What does social justice require for the public's health? Public health ethics and policy imperatives.

Full Abstract

Justice is so central to the mission of public health that it has been described as the field's core value. This account of justice stresses the fair disbursement of common advantages and the sharing of common burdens. It captures the twin moral impulses that animate public health:
to advance human well-being by improving health and to do so particularly by focusing on the needs of the most disadvantaged. This Commentary explores how social justice sheds light on major ongoing controversies in the field, and it provides examples of the kinds of policies that public health agencies, guided by a robust conception of justice, would adopt.

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Author information

Author/s: Gostin, Lawrence O (LO); Powers, Madison (M);

Affiliation: Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, USA. gostin(-atsign-)law.georgetown.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Health affairs (Project Hope) (Health Aff (Millwood)), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2006 Jul-Aug; vol 25 (issue 4) : pp 1053-60

Dates: Created 2006/07/12; Completed 2006/10/05;

PMID: 16835186, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Health Planning - ethics; organization & administration
Health Promotion - ethics; organization & administration
Humans
Investments
Models, Organizational

Program Development
Public Health Administration - ethics
Social Justice
United States
Vulnerable Populations

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