Principlism, medical individualism, and health promotion in resource-poor countries: can autonomy-based bioethics promote social justice and population health?
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2010
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Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine
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BioMed Central Ltd
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
Through its adoption of the biomedical model of disease which promotes medical individualism and its reliance on the individual-based anthropology, mainstream bioethics has predominantly focused on respect for autonomy in the clinical setting and respect for person in the research site, emphasizing self-determination and freedom of choice. However, the emphasis on the individual has often led to moral vacuum, exaggeration of human agency, and a thin (liberal?) conception of justice. Applied to resource-poor countries and communities within developed countries, autonomy-based bioethics fails to address the root causes of diseases and public health crises with which individuals or communities are confronted. A sociological explanation of disease causation is needed to broaden principles of biomedical ethics and provides a renewed understanding of disease, freedom, medical practice, patient-physician relationship, risk and benefit of research and treatment, research priorities, and health policy.
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Reference:
Azétsop, J., & Rennie, S. (2010). Principlism, medical individualism, and health promotion in resource-poor countries: can autonomy-based bioethics promote social justice and population health. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, 5(1), 1-10.