Medical Ethics
Two sets of activities related to medical ethics are overseen through the HMS Department of Global Health and Social Medicine:
- The Harvard Medical School Division of Medical Ethics (DME)
- The Harvard University Program on Ethics and Health (PEH)
Dan Brock, Glessner Lee Professor of Legal Medicine, directs both the Division and the Program. Both the Division and the Program offer postdoctoral training and research programs. For further information, see the links (above).
Current projects of Medical Ethics faculty
Cost effectiveness and health resource prioritization—the ethical issues, Dan Brock
“Bioethics and Cancer” - implications of experience as cancer patient or caretaker for bioethics, Dan Brock
End of life care options, Dan Brock with T Quill, B Lo, and A Meisel
Conflicts of interest, Marcia Angell
Research ethics, Marcia Angell
Informed consent, Nir Eyal
Coercive procurement of organs for transplantation and how the body is a special moral “zone,” Nir Eyal
Mitigating physician brain drain, Nir Eyal with Samia Hurst
Ethics of organ trade, Nir Eyal
Decision-making for ill newborns in resource-poor setting (India), Sadath Sayeed in collaboration with colleagues from Norway
Prospective parental interpretation of the best-interests standard as applied to ill newborns, Sadath Sayeed
Improving newborn health delivery project in central plateau of Haiti, Sadath Sayeed
The Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care (IPPC), Mildred Solomon, PI
Toward Optimal End-of-Life Care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Mildred Solomon, Co-investigator
Quality of Life in Advanced Cystic Fibrosis in the Era of Transplantation, Mildred Solomon and Robert Truog, Co-investigators
Project on adult care in cystic fibrosis. Prospective study at 10 centers regarding how patients with CF make the transition to adulthood, make decisions regarding lung transplantation, and plan for end-of-life care.
Self-Management of Cystic Fibrosis in Adolescence, Mildred Solomon, Co-investigator
“Decision making for extremely premature newborns,” Mildred Solomon with Lisa Lehmann
“Returning Individual Genetic Results to Participants in Cohort Studies,” Mildred Solomon with Steve Joffe
“Prognostication and End-of-Life Decision Making in Patients with Severe Neurologic Injury,” Mildred Solomon with Thos Cochrane
Toward Optimal Palliative Care in the PICU Setting, Robert Truog, PI
This project will develop tools to evaluate the quality of end-of-life care in the pediatric ICU. These tools will then be used to investigate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of fifty consecutive deaths occurring in each of eight geographically dispersed pediatric ICUs, from the perspectives of parents, patients, and clinicians.
Program to Enhance Relational and Communication Skills in situations of Medical Error and Conflict, Robert Truog, PI
Project to develop a communication training program for clinicians at the Harvard teaching hospitals to improve their skills at dealing with medical error and conflict.
The Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care: Enhancing Family-Centered Care for Children Living with Life-Threatening Conditions, Robert Truog, Co-investigator
Project to study how decisions are made about the use of life-sustaining technologies in children, followed by the design of a 25-hour curriculum, implementation of quality improvements in seven leading children’s hospitals, face-to-face retreats ongoing across the nation, and an impact study to determine the impact of the retreats on clinical practice. More than 1700 participants have completed the training.