INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
individuals and society
SHORT HISTORY OF ETHICS IN
HEALTHCARE
● Since the era of Hippocrates (460 –
370 BC), the proper, ethical
treatment of patients by healthcare
providers has been emphasized.
The hippocratic oath and other more
modern versions have all stated how
to appropriately treat patients.
● More recently, four pillars of
bioethical decision making in
healthcare have been developed:
autonomy, beneficence,
nonmaleficence and justice. Each of
these must be taken into
consideration when treating patients.
● Most hospitals have ethics review
boards that use these pillars to
determine the proper and
appropriate treatments for patients in
difficult and ethically challenging
situations. These boards provide
guidance to healthcare providers,
the patients and their families facing
these unique circumstances.
ETHICS
❖ derived from the Greek word ethos which
can mean custom, habit, character or
disposition
❖ also referred to as the philosophy of
morality
❖ system of moral values or principles of
conduct for individuals or groups
❖ concerned with what is good for
❖ covers the following dilemmas: • how to
live a good life • our rights and
responsibilities • the language of right and
wrong • moral decisions - what is good and
bad?
❖refers to a method of inquiry about the
rightness or wrongness as a human actions
❖the practices or beliefs of a group
❖the standards of moral behavior
described in the group’s formal code of
ethics
❖ Study of the norm of human acts as
guided by human reason
TYPES OF ETHICS
1.Descriptive: It is the description of the
values and beliefs of various cultural,
religious or social groups about health and
illness.
2.Normative: a study of human activities in
a broad sense in an attempt to identify
human actions that are right or wrong and
good and bad qualities. In nursing
normative ethics addresses: scope of
practice of different categories of nurses
and, level of competence expected.
3.Analytical: analyzes the meaning of
moral terms. It seeks the reasons why these
action or attitudes are either wrong or right
CATEGORIES OF ETHICS
META-ETHICS
• deals with the investigation of origin and
meaning of ethical principles • focuses on
issues of universal truths, the existence of a
supreme being, the role of reason in our
behavioural choices
NORMATIVE ETHICS
• attempts to establish normal ethical
standards of behaviour based on
metaethical principles • addresses issues
such as habits to which people should
aspire, obligations that individuals have
towards others, and the consequences of
one’s behaviour and choices
APPLIED ETHICS
• application of ethical principles to real
world situations • emphasizes on
controversial issues such as abortion,
animal rights, environmental concerns,
capital punishment, the justness of war, etc.
BIOETHICS
❖ethics as applied to “life situations”
❖philosophical study of ethical issues
brought about by advances in scientific and
medical technologies
❖study of moral and ethical choices faced
in medical research and in the treatment of
patients especially when the application of
advanced technology is involved
❖ aims to consider on to how maintain
respect for and protection of the individual in
light of our expanding knowledge of the life
sciences and their applications
IMPORTANCE OF BIOETHICS
● Tales of abuse of person, person’s
rights and personal autonomy in
research, health care delivery and
training programs abound. They
arouse shame and indignation.
● Healthcare is not morally neutral.
Today’s healthcare provider must
face competing and compelling
claims upon which he must act.
● The problems are here and now
and moral decisions have to be
made.
● Every healthcare provider is a moral
agent who must judge the goodness
or evil of his goal and actions
● He cannot depend on scientific
knowledge that can judge only the
effectiveness of the means to
achieve the desired goal.
● Goodness must be determined by
considerations of man, his needs,
and his ultimate ends, his economic,
cultural, social and spiritual
ramifications.
HEALTH ETHICS
❖ branch of ethics that deals with ethical
issues in health, health care, medicine and
science
 ❖ involves discussions about treatment
choices and care options that individuals,
families, and health care providers must
face
❖ requires a critical reflection upon the
relationships between health care
professionals and those they serve, as well
as the programmes, systems, and
structures developed to improve the health
of a population
❖ involves deliberating about the allocation
of resources, and reflecting on the complex
moral choices arising from ongoing health
care restructuring and advancing
technology
❖ entails a critical, political, and ethical
analysis of the definition and the
determinants of health
ISSUES IN HEALTH ETHICS
❖making decisions about end-of-life care
❖determining whether to allocate funds to
the treatment of disease or the promotion of
health
❖critically examining the discrepancies in
health status between populations and our
ethical obligations to ensure equitable
access to health services
❖ensuring ethical conduct in health
research
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
❖principles that govern the behaviour of a
person or group in a business environment
❖provide rules on how a person should act
towards other people and institutions in
such an environment
❖encompass the personal and corporate
standards of behavior expected by
professionals
❖examine issues, problems, and the social
responsibility of the profession itself and
individual practitioners in the light of
philosophical and, in some contexts,
religious principles among which are duty
and obligation
- Ethical principles underpin all professional
codes of conduct.
- Ethical principles may differ depending on
the profession.
- However, there are some universal ethical
principles that apply across all professions,
including
❖ honesty
❖ trustworthiness
❖ loyalty
❖ respect for others
❖ adherence to the law
❖ doing good and avoiding harm to others
❖ accountability
ETHICS VS MORALS

MORALITY VS ETHICS