INTERIM-REPORT ON THE JOINT TERNATIONAL-SOCIETY-FOR-ENVIRONMENTAL-EPIDEMIOLOGY (ISEE) - GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY NETWORK (GEENET) ETHICS SURVEY

An ethics survey was conducted in the first quarter of 1994 among envi ronmental epidemiologists worldwide. The target populations were reach ed through mailings from the International Society for Environmental E pidemiology (ISEE), the Italian Epidemiological Association (ITALY) an d the Global Environmental Epidemiology Network (GEENET) managed by th e Office of Global and Integrated Environmental Health of the World He alth Organization, Geneva, Response rates of about 30% among both the ISEE (n = 55 out of 184) and the ITALY (n = 35 out of 120) groups were consistent with those in other ethics surveys conducted in the recent past, but the response rate was only 19% for the GEENET group (n = 25 3 out of 1340). The latter may have been because of the heterogeneity of the GEENET membership. A total of 346 returned questionnaires were used in the analysis. The survey focused on statements of values and p rinciples grouped into nine major areas; there existed a range of disa greement with regard to acceptance of these statements. Greatest disag reement concerned the role of the environmental epidemiologist as 'dis passionate scientist' or 'passionate advocate'. Case studies also were solicited; 37% of case studies involved 'standards of practice', foll owed by 'confidentiality/disclosure' issues (15%). Nearly one-third of the respondents provided a case study. The usefulness of these case s tudies in training programs is self-evident. A desire to learn more ab out ethics was indicated by 70% of the respondents, with 41% wishing t o participate further in the integration of ethics into the research, practice and teaching of environmental epidemiology. A basis exists fo r future planning of professional ethics initiatives.