The Drum Beat 220 - Ethics and Communication
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Decisions to provide, withhold, manipulate, or commodify information of various kinds - and the actions that follow - can have concrete impacts on the wellbeing and sustainability of people and the planet. For instance, should a physician share bad news to protect the family member of a patient who has asked not to know? Whose rights and goods are protected or violated when a woman with AIDS in a developing country participates in a risky drug trial? Is a news organisation ever justified in manipulating a photograph? Media ethics, in particular, highlights the distinction between "moral" and "legal"; even if the way communicators inform or act does not violate laws or human rights standards, are their strategies "right"? How can we identify which ethical norms and standards to look to when faced with such questions?
This issue of the Drum Beat highlights initiatives, thinking, and resources that address (while often not claiming to answer) ethical questions related to healthcare, culture and environment, and the media. We are aware of the "Northern" focus of much of this information, and thus would be grateful to hear from those of you engaged in ethics-related communication for change work from other areas. Please contact Kier Olsen DeVries [email protected]
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HEALTHCARE ETHICS
1. Campaign against Pre-Birth Elimination of the Female Foetus [PBEF] - India
The Datamation Foundation uses email list servers, a web portal, cyber cafes, radio, video, posters, and face-to-face contact to actively promote legal measures banning (and penal action against those who conduct) selective sex tests, which can lead to the decision to abort female foetuses. Organisers aim to balance the sex ratio by reaching out to community members of all ages from urban and rural communities, as well as law makers. In development are 4 new channels in the portal, one of which is a channel on medical ethics featuring the perspectives of the medical community on PBEF and sex selection.
Contact Chetan Sharma [email protected]
2. Active Ageing - A Policy Framework
"As populations age, a range of ethical considerations comes to the fore. They are often linked to age discrimination in resource allocation, issues related to the end of life and a host of dilemmas linked to long-term care and the human rights of poor and disabled older citizens. Scientific advancements and modern medicine have led to many ethical questions related to genetic research and manipulation, biotechnology, stem cell research and the use of technology to sustain life while compromising quality of life..." This paper is intended to inform discussion and the formulation of action plans that promote healthy and active ageing. It was developed by WHO's Ageing and Life Course Programme as a contribution to the Second United Nations World Assembly on Ageing, held in April 2002, in Madrid, Spain. The preliminary version, published in 2001 entitled "Health & Ageing: A Discussion Paper", was translated into French and Spanish and widely circulated for feedback throughout 2001.
Click here for "Active Ageing - A Policy Framework".
3. Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies promotes cross-disciplinary research on issues of population, health, and development - with a particular focus on the ethical dimensions of population and health policies for the global poor. Research areas include: access to medicines in the developing world; population policies and reproductive health; and neglected health problems of the global poor.
See also:
* Technical Meeting on Male Circumcision - Global
* Challenging Inequities in Health: From Ethics to Action - by Tim Evans
* Ethics & Health Initiative
RESEARCH ETHICS
4. Women's health & human rights in HIV prevention research - by Daniel W. Fitzgerald and Frieda M-T Behets
This document explores ethical challenges associated with large-scale clinical trials of HIV interventions in Africa and the Caribbean. The authors say that in many trials women do not have access to basic medical services, are subjected to physical and sexual abuse, or are forced to relinquish reproductive rights due to deeply entrenched gender power imbalances. How can researchers reform guidelines so that research ethics and social justice are not in contradiction? "Women's health and human rights issues should be discussed with female community members and their advice incorporated into the study protocol before launching HIV prevention trials in developing countries..."
5. The Manipulative Nature of Health Communication Research: Ethical Issues & Guidelines - by Kim Witte
"While health communication researchers and practitioners prefer to call their work 'health education interventions' or 'public health campaigns,'...their ultimate goal is to manipulate people into practicing healthy behaviors." Strategies include "framing messages in a certain manner, in a certain order, with a certain amount of information". The author concludes that researchers have an ethical duty to decide in advance what their health-related goal is and then construct their messages to fit that goal; promote the common good; and ensure that a community standard is used to determine what the common good means.
6. Workshop on the Ethics of Research Related to Healthcare in Developing Countries - Feb 12-14 2004 - Cape Town, South Africa
In 2002, The Nuffield Council on Bioethics published a report recommending that medical research in developing countries that is funded by organisations in wealthier countries be subject to rigorous ethical safeguards. This follow-up workshop will bring together researchers to discuss ethical and regulatory issues raised by new and recently revised guidelines, identifying obstacles to effective implementation.
See also:
* Draft guidelines on ethical participatory research with HIV positive women
* Integrity & Accountability in Clinical Research Conference - Nov 2-4 2003 - Washington, DC, USA
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THE ETHICS OF SUSTAINABILITY
7. Earth Dialogues - Global
Green Cross International has established a forum to question the role that ethics plays in sustainable development and to provoke global mobilisation related to averting ecological disasters, addressing the gap between rich and poor, and ensuring biodiversity. Regional and international dialogues will take place in 5 rounds by 2012. Discussion incorporating a multitude of cultures and voices will focus on how ethics can promote sustainability in areas such as corporate accountability, quality of life, spirituality, citizen participation, and global governance. One goal is to inspire proposals for practical solutions, many of which involve political action.
Contact Jeanette Tantillo [email protected]
8. Ethical Globalization Initiative (EGI) - Global
At the centre of this 15-month project are 2 advisory groups that will work to integrate human rights norms and standards into global policies and to support local and national human rights capacity-building efforts. Goals include creating dialogue to reconcile differences between human rights advocates, economists, and political analysts; building more coherence between economic and social policy at the international level; and implementing civil, political, economic, social, and cultural norms so that those who have been unable to share in the benefits of the global economy gain a voice.
Contact Scott Jerbi [email protected] OR Allan Taylor [email protected]
9. Culture, Spirituality and Economic Development - Opening a Dialogue - by William F. Ryan
"[S]ecurity, sustainability, and stability often depend on a system of values that has taken centuries to develop within a specific society. Current development strategies, however, tend to ignore, often underestimate, and sometimes undermine cultural values or the cultural environment, which are essential to healthy human development." On the basis of a series of interviews with scholars worldwide, the author concludes that each economic development paradigm is "rooted in its own ethical and spiritual world view, mutually dependent, mutually respectful, and mutually enriching."
10. Ethical Media
Provides technical solutions that reflect the ethical values of progressive organisations in their efforts to use media and communications strategies to achieve various social and environmental aims.
See also:
* Planning Model - Ecosystemic Model of Culture - by André Francisco Pilon
MEDIA ETHICS
11. Veeduría Ciudadana de la Comunicación Social - Peru
Launched in 1999, this social movement is composed of civil society organisations, volunteers, supervising citizens, and strategic allies who reflect on and challenge the quality and influence of mass media. Veeduría aims to protect freedom; educate citizens about their rights to information and communication; propose systems for democratic media regulation that provide a legal framework; and encourage debate about the media's role in society, in culture, and in the political and ethical life of the country. A central strategy is creating networks between and among media authorities and citizens.
Contact [email protected]
12. Reporting the World: The Findings
In 2001, members of Reporting the World gathered to discuss how to uphold values of balance, fairness, and responsibility in their coverage of international affairs. A series of seminars highlighted issues of representation and responsibility in reporting on conflicts involving Israel and the Palestinians, Macedonia, Africa, Iraq, and Indonesia. This online report distills the main themes from these discussions; its centrepiece is a checklist designed to help journalists think through and engage with the ethical implications of their work.
13. A balancing act: the contribution of the Newspaper in Education programme to The Hindu's social responsibility & business goals - by Mandira Moddie
"[N]ewspapers have a moral duty to continue their efforts to educate, inform and lead opinion rather than go the entertainment way. At the same time, they also have to conform to certain market pressures in the interests of the business..."
14. Unhealthy Food, Figures Feature in TV for Blacks - Study
Unhealthy images relating to food are much more common on prime-time TV shows aimed at African Americans than on other such shows. There is a high concentration of fast food chains in inner-city and black neighbourhoods and schools. Many think there is a direct connection between this strategy and the higher rate of obesity among blacks. One health educator responds that individuals are in control of their health: "No matter how many McDonald's ads you see, you don't have to eat it."
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PULSE POLL
Do you agree or disagree?
The strategic approach to international development based on granting funds for the provision of technical assistance and universally applied specific interventions has proven to be an effective way to sustainably impact on major development priorities.
[For context, see The Drum Beat 217.]
VOTE & Comment
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This issue was written by Kier Olsen DeVries.
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The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.
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