Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2026-01-28DOI: 10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101245
G. Magro
The Night I Became a Doctor is a reflective narrative that captures the moment when the practice of medicine transcends clinical training and becomes an existential realization. Set in southern Italy during a time of healthcare crisis, the story follows a young neurologist covering emergency night shifts in understaffed wards. Through the account of an elderly patient with metastatic cancer who dies unexpectedly despite apparently stable parameters, the author explores the dissonance between medical rationality and human vulnerability. The narrative moves from the procedural security of numerical scales and protocols to the emotional disorientation of loss, revealing how medicine is not a linear science but a labyrinth of uncertainty, ethics, and compassion. By drawing parallels with literary metaphors, the author reframes the physician’s journey as one of continuous searching within the limits of knowledge and the inevitability of death. Ultimately, the piece portrays the moment of transition from being a doctor in title to becoming one in spirit; when empathy and acceptance replace control and certainty.
{"title":"The night I became a doctor","authors":"G. Magro","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101245","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101245","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Night I Became a Doctor is a reflective narrative that captures the moment when the practice of medicine transcends clinical training and becomes an existential realization. Set in southern Italy during a time of healthcare crisis, the story follows a young neurologist covering emergency night shifts in understaffed wards. Through the account of an elderly patient with metastatic cancer who dies unexpectedly despite apparently stable parameters, the author explores the dissonance between medical rationality and human vulnerability. The narrative moves from the procedural security of numerical scales and protocols to the emotional disorientation of loss, revealing how medicine is not a linear science but a labyrinth of uncertainty, ethics, and compassion. By drawing parallels with literary metaphors, the author reframes the physician’s journey as one of continuous searching within the limits of knowledge and the inevitability of death. Ultimately, the piece portrays the moment of transition from being a doctor in title to becoming one in spirit; when empathy and acceptance replace control and certainty.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 101245"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2026-03-07DOI: 10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101258
V.A. Romero , D.E. Lucero-Prisno III , E.T. Romero
{"title":"Overlooked dangers of cone snail venom: a neglected marine health risk","authors":"V.A. Romero , D.E. Lucero-Prisno III , E.T. Romero","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101258","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 101258"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147402344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chile’s verification of leprosy elimination: a milestone with implications for global health systems","authors":"A.A. Abdulle , Y.H. Abdi , W.A. Osman , S.G. Bashir","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101275","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101275","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 101275"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147448983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-16DOI: 10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101233
A. Boudreau LeBlanc, C. Dupras, B. Williams-Jones, G.-P. Gadoury-Sansfaçon, J. Barrette-Moran, E. de Leeuw, M. Bouchard, N. Macia, L. Stafford
One Health is, by definition, an interdisciplinary, intersectoral, and interlocal concept. At its origin, it intersects human and veterinary medicine to bridge local-to-global health issues. Local epidemics can escalate into pandemics, while antimicrobial resistance in one species can spread within the microbiotic community. This ecological turn has expanded the scope of health research and practice, which now frequently includes wildlife and landscape. Yet, this expanded scope raises several concerns, starting with the need to build functional mechanisms for interdisciplinary integration, cooperation, and coordination. How do we integrate without reducing, influencing, or (op)pressing disciplinary expertise? One Health, we suggest, is challenged by the same issues faced by other interdisciplinary movements, such as Bioethics. The root of the problem, we argue, is with an organization of science that still dichotomizes knowledge and values in daily practice; pinpointing four core challenges, all of which intersect a boundary: (1) institutions, (2) epistemologies, (3) sectors, and 4) generations. Building on the case of the Université de Montréal, which adopted One Health as a strategic vision for the institution, and the experience of early adopters in the School of Public Health, we argue for a new focus on “boundary intersections” of research, teaching, and service in governance ethics. This model takes the form of a real-world “living laboratory,” structured as a Science for Society collective, and shows how interests can converge across One Health and Bioethics to enable researchers to exchange, learn, and construct a more general methodological approach to operationalize interdisciplinary perspectives effectively in practice.
{"title":"Safe spaces for co-operationalizing one health: building on momentum in bioethics","authors":"A. Boudreau LeBlanc, C. Dupras, B. Williams-Jones, G.-P. Gadoury-Sansfaçon, J. Barrette-Moran, E. de Leeuw, M. Bouchard, N. Macia, L. Stafford","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101233","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101233","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>One Health is, by definition, an interdisciplinary, intersectoral, and interlocal concept. At its origin, it intersects human and veterinary medicine to bridge local-to-global health issues. Local epidemics can escalate into pandemics, while antimicrobial resistance in one species can spread within the microbiotic community. This ecological turn has expanded the scope of health research and practice, which now frequently includes wildlife and landscape. Yet, this expanded scope raises several concerns, starting with the need to build functional mechanisms for interdisciplinary integration, cooperation, and coordination. How do we <em>integrate without reducing, influencing, or (op)pressing</em> disciplinary expertise? One Health, we suggest, is challenged by the same issues faced by other interdisciplinary movements, such as Bioethics. The root of the problem, we argue, is with an organization of science that still dichotomizes knowledge and values in daily practice; pinpointing four core challenges, all of which intersect a boundary: (1) institutions, (2) epistemologies, (3) sectors, and 4) generations. Building on the case of the Université de Montréal, which adopted One Health as a strategic vision for the institution, and the experience of early adopters in the School of Public Health, we argue for a new focus on “boundary intersections” of research, teaching, and service in governance ethics. This model takes the form of a real-world “living laboratory,” structured as a <em>Science for Society</em> collective, and shows how interests can converge across One Health and Bioethics to enable researchers to exchange, learn, and construct a more general methodological approach to operationalize interdisciplinary perspectives effectively in practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 101233"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145790130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-10DOI: 10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101230
C.J.B. Cainday
{"title":"Ethics rooted in ritual: Pamuhat in the Philippines indigenous health research","authors":"C.J.B. Cainday","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101230","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101230","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 101230"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145733072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-04DOI: 10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101228
Elise M.R. Smith , Diego Kozlowski , Lorenah E. Vásquez , Lubna Daraz , Vincent Larivière
Background
In biomedical and health research, groups identified as “vulnerable” are often excluded from research resulting in lack of evidence and downstream health disparities. This research aims to map out the landscape of published work about vulnerable populations by analyzing (1) groups that are considered vulnerable in published health research, (2) methods that are used to study them, and (3) external factors (country and dichotomized gender of author) that impact research on vulnerable populations.
Methodology
Based on data sourced from PubMed and Web of Science, we used a cross-sectional bibliometric assessment to identify 40,762 publications from 2003 to 2023 that mentioned “vulnerable population” in the abstract, title or keywords. Main outcome measures included the relative frequency of Medical Subject Headings terms in articles about vulnerable populations and all PubMed articles, and distribution of authorships by gender and nationality.
Results
Compared to all PubMed articles, manuscripts featuring social and environmental factors (poverty, immigration, health disparities) were over twenty times more likely to be associated with vulnerable populations. Additionally, community-based and qualitative approaches were more than five times more likely to be associated with vulnerable populations compared to all PubMed articles. Women served as first authors in 45.2% of all publications in PubMed, while they authored 51.3% of the publications on vulnerable populations. The countries contributing the most to vulnerable population research include the U.S. (39.4%), Canada (7.1%), Australia (6.5%), and England (5.3%).
Conclusions
By exposing the construct of vulnerability in health research, this research helps to understand research gaps and biases.
在生物医学和卫生研究中，被确定为“弱势群体”的群体往往被排除在研究之外，导致缺乏证据和下游健康差距。本研究旨在通过分析(1)在已发表的健康研究中被认为是弱势群体的群体，(2)用于研究这些群体的方法，以及(3)影响弱势群体研究的外部因素（国家和作者的二分性别），来绘制弱势群体的已发表作品的景观。方法基于来自PubMed和Web of Science的数据，采用横断面文献计量学评估方法，对2003年至2023年间在摘要、标题或关键词中提到“弱势群体”的40,762篇出版物进行了分析。主要结果测量包括关于弱势群体的文章和所有PubMed文章中医学主题标题术语的相对频率，以及按性别和国籍划分的作者分布。结果与所有PubMed文章相比，具有社会和环境因素（贫困、移民、健康差距）的论文与弱势群体相关的可能性高出20倍以上。此外，与所有PubMed文章相比，基于社区和定性的方法与弱势群体相关的可能性是其5倍以上。在PubMed的所有出版物中，女性是45.2%的第一作者，而在关于弱势群体的出版物中，女性占51.3%。对脆弱人口研究贡献最多的国家包括美国（39.4%）、加拿大（7.1%）、澳大利亚（6.5%）和英国（5.3%）。结论通过揭示健康研究中的脆弱性结构，本研究有助于了解研究差距和偏见。
{"title":"A bibliometric analysis of vulnerable populations publication in health science research","authors":"Elise M.R. Smith , Diego Kozlowski , Lorenah E. Vásquez , Lubna Daraz , Vincent Larivière","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101228","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101228","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>In biomedical and health research, groups identified as “vulnerable” are often excluded from research resulting in lack of evidence and downstream health disparities. This research aims to map out the landscape of published work about vulnerable populations by analyzing (1) groups that are considered vulnerable in published health research, (2) methods that are used to study them, and (3) external factors (country and dichotomized gender of author) that impact research on vulnerable populations.</div></div><div><h3>Methodology</h3><div>Based on data sourced from PubMed and Web of Science, we used a cross-sectional bibliometric assessment to identify 40,762 publications from 2003 to 2023 that mentioned “vulnerable population” in the abstract, title or keywords. Main outcome measures included the relative frequency of Medical Subject Headings terms in articles about vulnerable populations and all PubMed articles, and distribution of authorships by gender and nationality.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared to all PubMed articles, manuscripts featuring social and environmental factors (poverty, immigration, health disparities) were over twenty times more likely to be associated with vulnerable populations. Additionally, community-based and qualitative approaches were more than five times more likely to be associated with vulnerable populations compared to all PubMed articles. Women served as first authors in 45.2% of all publications in PubMed, while they authored 51.3% of the publications on vulnerable populations. The countries contributing the most to vulnerable population research include the U.S. (39.4%), Canada (7.1%), Australia (6.5%), and England (5.3%).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>By exposing the construct of vulnerability in health research, this research helps to understand research gaps and biases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 101228"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145681297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2026-03-07DOI: 10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101259
N. Kluger
{"title":"Sticker art as an informal tool for developing visual literacy","authors":"N. Kluger","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101259","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101259","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 101259"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147402345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-12-10DOI: 10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101232
C.J.B. Cainday
{"title":"When father holds first: A call for inclusive Unang Yakap in the Philippines","authors":"C.J.B. Cainday","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101232","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101232","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 101232"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145736693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2026-02-05DOI: 10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101249
O. Vinogradova , A. Martani , E. Stock , B.S. Elger , T. Wangmo
Background
The Covid-19 pandemic severely affected Switzerland and triggered a comprehensive government response, which included strict restriction measures that HealthCare sector Workers (HCWs) had to interpret and apply, especially concerning the care of older adults.
Objective
The aim of our qualitative study is to explore HCWs’ perceptions, experiences and challenges regarding the implementation of various restrictive measures during the Covid-19 pandemic in Switzerland, focusing on older adults’ protection.
Methods
Fifty-seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with HCWs in five cantons of Switzerland. The data was coded using thematic analysis, identifying key topics related to restriction measures.
Results
HCWs reported five types of restriction measures that they applied in Swiss care institutions: blocking, restructuring, reductionist, protective and security measures. We grouped their views on the interpretation and application of restriction measures into four themes. The first theme dealt on the appropriateness of these measures, which included general views, its proportionality and questions of responsibility on measures taken. The second theme comprised working under such measures including their views on their psychological burden or conflict of moral values related to restrictions placed. The third theme concerned the HCWs’ interactions with older adults and how they were reshaped under the different restriction measures. The last theme reported on our participants’ considerations about public health ethics, comprising, for example, the balancing of individual and collective rights. Our study found polarisation among HCWs on this topic, given that many interviewees believed that strict restriction measures helped save many older adults’ lives, while others thought that the quality and length of life of this population decreased as a result.
Conclusion
Study findings provide crucial insights into how HCWs implemented and interpreted the restriction measures, the challenges and the ethical conflicts resulting therefrom in times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our analysis can help stakeholders to plan effective, crisis-ready policies and guidelines safeguarding vulnerable groups.
{"title":"The application of restrictive measures during the Covid-19 pandemic: experiences from the Swiss healthcare system","authors":"O. Vinogradova , A. Martani , E. Stock , B.S. Elger , T. Wangmo","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101249","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jemep.2026.101249","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The Covid-19 pandemic severely affected Switzerland and triggered a comprehensive government response, which included strict restriction measures that HealthCare sector Workers (HCWs) had to interpret and apply, especially concerning the care of older adults.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The aim of our qualitative study is to explore HCWs’ perceptions, experiences and challenges regarding the implementation of various restrictive measures during the Covid-19 pandemic in Switzerland, focusing on older adults’ protection.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Fifty-seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with HCWs in five cantons of Switzerland. The data was coded using thematic analysis, identifying key topics related to restriction measures.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>HCWs reported five types of restriction measures that they applied in Swiss care institutions: blocking, restructuring, reductionist, protective and security measures. We grouped their views on the interpretation and application of restriction measures into four themes. The first theme dealt on the appropriateness of these measures, which included general views, its proportionality and questions of responsibility on measures taken. The second theme comprised working under such measures including their views on their psychological burden or conflict of moral values related to restrictions placed. The third theme concerned the HCWs’ interactions with older adults and how they were reshaped under the different restriction measures. The last theme reported on our participants’ considerations about public health ethics, comprising, for example, the balancing of individual and collective rights. Our study found polarisation among HCWs on this topic, given that many interviewees believed that strict restriction measures helped save many older adults’ lives, while others thought that the quality and length of life of this population decreased as a result.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Study findings provide crucial insights into how HCWs implemented and interpreted the restriction measures, the challenges and the ethical conflicts resulting therefrom in times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our analysis can help stakeholders to plan effective, crisis-ready policies and guidelines safeguarding vulnerable groups.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 101249"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146187483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-11-18DOI: 10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101221
H. Zhang
{"title":"Male patients appeared in Chinese papers on female diseases","authors":"H. Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101221","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101221","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37707,"journal":{"name":"Ethics, Medicine and Public Health","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 101221"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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