Rethinking Rural Health Ethics

Description

This book challenges readers to rethink rural health ethics. Traditional approaches to health ethics are often urban-centric, making implicit assumptions about how values and norms apply in health care practice, and as such may fail to take into account the complexity, depth, richness, and diversity of the rural context. There are ethically relevant differences between rural health practice and rural health services delivery and urban practice and delivery that go beyond the stereotypes associated with rural life and rural health services. This book examines key values in the rural context that have not been fully explored or taken into account when we examine health ethics issues, including the values of community and place, and a need to “revalue” relationships. It also advocates for a greater attention to meso and macro level analysis in rural health ethics as being critical to ethical analysis of rural health care. This book is essential reading for those involved in health ethics, rural health policy and governance, and for rural health providers. Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Introduction (Christy Simpson, Fiona McDonald)....Pages 1-13 Front Matter ....Pages 15-15 Rural Health Ethics: Where Have We Been and What Is Missing? (Christy Simpson, Fiona McDonald)....Pages 17-30 The Deficit Perspective (Christy Simpson, Fiona McDonald)....Pages 31-44 The Idealisation of Rural Life and Rural Health Care (Christy Simpson, Fiona McDonald)....Pages 45-57 Front Matter ....Pages 59-59 The Value of Place (Christy Simpson, Fiona McDonald)....Pages 61-75 The Value of Community (Christy Simpson, Fiona McDonald)....Pages 77-93 The Value of Relationships (Christy Simpson, Fiona McDonald)....Pages 95-117 Taking It to the Next (Meso) Level: Organisational Ethics (Christy Simpson, Fiona McDonald)....Pages 119-138 The Big Picture: Ethics, Health Policy, Health Systems and Rural Health Care (Christy Simpson, Fiona McDonald)....Pages 139-160 Rethinking Rural Health Ethics (Christy Simpson, Fiona McDonald)....Pages 161-171 Back Matter ....Pages 173-175