Professional Ethics After Reading Chapter 5

Professional Ethicsafter Reading Chapter 5 You Are Now More Aware Tha

After reading Chapter 5, you are now more aware that all professionals are required to behave ethically. For this discussion, you will examine exactly what that means with regard to health education. Describe the five ethical principles that are mentioned in your course text. For each principle, describe how it applies to health and health education. List and present the 10 steps of ethical decision making and create a scenario that illustrates the use of these steps.

What are some ethical issues that may occur when providing health education? Are there any ways to ensure that professionals behave ethically? Using one of the settings learned earlier, create an ethical situation that may arise.

Paper For Above instruction

Ethics are fundamental to the practice of health education, guiding professionals to maintain integrity, trustworthiness, and respect for individuals and communities they serve. Chapter 5 emphasizes the importance of understanding core ethical principles that underpin professional conduct, especially in health education, where decisions significantly impact public health and individual well-being. This paper discusses the five ethical principles outlined in the course text, explores their application within health education, details the 10-step ethical decision-making process, and illustrates these concepts with a relevant scenario. Additionally, it examines ethical challenges that health educators may face and proposes strategies to promote ethical behavior in professional settings.

Five Ethical Principles in Health Education

  1. Autonomy: Respect for individuals’ right to make informed decisions about their health. In health education, this involves providing complete information to empower learners to make choices aligned with their values and preferences. Respecting autonomy ensures that health educators do not coerce or manipulate individuals but support their capacity for self-determination.
  2. Beneficence: The obligation to promote good and prevent harm. Health educators apply beneficence by designing interventions that improve health outcomes, ensuring that educational content benefits learners, and actively working to minimize potential harms associated with misinformation or ineffective programs.
  3. Non-maleficence: The duty to do no harm. This principle requires health educators to avoid practices or messages that could cause physical, psychological, or social harm. For example, avoiding stigmatizing language or ensuring confidentiality aligns with non-maleficence.
  4. Justice: Fairness in distribution of resources, opportunities, and benefits. In health education, justice involves providing equitable access to information and resources, regardless of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or other factors, and ensuring that no group is unfairly marginalized or excluded.
  5. Fidelity: Faithfulness and loyalty to professional commitments. This entails honesty, confidentiality, and maintaining trustworthiness. Health educators demonstrate fidelity by adhering to professional standards and honoring commitments to their clients and the community.

10 Steps of Ethical Decision Making

  1. Identify the problem and ethical issue
  2. Gather information relevant to the situation
  3. Identify the stakeholders involved
  4. Consider the ethical principles involved
  5. Explore alternative actions
  6. Evaluate the alternatives considering ethical principles
  7. Make a decision
  8. Implement the decision
  9. Reflect on the outcome and the decision-making process
  10. Document the decision and rationale

Scenario Illustrating Ethical Decision Making in Health Education

Consider a community health educator working in a low-income neighborhood who discovers that a popular outreach program inadvertently excludes non-English speakers, limiting access to vital information. Using the 10-step ethical decision-making process, the educator first identifies the ethical issue of equity and access. Gathering information reveals that language barriers affect program inclusivity. Stakeholders include community members, health providers, and program staff. The educator considers principles of justice and beneficence, recognizing the need for equitable access and beneficial health outcomes. Alternatives include developing bilingual materials or providing interpreter services. Evaluating options, the educator decides to implement multilingual resources and training. The decision is executed, and the educator reflects on the increased inclusivity and community impact. Documentation details the steps taken and rationale, ensuring accountability and transparency.

Ethical Issues in Health Education and Ensuring Ethical Behavior

One common ethical issue in health education is maintaining confidentiality, especially when handling sensitive information about individuals’ health status. Additionally, conflicts of interest may arise if health educators receive funding from organizations that may influence the content or focus of educational programs. Ethical dilemmas can also emerge around cultural sensitivity and respecting diverse beliefs and practices.

To promote ethical behavior, organizations can establish clear ethical guidelines and codes of conduct, provide ongoing ethics training, and foster a culture of openness where concerns about unethical practices can be openly discussed. Supervision and peer review serve as additional safeguards, ensuring accountability and adherence to ethical standards.

Creating an Ethical Scenario in a School Setting

Imagine a school health educator faced with the dilemma of distributing contraceptive information without parental consent. The ethical challenge involves balancing respect for students’ autonomy and privacy with parental rights and cultural sensitivities. To navigate this, the educator must consider principles of confidentiality, respect, and justice, aiming to provide accurate information while respecting familial and community values. Implementing policies that ensure confidential access to health services and carefully communicating the importance of informed decision-making can help resolve such ethical issues responsibly.

References

  • Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2013). Principles of Biomedical Ethics (7th ed.). Oxford University Press.
  • Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (2015). Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions (9th ed.). Brooks Cole.
  • National Commission for Health Education Credentialing. (2015). Code of Ethics for the Health Education Profession. Retrieved from https://www.nchelp.org
  • Holland, S. (2010). Ethical issues in public health communication. Journal of Public Health Policy, 31(3), 321-329.
  • Goold, S. D. (2014). Ethical challenges in community health and health education. Journal of Community Health, 39(2), 291-297.
  • Woolf, S. H., & Aron, L. (2013). The US health care system and implications for health policy. JAMA, 310(13), 1345-1352.
  • World Health Organization. (2017). Ethical considerations in health systems strengthening. WHO Document.
  • Anderson, L. M., et al. (2017). Ethical dimensions of public health research. American Journal of Public Health, 107(S3), S185–S187.
  • Harris, J. (2011). Ethical practice in health education. Journal of Health Ethics, 13(4), 210-215.
  • National Institute of Nursing Research. (2020). Ethical principles for health research. NIH Publication No. 20-XXXX.

Related Assignments