• Dipl.-Päd. Ulrike Henckel

• Thomas Engel, M.A.

6.–7.11.2008:

On 6th and 7th November 2008 an expert meeting was held at the Europäische Akademie GmbH on „Ethical Questions of Public Health Policy” involving participants from the fields of medicine, jurisprudence, sociology, and philosophy. Discussions focussed on ethical, socio-political, and juridical questions of public health policy. Professor S. Geyer (Medizinische Hochschule Hannover) and Dr. A. Mielck (GSF-Neuherberg) stressed the empirical basis of several factors causing inequality in the health sector from a sociological point of view, emphasizing the need for rational ethics to solve normative questions in this context. A first contribution to this task was given by Professor M. Quante (Universität Köln) talking about the problem of moral and psychic obstacles in public health policy. Medical aspects of healthcare politics were stressed by Professor N.W. Paul (Universität Mainz) who reflected the possibility of prediction and prevention of health risks in the era of molecular medicine. Finally, Professor St. Huster (Universität Bochum) explained the socio-judicial framework of healthcare politics.

The participating experts concluded that there is further need to continue discussions on a range of unresolved questions and decided to meet again in spring 2009 (19th–20th March).