Mandatory public health measures London, June 30-July 2, 2005
Public health can be considered as the collective measures necessary to maintain and improve population health as a whole. Some public health interventions are provided by NHS staff (for example, immunisation against disease, or screening for cancer); but much is delivered by those working in local...
| Corporate Authors: | , |
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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London
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
July 2, 2005, 2005
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| Series: | Citizens Council reports
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Collection: | National Center for Biotechnology Information - Collection details see MPG.ReNa |
| Summary: | Public health can be considered as the collective measures necessary to maintain and improve population health as a whole. Some public health interventions are provided by NHS staff (for example, immunisation against disease, or screening for cancer); but much is delivered by those working in local government (for example, environmental health officers inspecting restaurants), schools (for example, teachers and school nurses teaching pupils about smoking and drugs issues, or and sex and relationship education), transport (for example, road traffic calming measures), police (for example, speed cameras) and non-governmental organisations (for example, healthy living initiatives). The council was asked to suggest principles that should govern the imposition of public health measures on the UK population, paying due attention to: 1. the relative roles and responsibilities of individuals to look after the health of themselves and their families, as against the roles and responsibilities of the state2. issues relating to interventions that may sustain or improve the overall health of the population, while nevertheless inconveniencing many, or even harming a minority In formulating its recommendations it was suggested that we might wish to produce a list of principles, ranked in order of importance, to be considered whenever a mandatory public health intervention is being contemplated The Citizens Council provides NICE with a public perspective on overarching moral and ethical issues that NICE should take into account when producing guidance. Made up of members of the public, broadly representative of the adult UK population, the Council operates through a "citizens' jury" style meeting, to explore and respond to a question set by NICE. At this three day meeting of the council, members were asked about the circumstances when it is (or would be) appropriate to impose mandatory (involuntary) public health measures on the population as a whole. The imposition, on society, of such measures (such as the fluoridation of water or banning smoking from enclosed public places) can be very controversial. Since NICE has now assumed (since April 2005) responsibility for providing public health guidance, these issues will be very important in the formulation of the Institute's advice. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 PDF file (62 pages) portrait |