Persuasion and coercion for health: ethical issues in government efforts to change life-styles

Milbank Mem Fund Q Health Soc. 1978 Summer;56(3):303-38.

Abstract

What should be government's role in promoting the kinds of personal behavior that lead to long life and good health! Mild measures of education and exhortation may be ineffective; imposition of stronger coercive actions may be unacceptable. Philosophical and social principles involved are complex, and threats to freedom can be averted through an understanding of moral justification for any intrusion.

MeSH terms

  • Ethics*
  • Government
  • Health Education
  • Humans
  • Life Style*
  • Motivation
  • Primary Prevention
  • Public Policy*
  • Social Control, Formal*
  • Taxes