The ethics of infection control: philosophical frameworks

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Public Health Policy
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The patient safety movement and emerging infectious diseases (e.g., severe acute respiratory syndrome) necessitate ethical reevaluation of infection control.
• Concerns exist that infection control measures, such as isolation, may negatively impact patient care.
• Renewed philosophical interest in virtue ethics and communitarianism offers new perspectives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review ethical frameworks and terminology for infection control practitioners and hospital epidemiologists.
• To propose an optimal ethical framework for infection control.
• To illustrate ethical challenges in daily infection control practice.

Main Methods:

• Review of general ethical frameworks relevant to public health and clinical medicine.
• Analysis of virtue ethics and communitarianism principles.
• Case study analysis of 15 infection control scenarios.

Main Results:

• Ethical frameworks for infection control share similarities with public health ethics but incorporate clinical medicine elements.
• A virtue-based communitarianism approach is suggested as an optimal framework.
• Daily infection control practices frequently present complex ethical dilemmas.

Conclusions:

• Infection control ethics require a nuanced approach that considers individual character (virtue ethics) and community well-being (communitarianism).
• Shared, democratic decision-making among stakeholders is crucial for determining community values in infection control.
• Ethical considerations are integral to effective and responsible infection control practices.