Why the Biggest Health News of the Week is the ProPublica Tax Report

Why the Biggest Health News of the Week is the ProPublica Tax Report

The ProPublica report on the taxes paid by the ultrawealthy is an important backdrop in a syndemic framework for evaluating health. A strong tax base contributes directly to health in several ways. Public parks, social services, education, community health centers, strong infrastructure, and Medicaid rely on tax dollars. Medical research is often funded by NIH…

Challenges to the Moral Expertise Behind the Four Principles Approach: The “collective is not the patient”

Challenges to the Moral Expertise Behind the Four Principles Approach: The “collective is not the patient”

In The “New” Medical Morality: Hippocrates or Bioethics? Jeffrey Hall Dobken writes, “…the neo-discipline of bioethics must be examined for moral effectiveness as well as clinical outcome.” By examining whose “needs and interests” are served by bioethics, Dobken criticizes the marginalization of both the doctor and patient voice. Dobken also questions the four principles and…

Opening or Closing the Window: Can the “Multiple Streams Framework” for Policy Benefit Bioethics?

Opening or Closing the Window: Can the “Multiple Streams Framework” for Policy Benefit Bioethics?

The public policy theory of multiple streams formulated by John Kingdon in 1984 applies to problems at a time when they become ripe for solving. By aligning the problem, policy, and political “streams” a window to solving the problem arises. In public health, the analysis was applied to UK health disparities and to obesity in…