ETHICAL FOUNDATIONS
ETHICS
The
study of morality
Ethics
vs morals
ETHICS AND HEALTH EDUCATION
 Ethical
behavior is conscious
behavior
 Ethical
behavior is acting with
integrity.
 Moral
positions require thought and
are NOT primarily dependent on
feelings.
CONSEQUENTIALISM (TELEOLOGIAL)
Evaluates
the moral status of an
act by looking at the
consequences
The
END (consequences) does
justify the Means (the act).
FORMALISM
 AKA:
deontological or
nonconsequentialism
 Determine
morality by whether or
not an act is right or wrong in itself
 The
END (consequences) does not
justify the Means (the act)
Basic
Principles for Common
Moral Ground
#1: VALUE OF LIFE PRINCIPLE
 “Human
beings should revere life
and accept death.” (Cottrell et al, p. 147)

No life should be ended without very
strong justification.
#2: GOODNESS (RIGHTNESS) PRINCIPLE
 Good
and right are at the core of
every ethical decision.
 Beneficence

or benevolence:
Promotes the welfare of others
 Nonmaleficence:

Do not cause needless harm or injury to others
Commission = harm from action
 Omission = harm from inaction

#3: JUSTICE/FAIRNESS PRINCIPLE

We can expect to be treated justly and fairly in
our dealings with other people and institutions.
#4: TRUTH TELLING (HONESTY) PRINCIPLE

Communicating truth is essential to morality.
#5: INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM PRINCIPLE
 AKA:
Equity or Autonomy
 Having
and respecting the origins of
individuals to deliberate, choose, and
act within the framework of the
other basic principles.
THE “CRITICAL IMPERATIVE” (MELLERT, 1995)


Would you want your course of action to be a
model for others?
If others were faced with the same decision, is
this how you would want them to act?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

You are a health educator responsible for the
employee health promotion program at the
Corvallis Clinic. Based on the results of the
health risk appraisals (HRA’s) you administered,
you are aware that one of the department
managers is a consistent abuser of alcohol. The
employee in question is well liked at the Clinic
and is a good employee. To the best of your
knowledge, alcohol has not impacted this person’s
work performance, but you feel it has the
potential to do so. What should you do with this
information?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

You are a high school health teacher. The board
of education has a policy that prohibits the
teaching or discussing of any contraceptive or
birth control method in the district. The only
approach that can be mentioned in the classroom
is abstinence. As a professional health educator,
you have read that the abstinence-only approach
is ineffective with a significant number of
students. After class one day, one of your
students approaches you and asks for the name
and location of an abortion clinic. She also asks
that you not tell anyone else about this. What
will you do?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

You are the health educator for a large county
health department. Your supervisor has asked you
to develop a program on safer sex practices for the
gay and lesbian population. The program will be
made available to lesbian/gay groups in the
community. You have no prior experience working
with gays and lesbians and you feel uncomfortable
dealing with this population. How will you handle
this situation?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

You have been hired as a research assistant on an
National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded grant
project. Your role on the project is to assist the
Principal Investigator (P.I.) in preparing the yearend report to be sent to the NIH. You have read the
original grant proposal and are familiar with what
was proposed to be done, and what has been done,
to date. It is clear to you that the project team has
not met the proposed objectives and yet the first
draft of the year-end report suggests there have
been no problems with the timeline or deliverables.
What would you do?
CODE OF ETHICS

“…document that maps the dimensions of the
profession’s collective social responsibility and
acknowledges the obligations individual
practitioners share in meeting the profession’s
responsibilities.” (Cottrell et al., p. 161)
CODE OF ETHICS FOR THE HEALTH
EDUCATION PROFESSION

Article I: Responsibility to the Public

Article II: Responsibility to the Profession

Article III: Responsibility to Employers

Article IV: Responsibility to the Delivery of
Health
Education

Article V: Responsibility to Research and
Evaluation

Article VI: Responsibility to Professional
Preparation