Ethics Guidelines for Environmental Epidemiologists

Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Environmental epidemiology is the subspecialty of epidemiology that uses epidemiological principles, reasoning, and methods to study and control the health effects on populations of physical, chemical, and biological processes and agents external to the human body (e.g., climate change, air pollution, dietary pollutants, urbanization, energy production, and combustion). Along with the environment and all it sustains, environmental epidemiologists value human life and human dignity. We acknowledge that the natural environment, (including nature, ecosystems, and biodiversity) has intrinsic value, in addition to any instrumental value. Our ethical responsibility is not only to engage in objective scientific inquiry, but also to recommend measures to prevent negative health outcomes and to promote measures to protect the environment and public health locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. In 1996, recognizing the importance to environmental epidemiology of ethical and philosophical deliberation led to the establishment of ethics guidelines for the profession. A deliberative process of stakeholder and member engagement resulted, in 1999, in their adoption by the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE). The guidelines, which comprise normative standards of professional conduct, apply to all those engaged in environmental epidemiology, including individual researchers, governmental and non-governmental agencies, private institutions, and corporate sponsors. They are structured into four subsections: 1) obligations to individuals and communities participating in research; 2) obligations to society; 3) obligations regarding funders/sponsors and employers; and 4) obligations to colleagues. Through these guidelines, ISEE seeks to ensure the highest possible standards of transparency and accountability for the ethical conduct of its members, for those environmental epidemiologists engaged in research, and for those engaged in public health practice. Updated guidelines will be produced periodically (about every 10–15 years) to ensure their ongoing relevance in response to scientific advances, legislative, technical, and other contextually relevant societal changes.