The PHA – an informed, collaborative and strong advocate for public health.

Public Health Ethics

Living in healthy environments

All New Zealanders should have the opportunity to live in environments that allow them to have long, healthy, and happy lives. As a society we need to make decisions about how our environments are organised and the role we have to play in looking after our own health and the health of others. This balance of individual and community interests is at the core of public health ethics.

For the last few years, the Public Health Association has been thinking about how public health ethics play out in Aotearoa New Zealand and the ways in which we can ‘think public health ethics’ when we make decisions about the environments we live in.

Among many other achievements this year has been the development and dissemination of the Code of Public Health Ethics – for which we thank, among many others, past National Executive Officer Gay Keating.

And now the Living in healthy environments booklet has been developed. When we talked with public health organisations about the Code of Public Health Ethics they told us they would like a resource that provided examples of ethical issues in the public health space and information about what guides action around these issues.

This resource has been produced in response, as has a supporting PowerPoint tool which assists with discussion about the ethical issues public health organisations face.

Code of Public Health Ethics for Aotearoa New Zealand

The Code is a living document that will be reviewed and added to at regular intervals.

Download Te Ture Whakaruruhau – Code Of Ethical Principles For Public Health In Aotearoa New Zealand ( 300Kb)

Download a PowerPoint presentation tool that can be used to introduce the issue into an organisation or discipline and to prompt a discussion of ethical issues in the public health space.

References and timeline

The following is a timeline covering the development of the Code of Ethics so far, including links to documents where relevant.

2012	Living in healthy environments ( 257Kb)
2011	Consultation on The Code ( 186Kb)
2011	Ethics in Health Promotion – Louise Delany, Workshop at the Health Promotion Forum Symposium
2009	Grant Berghan – Draft set of Māori Ethical Principles for Public Health – commissioned by the PHA ( 94Kb)
2009	Talk of Treasure – notes from a PHA Conference presentation by Louise Delany ( 155Kb)
2008	Draft Aotearoa NZ Public Health Code of Ethics, August 2008 ( 84Kb)
2007	Ethics of Association – workshop at PHA Conference ( 53Kb)
2007	Symposium Ethics and Evidence in Health Promotion papers by Grant Berghan, John F Smith, Kate Morgaine
2007	Fiona Cram – Māori and Public Health: Ethics – commissioned by the PHA ( 101Kb)
2007	PHA Consultation on a Draft Code of Ethics for Public Health in Aotearoa New Zealand ( 204Kb)
2006	PHA Conference Workshop on Public Health Ethics (PPT 35Kb)
2005	PHA Wellington Branch meeting holds panel on public health ethics
2004	PHA adopts internal policy on sponsorship and fundraising
2003	PHA consults with members on policy for acceptance of sponsorship and funds
2002	He Korowai Oranga: Whānau Ora – Ministry of Health

Public health ethics internationally