Assignment Paper: FAIRNESS AND EQUITY IN THE PROVISION OF ANTI-RETROVIRAL THERAPY: SOME REFLECTIONS FROM LESOTHOdewb_267 129..140
Ethics in Global Health Practice
Guidelines for Written Assignment: Final Paper
Assignment Paper: FAIRNESS AND EQUITY IN THE PROVISION OF ANTI-RETROVIRAL THERAPY: SOME REFLECTIONS FROM LESOTHOdewb_267 129..140
RUSSELL ARMSTRONG
Developing World Bioethics ISSN 1471-8731 (print); 1471-8847 (online) doi:10.1111/j.1471-8847.2009.00267.x Volume 10 Number 3 2010 pp 129–140
Instruction:
Each student will prepare a final paper analyzing one of the case example readings assigned for Sessions 3 through 6. For the case example that you select, you should write your paper using the specific prompt that we will provide for that case. Your paper should be 1000-1250 words in length (not counting bibliographic citations).
General Guidance
Each of the case examples discussed in Sessions 3 through 6 raises questions of ethical decision making about which reasonable people can reasonably disagree. This means that there is no uniquely correct solution. Yet, as Ruth Macklin has written, in many cases, “… those in charge must make a decision or establish a policy that takes one pathway to the exclusion of another.”[footnoteRef:1] The purpose of the assignment is for you to think through (a) how you would make such a decision if you were responsible for doing so, and (b) how you would justify your decision in ethical terms to the people affected. We expect that you will focus the bulk of your paper on analyzing the options available to an identified actor. We will look for a fully developed ethical argument in which you justify your recommended option, and in which you consider and respond to a powerful objection against that option. [1: Ruth Macklin (2006), “No Shortage of Dilemmas: Comment on ‘They call it “Patient Selection” in Khayelitsha,’” Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 15:313-321, at p. 313]
Your analysis should present your own reasoning. Do not attempt to survey what other people think. We are interested in what you think and how you reason. We want to be sure you can identify and explain ethical issues and use the conceptual resources assigned in class to reason through possible solutions.
1. In the main text, please do the following in no more than 1250 words. Do your best to demonstrate proficiency in the use of conceptual resources from any of the assigned ethics readings and mini-lectures that seem relevant to you.
a. Briefly describe the ethical issues in the case and any key facts necessary to understanding the importance of the ethical considerations you will focus on (no more than 1 paragraph).
b. Identify the ethical concepts underlying the issues you identify, using conceptual resources where appropriate.
c. Identify the actor with decision-making authority whose options you have chosen to analyze in the case. You must choose one of the actors listed in the prompt that we will provide.
d. Identify two courses of action representing options open to the actor. Where applicable, you may use the status quo as presented in the case as the basis for one of the options (i.e., you may suggest that the actor not do anything differently or not change any practice from what was described in the case). If you wish, and where applicable, we encourage you to use your imagination to come up with a novel course of action for at least one of the options open to the actor. You may also wish to consult your notes from the group discussion of the case to come up with ideas.
e. Identify the ethical considerations relevant to each of the two options. For each option, what does it seem to have going for it, ethically speaking? What does it seem have going against it, ethically speaking?
f. Recommend one of the options and provide a supporting ethical argument. Make a compelling positive case for why your recommended option is preferable to the competing option in light of the ethical considerations in play.
g. Articulate the most powerful ethical objection that you can think of against your recommended option.
h. Offer a response to that objection.
i. Provide a brief conclusion that clearly summarizes the overall rationale in support of your recommended option.
j. Maintain a coherent flow in the paper as a whole.
2. References: provide a bibliography listing your sources by author, title, and publication information. Bibliographic citations do not count toward the word limit.
a. Any statement of fact or mention of data requires a reference.
b. Any direct quotation or paraphrasing of material by another author requires a reference.
c. You may use MLA, APA, AMA, or other recognized bibliographic style. Be consistent in its use. Alternatively, you may follow the reference style used in the syllabus for class readings as a guide.
Attribution
Follow correct procedures to avoid plagiarism. If you have any doubt, ask us! The JHSPH Academic Ethics Code defines plagiarism as follows:
“Plagiarism is defined as taking for one’s own use the words, ideas, concepts or data of another without proper attribution. Plagiarism includes both direct use or paraphrasing of the words, thoughts, or concepts of another without proper attribution. Proper attribution includes: (1) use of quotation marks or single-spacing and indentation for words or phrases directly taken from another source, accompanied by proper reference to that source and (2) proper reference to any source from which ideas, concepts, or data are taken even if the exact words are not reproduced.”
Formatting
The main text of your paper should be no more than 1250 words long (not counting bibliographic citations). This word limit will be strictly enforced. Any material quoted in the main text from other sources will count toward the word limit. Your paper should be double-spaced, using 12-point font and 1-inch margins. (You may use single-spacing for direct quotations and bibliographic citations.)
Components of the final paper assignment
1. A separate cover page should show:
a. The title of your paper
b. The length of your essay (in number of words)
c. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME
