Ethics and Epidemiology

Written by epidemiologists, ethicists and legal scholars, this book provides an in-depth exploration of the moral dilemmas that routinely confront epidemiologists, including both theoretical and practical issues. An excellent introduction surveys the theoretical and practical problems while leading issues are examined in later chapters though an up-to-date, solid analysis. Topics covered include informed consent, privacy and confidentiality protection, the balancing of risks and benefits, vulnerable populations, institutional review boards, and professional education. All the articles collected in this volume are original, and each includes detailed references and an extensive bibliography. Epidemiologists, public health researchers, bioethicists, and health policy-makers will value the insight this book provides into the ethical dilemmas faced in epidemiologic research.

The book contains no figures.

Written by epidemiologists, ethicists and legal scholars, this book provides an in-depth account of the moral problems that often confront epidemiologists, including both theoretical and practical issues.

The first edition has sold almost three thousand copies since it was published in 1996. This edition is fully revised and includes three new chapters:Ethical Issues in Public Health Practice, Ethical Issues in Genetic Epidemiology, and Ethical Issues in International Health Research and Epidemiology. These chapters collectively address important developments of the past decade.

Three chapters from the first edition have also been reorganized: Ethicall Optimized Study Deisgns in Epidemiology, Ethical Issues in Epidemiologic Research with Children, and The Ethics of Epidemiologic Research with Older Populations. Instead of standing alone, these chapters have been integrated into chapters on informed consent, confidentiality and privacy protection, and community-based intervention studies.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Daniel Bustillos, JD, PhD(Saint Louis University)
Description:This general introduction to ethical issues pertinent to the field of epidemiology is much needed in this rapidly changing field and the book provides a timely update to the 1999 edition.
Purpose:In addition to a general introduction, the book provides an in-depth look at the practical and theoretical ethical issues that most concern epidemiologists and practitioners in fields related to epidemiology.
Audience:It is aimed at students, scholars, and practitioners of epidemiology. The authors are well known and respected contributors to this and other fields. The multidisciplinary makeup of the contributors bolsters their credibility in the interdisciplinary field of public health ethics.
Features:The contributors are a diverse group of scholars and practitioners who cover several foundational topics such as the moral basis for public health ethics and discuss how this differs from other applied ethics fields, such as medical ethics. Chapters take an in-depth look at certain ethical provinces within a more general public health ethics such as the consequentialist balancing of risks versus benefits and the special problems raised by epidemiological research on human subjects. The book is most successful as a general textbook for students of the ethics of epidemiology and for those who teach this oft-neglected subject in schools of public health. Of special interest for professors is the final chapter which argues persuasively for a robust curriculum of the ethics of epidemiology and gives concrete examples.
Assessment:This much needed update is a successful and serious addition to the discourse of public health ethics. Textbooks and narrower treatises abound in this area, but many suffer from a general thinness of discussion and philosophical sophistication on the topics they choose to cover. This book provides rigorous ethical analysis coupled with an accessible writing style and tone so as not to alienate uninitiated readers.

Steven S. Coughlin, M.P.H., Ph.D., received graduate degrees from San Diego State University and Johns Hopkins University. He is currently Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Program in Public Health Ethics at Tulane University. He is eEditor of Ethics in Epidemiology and Clinical Research, a member of the editorial board of Epidemiology, and Associate Editor of the American Journal of Epidemiology. His main interests are in professional ethics in epidemiology and the prevention and control of chronic diseases.
Tom L. Beauchamp, Ph.D., received graduate degrees from Yale University and Johns Hopkins University. He is presently Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. He is the author of Philosophical Ethics and co-author of Principles of Biomedical Ethics, A History and Theory of Informed Consent, and Medical Ethics. Also, he is one of three general editors of the critical edition of the philosophical works of David Hume. His main interests in philosophy are in ethical theory, professional ethics, and the history of modern philosophy.