Ethical considerations are essential to making day-to-day decisions in the field of public health. This applies in any cases regarding communities that have a history of marginalization and discrimination, as achieving health equity is especially critical for them (Ortmann et al., 2016, p. 9). This applies extensively to the case of the research operation that Milena’s team held in an African country. A question arises regarding how the citizenship status of the other members of the research team—aside from Timothy—should be taken into account during the assessment of their obligations. When reviewing the situation, it becomes apparent that the international aspect of this situation is integral to its resolution, as it requires extreme caution from the parties.
There is no doubt that the fact that most of the research team are not citizens has several implications. Most importantly, it indicates the vulnerability of the overall research operations in the region. The issue could potentially harm international relations, as would be the case in the event that the ministry of health would be offended (Barrett et al., 2016, p. 303). A potential outcome could indeed be the closure of the research undertaken by the team, which could be dangerous for the state of public health in the region, the importance of which can hardly be overstated.
From the zoomed-out perspective, the children whose health is in danger are being denied healthcare, which is at odds with the concept of social justice that public health ethics strive to follow. Refusing to provide someone with healthcare is a violation of their rights that increases health inequity (Ortmann et al., 2016, p. 22). Health equity and social justice are linked in the way that “realizing the goal of social justice with respect to health means achieving health equity” (Ortmann et al., 2016, p. 9). It is possible that a decision to be open about additional fees could affect the availability of public health services to impoverished children below the age of 5. However, this vulnerable group still only makes up a fraction of the total population that is at stake.
It is important to state that the needs of the community cannot be forgotten in this situation. In this regard, the ways in which Milena and Timothy are at odds can be attributed to the key conflict in public health “between individual- and population-based interests” (Lee et al., 2016, p. 37). Although the children under 5 are compromised, it can be argued that due to the international nature of the situation, the same can be said of the entire population of the country in question. In this case, the principle of the common good would then point towards the needs of many. This would call for Milena to hold back any decisions that would drastically alter the political landscape of the community, whose needs her team is meant to serve.
To conclude, it needs to be said that the fact that most of the research team are not citizens of the host country gives the incident a certain gravitas. Acting based on the concept of the common good in order to ensure that social justice is taken into account, Milena needs to be very considerate of the possible ramifications of her actions. It is essential that the needs of the entire community be taken care of. As this situation can unfold beyond the scope of personal issues, Milena should likely err on the side of caution when assessing her obligations and considering her possible actions. This can be summed up as the main conclusion of the influence of this factor on the final decision.
References
Barrett, D. H., Ortmann, L. W., Brown, N., DeCausey, B. R., Saenz, C., & Dawson, A. (2016). Public health research. In D. H. Barrett, L. W. Ortmann, A. Dawson, C. Saenz, A. Reis, & G. Bolan (Eds.), Public health ethics: Cases spanning the globe (pp. 285-318). Springer. Web.
Lee, L. M., Spector-Bagdady, K., & Sakhuja, M. (2016). Essential cases in the development of public health ethics. In D. H. Barrett, L. W. Ortmann, A. Dawson, C. Saenz, A. Reis, & G. Bolan (Eds.), Public health ethics: Cases spanning the globe (pp. 37-60). Springer. Web.
Ortmann, L. W., Barrett, D. H., Saenz, C., Bernheim, R. G., Dawson, A., Valentine, J. A., & Reis, A. (2016). Public health ethics: Global cases, practice, and context. In D. H. Barrett, L. W. Ortmann, A. Dawson, C. Saenz, A. Reis, & G. Bolan (Eds.), Public health ethics: Cases spanning the globe (pp. 3-36). Springer. Web.