Current ethical and social issues in epidemiology.

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology and Public Health Ethics
• Digital Health
• Health Informatics

Background:

• The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic highlighted ethical and social challenges in public health.
• The publication of the third edition of "Ethics and Epidemiology" prompted a discussion on current ethical issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight ethical challenges and presentations from the American College of Epidemiology's 2021 Annual Meeting symposium.
• To synthesize traditional ethical principles with emerging ethical considerations in epidemiology.

Main Methods:

• A symposium session featured experts presenting on ethical and social issues in epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, and health informatics.
• The study synthesized cross-cutting ethical issues with emerging topic areas in epidemiology research.

Main Results:

• Digital sources and technologies are driving new ethical challenges and opportunities in epidemiology and public health.
• Key ethical issues include informed consent, privacy, algorithmic bias, data security, and misinformation.
• An integrated synthesis of epidemiology research stages and relevant ethical issues was provided.

Conclusions:

• New digital tools necessitate re-evaluating traditional bioethical frameworks in epidemiology and public health.
• Addressing ethical challenges requires synthesizing traditional public health ethics with nuanced considerations for emerging technologies.
• Insights are offered for professional growth in epidemiology while improving population health.