Society for Applied Philosophy
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2006

THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Chancellors Conference Centre, Manchester University

30th June-2nd July 2006

News:

Registration for this event is now closed

The event programme has now been finalised

Keynote speakers | Event Programme | Costs, Payment and Registration | Travel Info and Venue

Themes

Public health is an area of health care that involves elements from many other disciplines including medicine, life and environmental sciences, economics, law and ethics. Public health is concerned with health in its broadest sense, and the health of groups or populations, not just individuals. These factors mean that this area of health care involves many interesting conceptual, empirical and ethical issues. The themes of the conference will include (but are not limited to) the following:

What is 'public health'?

How is 'public health' related to 'population health'?

What range of factors need to be taken into account when thinking about public health?

Is public health just the sum of the health of the constituent individuals?

Can public health be measured? If so, how? What ethical issues emerge during such measurement?

What responsibilities do we have to respond to health inequalities?

Do we have any obligations to provide international aid?

How is the balance between the interests of populations and individuals to be weighed?

What ethical issues arise in relation to research in public health?

Can 'prevention' be separated from 'cure'?

What ethical issues arise in relation to the translation of potential public health benefits into public policy (e.g. in relation to smoking or obesity)?

What is the legitimate role of the law in public health?

In what sense should public health policy be formulated in response to public wishes or individual choice?