For this Discussion, you will be assigned to a specific ethical scenario. Download the Ethics Scenarios provided in this week’s Learning Resources and review the scenario that you are assigned. Consider how the SOPHE code of ethics may apply to the that scenario you were assigned.

1. You have been hired to work for the city health department to complete a project that was begun by your predecessor and funded with money from a local foundation. The grant requires the health department to develop four programs on the topic of hepatitis and then to present these programs to eight people representing specific priority groups in the community. After being hired, you discover that the administrator of the grant, your supervisor, has not adhered to the grant guidelines. Only half the number of programs has been developed as the grant required. Further, the number of presentations is less than required, and presentations have been given to people not in the identified priority groups. In addition, your supervisor has taken some of the travel funds allocated to pay for your travel to and from presentations and has diverted them into his personal travel fund to attend a national conference in Las Vegas. It is now time for you to develop your year-end report, which will be sent directly to the local foundation office. Your supervisor has provided you with a copy of the original grant proposal and says to make sure your figures agree with those in the proposal. In other words, he expects you to “fudge” the data. What will you do?

2. As the health and fitness director of a large corporate wellness program, you have been asked to provide data to your supervisor that supports the effectiveness of your program. The trend in the company has been to cut programs that do not “carry their weight.” The “bottom line” is important. In your review of the data related to your program, it is obvious that the data are not strong. However, in fairness to you, the program has been in operation for only two years, and it is too early to see the type of results management is looking for. You are the only one who has access to the data, and no one will know if the data you submit are accurate. How will you handle this situation?

3. You are a high school health teacher. The board of education has just adopted a policy that prohibits the teaching or discussing of information related to contraceptives or abortion in the district. The only approach that can be mentioned in the classroom is abstinence. You have read research that indicates that the abstinence approach is not as effective as some may think. After class one day, one of your students approaches you and informs you that she is pregnant. She requests your help and asks for the name and location of an abortion clinic. She also asks that you not tell anyone else about this. What will you do?

4. You are the health education specialist for a large city hospital. Your supervisor has asked you to develop a program on “safer sex” practices for the gay and lesbian population. The program is to be made available to lesbian and gay groups in the community. Because of your strong religious convictions, your personal values and beliefs are opposed to the gay/lesbian lifestyle and the “safer sex” approach. In addition, you feel uncomfortable dealing with homosexuals in general and especially with anyone who is HIV-positive. How will you handle this situation?

By Day 3

Post an explanation of which article(s) of the SOPHE code of ethics might best inform the role of health educators in the ethical scenario you were assigned and why. Be specific and provide examples of how these articles of the SOPHE code of ethics applies to the practice of health education. Then provide a brief description of two article(s) of the SOPHE code of ethics you believe are most important for informing your practice in the field of health education and explain why.