Ethics and Public Health Policies

Ideological differences between the individual and population focus spans all public health actions from research to policy decisions. Growing interest in applying ethics to public health has strengthened the theoretical basis for public health to address the fundamental causes of disease. It bestows on governments a key role in improving population health, and underlines the participation and responsibility of all levels of society. The debate on whether public health research and practice should engage in political action touches on several issues. We focus here on two main functions of public health: governance and advocacy. The role of the government in promoting health and reducing inequalities is challenged in at least three areas: the capacity of public administrations; the engagement of public–private interactions; and, the use of law to improve population health. An adverse global political and ideological environment causes the loss of governments’ capacity to protect health, promotes risky interactions with transnational corporations to promote health and hampers the use of law as a public health tool. In this context, public health advocacy emerges as a key action to advance population health, although there are several visions on which type of advocacy better integrates public heath principles and values. The contributions of the humanities could benefit public health research and practice and help public health to face its present and future challenges.