Compliance to Public Health Advisory amid COVID-19 Scare: The Communication Conundrum and Public Health Ethics

Abstract

Discussion of ethics in the public health arena has primarily focused on the practices of public health doctors and professionals. The community could not get the required attention in terms of their role in compliance with the communication in the form of public health advisory in times of public health crisis. Even though public health is the societal approach to protecting and promoting health, ethics in public health have prioritised behaviours of and moral dilemmas faced by public health professionals only. Leaving out the community’s responsibility makes the entire gamut of public health efforts incomplete and deficient. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, non-compliance to the public health advisory raised an important aspect of expectation of ethical behaviour by the community and what could facilitate and hinder compliance of ethical behaviour ensuring the safety of self and others. Public health ought to consider the community as not only an important but also responsible stakeholder in its pursuit of promotion of health and prevention of disease.