convene stakeholders throughout all phases of policy and intervention development, implementation, and evaluation. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.4.4.
  • Diverse public voices should be involved in determining the need for restrictions and in articulating the ethical justification for these restrictions. CDC Ethics in Pandemic Flu
  • A reasonably diverse infrastructure that includes voices across racial, cultural, community, providers and recipients of care, etc. should be involved in planning, understanding the process, and conveying the process throughout the community. CDC Ethics in Pandemic Flu
  • The inclusion of stakeholders in the decision-making process, as well as the presence of communication mechanisms, ensures that those affected will be informed of the developing protocol. Indiana University
  • The inclusion of health care workers in the various levels of the policy-making process, as well as the presence of communication mechanisms, allows policymakers to address the workers promptly regarding any misinterpretations of the protocol. Indiana University
  • Empower community members and stakeholders to be active participants in the decision-making process. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.2.10.
  • Balance perceived needs with expressed and expert-defined needs to improve community health. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.1.3.
  • Be diligent in identifying communities and groups with a stake in public health planning and program activities. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.4.3.
  • Be open to unanticipated ideas for creating positive change. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.4.6.
  • Build relationships and partnerships based on mutual respect and reciprocity, recognizing the dignity and capability of individuals and the assets and strengths of the community. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.4.10.
  • Public health officials must adequately acknowledge and respond to strong currents of suspicion and distrust of the healthcare system. CDC Ethics in Pandemic Flu
  • This process should be especially attentive to historically marginalized communities and those where sensitivity to cultural, racial, religious or other values must be incorporated. CDC Ethics in Pandemic Flu
  • Promote cross-disciplinary collaboration to define community problems and identify causal factors or social determinants of health. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.1.1.
  • Be responsive to community perspectives on health challenges, opportunities, and priorities for action. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.4.5.
  • Be attuned to cultural, social, and historical contexts that influence community health and receptivity to public health partnerships. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.4.7.
  • Governments and the health care sector should ensure that there are formal mechanisms in place for stakeholders to bring forward new information, to appeal or raise concerns about particular allocation decisions and to resolve disputes. University of Toronto
  • The inclusion of an appeals process may be considered to allow health care workers and the general public to voice concern and dissent. Evaluation of these appeals may result in more effective and acceptable triage protocol. Indiana University
  • Health care professionals’ input in the decision-making process, in addition to the presence of communication mechanisms that allow for the expression of dissatisfaction by the health care professionals, allows for the iterative evaluation and improvement of the protocol. Indiana University


What is Pandemic Ethics?

A pandemic is pervasive in scope and touches virtually every human-made system. In this dashboard, we focus on ethics in a government’s or an employer’s actions in a pandemic.

Public health ethics addresses the relationship between those governing or administrating and the population or employees they serve. They are best summarized by the Public Health Code of Ethics of the American Public Health Association.

Contact Jim Thomas