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Ethics, Information Technology, and Public Health: Duties and Challenges in Computational Epidemiology

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Public Health Informatics and Information Systems

Part of the book series: Health Informatics ((HI))

Abstract

The use of powerful information technology tools in the practice of public health poses many interesting, difficult, and important ethical challenges. Under a modern, electronic standard of care, it can be as blameworthy not to apply such tools as it is to apply them inappropriately. Ethical guidelines can help public health scientists make sound decisions about what users and uses of IT are appropriate in public health. Even with these guidelines, however, there remain some gray areas, particularly with respect to maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of public health information.

The power of modern IT tools renders obsolete some previously sacrosanct guidelines about maintaining privacy and confidentiality. Indeed, it may blur these distinctions to the point of complete conflation. It is therefore necessary for public health practitioners to exercise “progressive caution” in applying information technology to the practice of public health. Developments such as bioinformatics pose acute challenges to maintaining privacy and confidentiality, as does the use of powerful computing technology as support for decisions about interventions.

Moreover, the completion of the map and sequence of the genome of humans (and other organisms) is a technological accelerant for public health ethics. New genetic technologies have spawned an emerging field – public health genomics—engaging the nature vs. nurture debate in new ways. Finally, the interests of ethics and sound public health practice collide in the application of such modern tools as meta-analysis and data mining to public health problems. Even the time-honored practice of using and publishing case studies in public health research presents challenges to maintaining confidentiality of information as the World Wide Web and other communication and education tools make it increasingly possible for readers to identify the individual(s) discussed in a case.

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Acknowledgement

Part of Goodman’s work on this chapter was supported by the University of Miami CTSI, funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences grant #1UL1TR000460.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami Bioethics Program, 1400 NW 10th Ave., Suite 916 (M-825), Miami, FL, 33136, USA

    Kenneth W. Goodman PhD

  2. Indiana University Center for Bioethics, Indiana University School of Medicine, 410 W. 10th St., Suite 3100, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Eric M. Meslin PhD

Authors
  1. Kenneth W. Goodman PhD
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  2. Eric M. Meslin PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenneth W. Goodman PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Informatics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA

    J.A. Magnuson

  2. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California, USA

    Paul C. Fu, Jr.

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag London

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Goodman, K.W., Meslin, E.M. (2014). Ethics, Information Technology, and Public Health: Duties and Challenges in Computational Epidemiology. In: Magnuson, J., Fu, Jr., P. (eds) Public Health Informatics and Information Systems. Health Informatics. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4237-9_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4237-9_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-4236-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-4237-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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