Toward a framework for defining and resolving ethical issues in the protection of communities involved in primary prevention projects

Ethical issues flow from and are embedded in contexts of practice. Contexts of practice refer to the diverse social settings where interventions occur . Primary prevention activities require new professional roles in these div erse social settings. These new roles engage the professional in new activi ties, which in turn allow new ethical issues to arise. This article takes a n ecological perspective on ethical issues arising from the enactment of ne w preventive roles intended to affect groups or communities. Within this pe rspective, the concepts of context and culture take on special conceptual s ignificance. Four ecological assumptions about preventive interventions int ended to affect groups or communities are offered as a means of framing eth ical issues in such interventions. Finally, several approaches to developin g ecological knowledge about the contexts of practice are presented as ways of furthering our ability to conceptualize and cope with ethical issues in preventive interventions intended to affect groups or communities.