Right and good epidemiological practice: Some thoughts on ethical principles, guidelines and codes for epidemiological research and public health

The need for public health ethics and ethics in epidemiology has recently become more obvious. In this article a methodological and normative framework for public health ethics is discussed. Some of the prevalent approaches of public health ethics and ethics in epidemiology are missing a systematic philosophical account and/or norms that are relevant and enlightening for the ethical discussion in public health. For an approach of public health ethics one can learn from bioethics and adopt methodologies that have been applied and elaborated in this field. However, there is a need for a set of principles in public health ethics that differs from the bioethical principles. Ethical codes and guidelines are already applied in the practice of epidemiology and public health without relating these to ethical principles. This is a deficit for goal-oriented ethical reasoning in public health and epidemiology. An applied ethical discourse in public health can be helpful for public health and epidemiology. Ethical principles facilitate coherent reasoning that enriches the discussion of ethical problems as opposed to only relying on very specific moral rules as in codes and guidelines. © 2007 Springer Medizin Verlag.