Sustained ethical analysis of global dilemmas and country-level decision making during and post the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review

Sarfraz, A., Sarfraz, Z., Ashraf, M. and Ashraf, H. (2022) Sustained ethical analysis of global dilemmas and country-level decision making during and post the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 38(4), pp. 1056-1063. (doi: 10.12669/pjms.38.4.4755) (PMID:35634626) (PMCID:PMC9121969)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vulnerability of countries worldwide and their abilities to cope with the fast-paced demands of the research and medical community. A key to promoting ethical decision-making frameworks is by calibrating the sustainability at regional, national, and global levels to incorporate coordinated reforms. We performed a sustained ethical analysis and critically reviewed evidence addressing country-level responses to practices during the COVID-19 pandemic using PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus, and CINAHL. The World Health Organization’s ethical framework proposed for the entire population during the pandemic was applied to thematically delineate findings under equality, best outcomes (utility), prioritizing the worst off, and prioritizing those tasked with helping others. The findings demarcate ethical concerns about the validity of drug and vaccine trials in developing and developed countries, hints of unjust healthcare organizational policies, lack of equal allocation of pertinent resources, miscalculated allocation of resources to essential workers and stratified populations.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ashraf, Dr Mohammad
• Authors: Sarfraz, A., Sarfraz, Z., Ashraf, M., and Ashraf, H.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences
• Publisher: Professional Medical Publications
• ISSN: 1682-024X
• ISSN (Online): 1681-715X
• Published Online: 07 March 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Authors 2022
• First Published: First published in Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences 38(4):1056-1063
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license