Sally Furniss
Well-known member
Ethical Values for Planning for and Responding to a Pandemic in New Zealand
If a pandemic came, we would get through it. We know this because we have done it before. But it would be difficult. The better prepared we were, the better we would cope. To prepare ourselves, one thing we should do is to think through our values ? the basic things that matter to us. This would give us a shared basis for making decisions. Many of us, in many different situations, would still have to make hard choices. But if we act on shared values with goodwill and reasonable judgement, then in general, we can expect that society would support us. Identifying our shared values now might also help us to act quickly and adapt well later, when there may be less time.
...values that would be useful in many settings. ...included two hypothetical cases: a community response to a pandemic and a hospital based case (see section 2). The community response case is based on the actual response of New Zealanders to the 1918 pandemic. We thank Geoffrey Rice for his advice on this. Both these hypothetical cases involve major pandemic outbreaks.
With good planning and response ... our aim is, of course, to prevent any
major outbreak from ever occurring. Even so, we should think about how we would get through even this most difficult situation.
... values can apply at all pandemic stages, from planning right through to recovery.
... recognition of Māori values. Māori have been disproportionately affected by past pandemics, and we must ensure this does not happen again.
...values that New Zealanders share for how to make decisions as well as for what decisions to make.
If a pandemic came, we would get through it. We know this because we have done it before. But it would be difficult. The better prepared we were, the better we would cope. To prepare ourselves, one thing we should do is to think through our values ? the basic things that matter to us. This would give us a shared basis for making decisions. Many of us, in many different situations, would still have to make hard choices. But if we act on shared values with goodwill and reasonable judgement, then in general, we can expect that society would support us. Identifying our shared values now might also help us to act quickly and adapt well later, when there may be less time.
...values that would be useful in many settings. ...included two hypothetical cases: a community response to a pandemic and a hospital based case (see section 2). The community response case is based on the actual response of New Zealanders to the 1918 pandemic. We thank Geoffrey Rice for his advice on this. Both these hypothetical cases involve major pandemic outbreaks.
With good planning and response ... our aim is, of course, to prevent any
major outbreak from ever occurring. Even so, we should think about how we would get through even this most difficult situation.
... values can apply at all pandemic stages, from planning right through to recovery.
... recognition of Māori values. Māori have been disproportionately affected by past pandemics, and we must ensure this does not happen again.
...values that New Zealanders share for how to make decisions as well as for what decisions to make.