| Science and Social Responsibility in Public Health Douglas L. Weed1 and Robert E. McKeown2 1Office of Preventive Oncology, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, USA; 2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA Abstract
Epidemiologists and environmental health researchers have a joint responsibility to acquire scientific knowledge that matters to public health and to apply the knowledge gained in public health practice. We examine the nature and source of these social responsibilities, discuss a debate in the epidemiological literature on roles and responsibilities, and cite approaches to environmental justice as reflective of them. At one level, responsibility refers to accountability, as in being responsible for actions taken. A deeper meaning of responsibility corresponds to commitment to the pursuit and achievement of a valued end. Epidemiologists are committed to the scientific study of health and disease in human populations and to the application of scientific knowledge to improve the public's health. Responsibility is also closely linked to reliability. Responsible professionals reliably perform the tasks they set for themselves as well as the tasks society expects them to undertake. The defining axiom for our approach is that the health of the public is a social good we commit ourselves to pursue, thus assuming an obligation to contribute to its achievement. Epidemiologists cannot claim to be committed to public health as a social good and not accept the responsibility of ensuring that the knowledge gained in their roles as scientists is used to achieve that good. The social responsibilities of environmental health researchers are conspicuous in the environmental justice movement, for example, in community-based participatory research. Responsibility is an ethical concept particularly well suited to frame many key aspects of the ethics of our profession. Key words: environmental justice, epidemiology, ethics, professional ethics, public health, social responsibility. Environ Health Perspect 111:1804-1808 (2003) . doi:10.1289/ehp.6198 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 19 June 2003] This article is part of the mini-monograph "Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues in Environmental Health Research." Address correspondence to D.L. Weed, Office of Preventive Oncology, Division of Cancer Prevention, NCI, Executive Plaza North, Ste. 3109, 6130 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20852 USA. Telephone: (301) 496-8640. Fax: (301) 402-4863. E-mail: dw102i@nih.gov The comments and suggestions of C. Cranor, C. Soskolne, and S. Wing were particularly helpful. Special thanks to G. Khushf for valuable suggestions and insights regarding our comments on Kant, although the authors take full responsibility for any remaining errors of interpretation. The authors declare they have no conflict of interest. Received 7 January 2003 ; accepted 6 May 2003.
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