Of all infectious disease events, pandemics could result in significant human depopulation in this Anthropocene epoch or even in the next few centuries. Existential factors that exacerbate pandemic risk include global warming, overpopulation, habitat loss, permafrost thawing, geopolitical conflict, and…
Most physicians do not see, or learn to see, nuclear war threat mitigation as within the scope of their professional duties. This commentary on a case argues there are 2 reasons why physicians, in particular, should draw on their unique…
This commentary on a case builds on recent literature on climate change, health, and human extinction to argue in favor of a new clinical specialty: extinction medicine. If based on precise application of scientific findings about species extinction, disaster prevention…
This article draws a parallel between ethical reasons why people alive today have obligations to members of future generations and ethical reasons why physicians have obligations, besides helping improve patients’ quality of life, to help some patients confront their own…
Is there an important ethical difference between a global catastrophe that causes human extinction and one that does not? This commentary on a case introduces 3 approachesóequivalence, further-loss, and pro-extinctionistóin responding to this question. In particular, focus is placed on…
This activity is comprised of five multiple-choice questions based on the content of an AMA Journal of Ethics podcast about nuclear proliferation and planetary health. The featured guests are Joseph Hodgkin, MD, an attending hospitalist physician at Massachusetts General Hospital…
This activity is comprised of five multiple-choice questions based on the content of an AMA Journal of Ethics podcast about screening children for structural drivers of health. The featured guests are Laura Gottlieb, MD, MPH, a professor of Family Community…
Access to health care is a key structural determinant of health, with lack of health insurance as a main barrier. In the United States, nearly half of children rely on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program for health insurance….
Screening for structural drivers or determinants of health (SDoH), as mandated by recent federal regulations, raises ethical questions about screening processes and tools. Early childhood adversity and trauma, which can influence a person’s health throughout their lifespan and contribute to…
Structural determinants of health (SDoH) screening is key to good pediatric care, but fear of life-altering consequences can prevent adults from disclosing information, while time constraints disincentivize clinicians from addressing some awkward but important SDoH topics relevant to good care…
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