This paper examines the application of deontological ethics theory to public health practice, with emphasis on health disparities experienced by Latino populations in the United States. The paper analyzes how deontology—an ethical framework centered on duties and rules—applies to healthcare resource allocation and clinical decision-making. It documents specific health inequities affecting Latino communities, including higher mortality from pregnancy complications, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, tuberculosis, and breast cancer. The paper argues that deontological principles have been violated in the provision of healthcare to minority groups and proposes participatory action research (PAR) as a mechanism for addressing ethical concerns and empowering underserved communities to participate in developing culturally appropriate healthcare solutions.
It is essential to address the ethical theories and concerns in public health practice. In normative ethics, deontology is one of the major approaches that focuses on a set of duties or rules. Deontologists normally emphasize that assisting public health practitioners is a morally right action. Deontology is frequently contrasted with virtue ethics, consequentialism, and pragmatic ethics. Virtue ethics is a theory that concentrates on moral character or virtue. Consequentialism, on the other hand, focuses on the consequences of an individual's actions (Bayer, Gostin, Jennings & Steinbock, 2007). Some deontologists believe that certain actions remain absolutely wrong or right regardless of the consequences and the intentions behind them. According to deontology theory, people are morally obligated to act in accordance with a certain set of rules and principles regardless of the outcome. Deontological duties and theories have remained in existence for many centuries.
Incorporating ethical theories such as deontology into public health raises numerous challenging questions. These questions have significant practical implications for how public health policies are evaluated, designed, and implemented. For example, when public health authorities make decisions about limited resource allocation, they explicitly or implicitly determine which values and principles underlie those decisions (Johnstone, 2009).
In the article The Morality of Punishing the Innocent, the author presents a critical analysis of sexual violence against women and deontology. The author identifies a movement currently spreading that aims to reduce or eliminate sexual violence against women by changing present laws and streamlining conviction procedures for those accused of such offenses (The Damned Olde Man, 2013). According to the author, this legislative battle is being conducted on most college campuses. The author explains deontology as a framework holding that some choices cannot be justified by their consequences alone. What makes a choice valid is its conformity to moral norms. The author emphasizes that agent-centered deontology includes both permissions and obligations. For example, agents have negative or positive roles. A negative role includes a physician's responsibility to protect patients by ensuring their safety. A positive responsibility includes nurses' duty to ensure that patients take the correct prescriptions.
The author also distinguishes between patient-centered and agent-centered deontology. Patient-centered deontology focuses on patient rights, while agent-centered deontology is based on responsibility. This distinction is critical for understanding how deontological principles structure healthcare relationships and obligations.
Research has indicated that ethnic and racial minorities, specifically Latinos, receive lower-quality healthcare and suffer from worse health outcomes with higher rates of specific illnesses. Some of the health disparities facing the Latino community include the following:
In the article Using Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) to Target Health Disparities in Families, the authors emphasize and recommend collaborative partnerships between community members, healthcare providers, researchers, and community organizations to generate knowledge and solve local problems effectively. Since the 1900s, CBPR has gained credibility in healthcare and public health because of its potential to inform individuals about health-related experiences and create appropriate and workable services (Berge, Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2009). The authors contend that CBPR has been utilized to address most health-related issues in diverse societies, such as diabetes management in Latino communities. CBPR can be used to target health disparities affecting Latinos in the United States, indicating that community-based approaches can address ethical issues in healthcare delivery.
Deontology theory is not being applied appropriately in the case of Latinos because Latinos experience discrimination, forcing the Latino community to live in deplorable conditions. The United States government should ensure that resources are equally distributed to all people regardless of ethnic or religious affiliations. This action will ensure that deontology theory is applied correctly. It is morally right for the United States government to resolve most of the health issues affecting Latinos. In essence, deontology theory suggests that all people are entitled to fair treatment, and it is morally right for the government to protect all its citizens.
"How government and institutions failed ethical duties"
According to the article A Participatory Action Research Pilot Study of Urban Health Disparities Using Rapid Assessment Response and Evaluation, health personnel in 2010 embarked on eliminating health disparities and utilized rapid assessment evaluation and response to start a program of participatory action research addressing health disparities for minority people in urban centers (Brown et al., 2008). Additionally, deontology was violated because the theory emphasizes and respects the value of every individual. The Latino community's rights were not respected by the white community, and the United States government failed in its mandate to provide the basis for human rights protection.
In the article The Value of Participatory Action Research in Clinical Nursing Practice, the authors perceive that participatory action research must be considered when designing solutions that focus on health disparities in the Latino community. The authors recommend that participatory action research (PAR) should be given considerable weight in addressing health inequities (Glasson, Chang, & Bidewell, 2008). PAR's goal is to change the world by understanding and improving it. At PAR's core is collective and self-reflective inquiry conducted by researchers and participants to better understand and improve systems and practices. PAR is directly connected to action influenced by an understanding of history, culture, and local context fitted within social relationships. The results typically lead to participants gaining increased power and control over their own livelihoods.
PAR can be utilized to address most ethical concerns. PAR presents an interactive endorsement system that allows people to discuss dangers facing their lives. One PAR study described in the literature involved researchers collaborating with nurses in a medical ward to implement, evaluate, and develop a model of care. The terminology "model of care" entails ideas that contribute to nursing practice. During the PAR study, the researcher served as a facilitator for a reference group comprising three clinical nurses who volunteered to participate. PAR plays a significant role in empowering people through knowledge construction. Empowerment relates to nurses' capability to influence their practices in the workplace (Morrison & Monagle, 2009). In the case of Latinos, PAR has the ability to change the community by ensuring that Latinos are empowered as nurses provide them with better healthcare. It is through PAR that nurses will communicate with and motivate Latinos to engage in their own health management.
The PAR process has the ability to develop, evaluate, and implement appropriate models of care in a given community. This clearly indicates that PAR will ensure adequate health facilities in the Latino community. PAR will also ensure that Latino healthcare systems are monitored and evaluated frequently to provide the best health services to the community. Nurses who embark on PAR are required to adapt their approach to their particular circumstances (Baum, MacDougall, & Smith, 2006). In essence, PAR will provide alternative solutions to the health disparities facing the Latino community.
In conclusion, deontology theory plays an important role in public health practice. It is important for public health providers to embrace deontology theory because the theory has the ability to provide solutions in public health. Additionally, participatory action research can address most ethical concerns surrounding health disparities in the Latino community and other marginalized communities across the globe. Public health practitioners should address ethical issues following the rules and principles of deontology theory. The rules and principles presented by the theory give medical practitioners different perspectives and insights on how to deal with complicated issues in public health practice.
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