Potential Themes for Health Ethics Week 2011

Health Ethics Week, taking place March 7 - 13, 2011, is an annual provincial initiative aimed at providing time and space for Alberta community organizations, health institutions, and individuals to address ethical issues related to health and well-being. We are currently exploring potential themes for this year's Week and would really value your input. Please take a look at the themes outlined below and let us know if any spark your curiosity, particularly relate to the work that you do or the life that you live, or seem especially relevant and timely. And, of course, please pepper us with additional theme suggestions or variations on those listed below.

Please email your input to Amy at middleton@phen.ab.ca. Thanks in advance for your contributions!

Doing the Right Thing --- Doing the Thing Right

What is the relationship between ethics and compliance, values and rules, organizational culture and quality improvement? How ought we to work and live within the sometimes conflicting frameworks of codes of ethics and conduct, bill of rights, and legislated rules, while honoring our own values and virtues as those of patients and health care providers? What if doing the right thing and doing the thing right are not the same action?

Dialogue, Discussion and Debate

What tools do we need to facilitate lively and informed debate around important health ethics issues? How can we spark interest among friends, colleagues and community members to engage in everyday discussions about values and work towards a more compassionate and just health system and society? How can we broaden the health ethics conversation to include those people and issues not normally part of the discussion?

My Health, Our Health

What is the relative weight of individual versus collective responsibility for our health? What is the relationship between individual health and personal values and the health and values of a community? Do we have a right to health and a right to health care? How do rights to health and health care align with responsibilities for health and health care delivery?

Tough Choices

How do we reconcile conflicting values when making health decisions? What if our own values, beliefs and hopes do not align with those of our loved ones, our colleagues, our patients or our health care providers? How can we make thoughtful and informed decisions in the midst of overwhelming grief, underlying anxiety, limited resources or organizational turmoil? What tools can we use and what resources can we access to make these decisions a little bit easier?

Good Character, Good People

What does it mean to be a good health care provider? A good patient? A good health administrator or policy maker? What does moral character have to do with health care delivery? What is the relationship between our virtues and our values? Between moral character and moral wisdom? Between being good and doing good? Can virtues be taught? Can they change over time? How do they influence ethical decision-making?

What is Health Ethics Week?

Almost every decision we make in our lives is based on values. In today's world, making ethical decisions is becoming increasingly difficult because our values as individuals and as a society are being challenged. Technological advances and the power of humankind to manipulate its environment raise questions previously unimagined. Greater citizen interest in decisions that affect our lives and demand for more and better information to make informed decisions have contributed to a burgeoning interest in the field of ethics and its fascinating complexity.

Health Ethics Week has been designed to encourage those involved with and in the health system, and all Albertans, about values - the things that are most important to us. We invite you to engage in meaningful, considerate discussion about what it means to respect human dignity, promote each other's well-being, and advocate fairness. These may seem distant and lofty ideals, but they are really closer at hand than they appear: you challenge them when you think about whether or not to have your newborn son circumcised, your relationship with your co-worker, your efforts to care for an elderly loved one, whether you eat genetically modified foods, believe that smokers should pay higher health care premiums or other ethical issues.

The pace and stresses of modern life do not lend themselves to careful reflection about what it means to be good or to do the right thing in such contexts. Health Ethics Week involves setting aside time to do just that. We invite you to join us in this exciting endeavour!

Goals of Health Ethics Week

Health Ethics Week, March 7 - 13, 2011, is a time set aside for Alberta community organizations, health institutions, and individuals to host educational events that explore ethical issues related to health and well-being.

Health Ethics Week has been designed with several goals in mind. It will:

emphasize the importance of examining values underpinning the health system
facilitate the health ethics education of various stakeholders in the system
provide greater visibility for health ethics committees and health ethics issues across the province.

All Alberta organizations with an interest in health and well-being are encouraged to participate by hosting an activity exploring ethical issues.

What is Ethics or Health Ethics?

An ethical issue arises in any situation in which people face choices about how to act that will have an impact on others. Health ethics is the branch of ethics that deals with ethics issues arising in the fields of health care, medicine and biology. It also includes issues that arise in:

delivering health care (e.g., decision-making at the end of life)
promoting health (e.g. funding preventative vs. acute care)
conducting health research (e.g., gene therapy, informed consent), and
the relationship between people and the natural environment (e.g. genetically modified foods)

Who Should Participate?

All organizations, groups, and individuals in Alberta who are affected by or interested in ethics issues are invited to participate. This includes:

Child and family service groups
Churches and religious organizations
Community based health organizations and groups
Environment and wildlife organizations
Health care institutions
Health ethics committees and research ethics boards
Health professional associations
Health-related businesses and corporations
Members of the public
Mental health agencies
Post-secondary institutions and grade schools
Regional health authorities and provincial boards
Social justice groups

Because of each group's unique associations with the health system in Alberta, everyone will have an important contribution to make and experience to share.

Why Should I Participate?

In the face of a difficult ethical issue, it is not always clear what the right thing to do is. Nor is it always easy to do the right thing even when what this is, is clear. We can't depend on static, reliable rules because health, the environment and health care are not themselves static and reliable. But what we know for sure is that although the right thing to do may be contingent upon the unique circumstances surrounding an issue, we must remain committed to ethical decision-making processes and open lines of communication. Demonstrating this commitment is exactly what Health Ethics Week seeks to accomplish. By participating in Health Ethics Week, you will be fostering these skills and understandings not only in yourself but also in your group or organization and the community as a whole. The result, hopefully, will be more thorough, systematic and thoughtful deliberation about values in health and health care.

How Do I Participate?

Involvement in Health Ethics Week is encouraged at a level relevant to and comfortable for your situation. It may take the form of hosting a lecture, facilitating a discussion group, or organizing a half-day workshop for small groups. You are best able to decide where to focus your energies for maximum benefit. To assist you, discussion topics and group activities are suggested in this activity guide. While organizing an event will require a commitment on your part, the benefits to be accrued by such an endeavour will surely serve as a motivating factor!