patient and user choice are at the forefront of the debate on the future direction of health and public services provision in many industrialized countries in europe and elsewhere. it is used both, as a means to achieve desired policy goals in public health care systems such as greater efficiency and improved quality of care, and as a good with its own intrinsic value. however, the evidence sug...

an active area of public health policy in the united states is policy meant to promote healthy eating, reduce overconsumption of food, and prevent overweight/obesity. public discussion of such obesity prevention policies includes intense ethical disagreement. we suggest that some ethical disagreements about obesity prevention policies can be seen as rooted in a common concern with equality or w...

In his insightful editorial, Nir Eyal explores the connections between nudging and shaming. One upshot of his argument is that we should question the principle of the least restrictive alternative in public health and health policy. In this commentary, I maintain that Eyal’s argument undermines only a rather implausible version of the principle of the least restrictive alternative and I sketch ...

Jacinta O.A. Tan*, Tony Hope, Anne Stewart Research Fellow, Oxford Centre for Ethics and Communication in Health Care Practice (Ethox Centre), Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK Professor of Medical Ethics, Oxford Centre for Ethics and Communication in Health Care Practice, University of Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK Consultant Adolescent Psychiatrist, Oxfordshire Ment...

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) courses are teaching public health and urban planning students how to assess the likely health effects of proposed policies, plans, and projects. We suggest that public health and urban planning have complimentary frameworks for training practitioners to address the living conditions that affect health. Planning perspectives emphasize practical skills for impactin...

public health ethics is a field that covers both factual and ethical issues in health policy and science, and has positive obligations to improve the well-being of populations and reduce social inequalities. it is obvious that various philosophies and moral theories can differently shape the framework of public health ethics. for this reason, the present study reviewed theories of justice in or...