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Ethical Issues in International Health Research:
Promotion and Intervention
PM 568 spring 2011
Meets in HSA 7059, Tuesdays 4:00 – 7:30 p.m.
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Amy Parish
amyrparish@aol.com
Tel: 213-740-8286
Fax: 213-747-8571
Office: THH 422 (University Park Campus)
Office hours by appointment
OVERVIEW
In this course we will explore the philosophy and practice of ethics in the field of
public health as well as its application in the practice of international health
research. We will explore the complexity of today's world health problems and
learn how to work together to propose and consider possible solutions. We will also
learn how to involve others in the creative process of problem solving. We will
approach the field of ethics in a “writ large” fashion in which we not only examine
the “proximate” (or mechanistic) causes of public health concerns but also the
“ultimate” (or root) causes that lie in the domain of larger issues of human rights
and social justice. Utilizing a framework for the elimination of health disparities
world wide, we will explore the ethical foundations of past and current scientific
practices and the personal and professional ethical issues that public health
practitioners and researchers may encounter today in their work on global health.
Formats will include lecture, class discussion, research, attendance at external
events, film, and development of activist-based projects related to course themes.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Check with the MPH office for any special arrangements and policies, and please
notify professor or lecturer in a timely fashion regarding any accommodations
needed. Students requesting academic accommodations based on a disability need
to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP). A letter of verification for
approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be certain the letter is
delivered to the professor/s as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located on
the University Park Campus, in STU 301 and is open from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM,
Monday through Friday. The phone number is (213) 740-0776.
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INTEGRITY
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of
academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of
others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise
allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic
work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own.
All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the
Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the
recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/. Students will be referred
to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review,
should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be
found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/.
COURSE READINGS:
1) Ethical Dimensions In The Health Professions, Ruth Purtilo
2) Public Health Law and Ethics: A Reader, Revised and Updated, Second Edition,
Lawrence O. Gostin (Editor)
3) Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would
Cure the World, Tracy Kidder
4) The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society, Frans de Waal
5) Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
Various journal articles and web sites
GRADING:
Students are expected to be present at each lecture, unless special arrangements
have been made in advance with the instructor. Final grades will be assigned based
on the following:
Term Paper 30%
Project 30%
Class Participation 30%
Attendance 10%
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SYLLABUS
This syllabus is subject to revision throughout the term. Please check Blackboard
frequently for updates/amendments/changes.
COURSE CONTENT:
Week 1: Jan 11
Introduction to course, instructor and each other
Exploration of ethical issues and current events
Introduction to Human Cooperative Behavior
Reading:
Purtilo, Section 1: Introduction to Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions
Extra Meeting Wed. Jan 12 6:40 p.m.: DR. IZZELDIN ABUELAISH
I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace, L.A. Library
Alternative: Friday Jan 14: Mitroff and Silvers “Dirty Rotten Strategies: How we
trick Ourselves and Others into Solving the Wrong Problems Precisely”, UCLA
Anderson School C-301, 1 – 3 p.m.
Week 2: Jan 18
Meet on the UPC campus
Attend Lecture: 4- 5:30 Prof. Janet Halley, Harvard School of Law, Location: Town
and Gown (reception follows)
6:00 – 7:30: Class meeting on class project assignment (at UPC, room: TBA)
Reading:
Will be posted on Blackboard
Week 3: Jan 25
Library Training session (in our classroom) with University Research Librarian
Lecture/Discussion of Ethics in Public Health
Schools of Thought
Georgetown Mantra
Reading:
Purtilo: Section 2: Ethical Dimensions of Professional Roles and Section 3: Ethical
Dimensions of the Professional- Patient Relationship
Week 4: Feb 8
Human Rights
Lecture: Amnesty International (pending)
Reading:
Kidder: Mountains Beyond Mountains (in its entirety)
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Week 5: Feb 15
Human Rights
Lecture: Dr. Steven Smith, Director, USC Shoah Foundation
Reading:
de Waal: Age of Empathy (in its entirety)
Wednesday Feb 9: Extra Class session: Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser “Food,
Inc”, UPC, Bovard Auditorium 7 p.m.
Week 6: Feb 22
Ethical Issues of Illness, Self-sacrifice, and Personal Freedom
Lecture: Kerrie Kvashay-Boyle
Reading:
Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go (in its entirety)
Purtilo: Ethical Dimensions of Chronic and End of Life Care
Gostin: Part 2: The Law and the Public’s Health
Week 7: March 1
Ownership/Property Rights to the Body
Issue in Biomedical Reserach
Lecture: Debra Greenfield, J.D. UCLA Center for Society and Genetics
Reading:
Gostin: Part 3: Public Health and Civil Liberties in Conflict
Week 8: March 8
Social Justice Issues: Women in Prison and Mothers with Mental Health Issues
Lecture: Amy Goldman, J.D., Family Law Attorney for Prototypes (a social service
agency)
Reading: TBA
Extra Class Session Friday March 4: Laurie Garrett “Betrayal of Trust in Global
Health Care”, USC HSC, Meyer Auditorium, 3 p.m.
Week 9: March 15
Spring Break, no class
Week 10: March 22
No class (made up by lectures on non-class days)
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Week 11:March 29
Lecture: Danell Scarborough, Ed.D., Executive Director,
City of San Diego Human Relations Commission
Citizens' Review Board on Police Practices
Reading:
Gostin: Part 1: Foundations of Public Health Law and Ethics
Week 12: April 5
Physicians for Social Responsibility (tentative)
Lecture: Dr. Rishi Manchanda, M.D. M.P.H.
Reading:
Purtilo: Ethical Dimensions of the Social Context of Health Care
Gostin: Part 4: The Future of the Public’s Health
Week 13: April 12
Institutional Review Board
International Public Health: Governmental and Non-Governmental Orgs.
Reading:
Posted on Blackboard
Week 14: April 19
Course Review
Week 15: April 26
Student Project Reception, Location: UPC, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.