How did bioethics research change as the impact and our understanding of COVID-19 progressed? What lessons can we take with us as we move forward?
On June 15, The Greenwall Foundation held a webinar that engaged these and other questions about bioethics inquiry in the uncertain and constantly changing pandemic environment. Featuring three scholars who conducted research in this challenging context with support from the Foundation’s Making a Difference program, the webinar—which you can watch in its entirety above—looked back at what we learned during the public health emergency to make sense of how bioethics, research, and public health might look going forward.
“My hope,” said Yale University’s Jason L. Schwartz, PhD, “is that [COVID-19] reminded us how we can widen the frame of what counts as a bioethical issue—what’s worthy of bioethical inquiry.” For Seema Shah, JD, of Northwestern University, pandemic policy revealed a breakdown between theory and practice: “There was definitely a gap between what the principles were meant to do and what happened in practice…. I think we probably need more implementation science in bioethics.” And for Johns Hopkins University’s Brendan Saloner, PhD, “the pandemic [pushed my imagination] to think about how bad things can be, but also how good things can be,” as decisions made about incarceration under duress had unexpected outcomes.
For more on the surprises, takeaways, and reflections about how COVID-19 changed how we think about bioethics, watch the full video above or on YouTube. To make sure you don’t miss the next Greenwall Foundation event, subscribe to our emails using the box at the bottom of this page.