Page 50 - strategy of health education

Ethical Issues in Health Education

Concept of Ethics

Ethics is the discipline dealing with what is good and what is bad and with moral

duty and obligation.

Ethics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the moral value of human conduct

and the rules that govern it. It is the right thing to do for society and self.

Concept of Moral: refers to those beliefs about how people ought to behave.

Basic Ethical Principles Underling in Health Care Behaviors

1. The principle of autonomy.

2. Beneficence (doing good).

3. Non-maleficence (doing no harm).

4. Justice (fairness).

5.The principle of truth telling (honesty).

1. The principle of autonomy

This principle means that with all individual differences, there must be a

freedom to choose for every person his own ways and means of being moral with

the framework of the other four principles.

Autonomy involves respecting another person’s rights and dignity such that a

person reaches a maximum level of fulfillment as a human being. In the context

of health promotion and health care, this means that the relationship between

health extension worker and community member is based on a respect for him

or her as a person and with individual rights.

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