Around the world, an alarming percentage of Covid-19 deaths occurred in long-term care facilities. Some of these deaths may have been avoided by changes in design. It's time that bioethicists to take a closer look at the built health care environment.
The post The Bioethics of Built Health Care Spaces appeared first on The Hastings Center.
by Arthur Caplan, PhD
There is general agreement that the rollout of vaccines in the United States has been a dismal failure. Too many doses are in warehouses, not nearly enough in arms. And too much confusion exists about prioritizing those in need versus allowing institutions and vaccination sites discretion to decide how best to use their supplies.
Given these challenges, what lessons can be drawn about vaccination policy going forward?
Drawing up priority lists without attention to logistics—where vaccine is being given– is confusing in terms of maximizing protection, vaccines in arms or following guidance as to priorities. Where vaccine is available, what is required to store them and how much effort is required to redeploy supply is just as important as setting priority lists as to who gets vaccinated.…
by Keisha Ray, PhD
In the past I have written on the concept of Black bioethics and when a mob of White domestic terrorists attacked the US Capitol last week I couldn’t help but think of the health of Black people watching these attacks. I thought of the psychological effects, such as mental anguish and anxiety they would cause for Black people. I thought of the stress these attacks must cause Black people and the very real adverse biological effects of stress on Black people, a population who already has disproportionate rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, all which are worsened by stress. I thought of the health effects of feeling disturbed, angry, sad, marginalized, mistreated, and all the other emotions we can imagine Black people might feel after seeing images of White people cause terror with little to no punishment from law enforcement and instead receiving kindness and understanding for their emotions and actions. The…
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