Ethics in the Western Pacific

Health ethics promotes the consideration of values in the prioritization and justification of actions by health professionals, researchers and policymakers that may impact the health and well-being of patients, families, and communities. It is an interdisciplinary field encompassing a broad range of domains: public health, health research and clinical care. With competing interests under limited resources, a health ethics framework provides for a systematic analysis and resolution of conflicts through the evidence-based application of general ethical principles, such as respect for personal autonomy, beneficence, justice, utility and solidarity.

The core principles of health ethics – respect for persons, beneficence, justice, utility, solidarity – are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).