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Biomedical subjects

D Wikler

Publications and source records attributed to D Wikler.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

What has bioethics to offer health policy?

The field of bioethics has quickly become a subject of intense public fascination; and, following on an earlier period of resistance and skepticism, bioethics has been welcomed by clinicians as well. Bioethics, however, is largely a practical activity rather than a scholarly one, and its pretensions as an academic discipline within health policy and health services research must be greeted cautiously. Continuing problems in moral theory suggest that the most secure contributions that bioethics can make to health policy research are analysis and criticism rather than positive moral claims.

Advisory Committees

Ought the young make health care decisions for their aged selves?

Though the chief responsibility for providing for the health care of older Americans has been (and should remain) society's, there has been increasing interest in private solutions. Individual provision, however, would require not only adequate wealth but prudent planning, demanding in turn more discipline, self-control, and foresightedness than many individuals are normally capable of. One possible corrective is pre-commitment, a strategy of binding oneself to a plan chosen to allocate resources optimally over the life span. Though pre-commitment may have some important uses, however, it is far from clear that people should be encouraged or enabled to rely upon it for old-age health care planning. The present paper examines some of the philosophical and policy concerns attendant to the use of pre-commitment strategies for resource allocation in old age.

Aged

Who should be blamed for being sick?

That individuals are responsible for staying healthy is becoming a truism of health promotion and health policy. However, it is unclear what the slogan means, whether it is true, and what the consequences would be or should be if it is. A careful examination of the contexts in which the notion of personal responsibility for health occurs reveals a number of distinct arguments for different policy ends, each relying in turn on key unstated assumptions whose validity is doubtful. There is no disputing the minimal claim that most of us would be healthier if we took better care of ourselves. However, assignment of responsibility for health to the individual is usually part of a more far-reaching reassessment of obligations and entitlements in health care and health policy. A assessment of the concept of personal responsibility for health should precede any attempt to draw broad conclusions on rights and duties in maintaining health.

Authoritarianism

Brain death.

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Brain Death

Ethics and psychiatric research: problems and justification.

The discussion of ethics in psychiatry continues to increase. Research in psychiatry, like all medical research, is of ethical concern because it often involves risks to subjects so that others may benefit. It also involves the allocation of monetary and human resources. In recent years these concerns have been brought to the forefront of professional and public attention. The authors consider the problem of justifying resource allocations and the risks involved in psychiatry research, survey some of the special problems faced by researchers in this field, and give a brief account of present government regulations that pertain to research ethics in psychiatry.

Behavioral Research

Ethics committees.

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Ethics, Medical