Corsi intensivi

 

Health Care Ethics Committees
April 22-24, 2013 - Padova, Italy

Scientific coordinator: Corrado Viafora
Course coordinators: Enrico Furlan, Kathrin Ohnsorge
 
Over the past thirty years Health Care Ethics Committees (HECs) have been identified, especially in the West, as the main tool to root and support bioethical reflection in Health Care Institutions.
Indeed, under certain conditions, they have proved of great help in (a) increasing the level of perception and analysis of the new ethical issues related to the present development of health care; (b) integrating different professional expertise and ethical perspectives; (c) promoting a real communication between Health Care Institutions and the society at large.
The three main functions through which HECs express their potential are: (1) case analysis and ethical consultation; (2) institutional guidelines’ development; (3) bioethical education.
The aim of the course is to provide participants with conceptual frames and practical tools to effectively perform the above mentioned three functions.

"Health Care Ethics Committees" - Overview
Course programme
Accomodation in Padova
Online registration


Ethics of Pediatric Research

May 13-15, 2013 - Padova, Italy
Scientific coordinator: Corrado Viafora
Course coordinators: Marina Cuttini, Carlo Giaquinto, Mariassunta Piccinni

Of all types of research involving human subjects, research on children is the one which has undergone the most profound evolution: from the initial banning to prevent any exploitation of vulnerable subjects, to the widespread recognition of the need for this research in order to grant children treatments and drugs that have been specifically tested for that population.
As a consequence of the moral and epistemological justification of pediatric research, the number of studies involving children is rapidly increasing all around the world.
This phenomenon requires however the refinement of the traditional moral requirements of biomedical research (especially informed consent and risk assessment) in order to adapt them to the specific characteristics of children.
This challenge must be taken up by all people involved in pediatric research (especially members of Research Ethics Committees) who wish to promote excellence in research while granting children the necessary protection, avoiding in particular the risk that economical pressure compromise the moral and scientific soundness of the studies.

"Ethics of pediatric research" - Overview
Course programme
Accomodation in Padova

Online registration


Lecture Series

Religion and Bioethics

June 3-5, 2013 - Padova, Italy
Scientific coordinator: Corrado Viafora
Course coordinator: Marcello Ghilardi

In our globalized and multicultural societies, religions play an important role since they profoundly shape the different cultures. Given this phenomenon, the traditional modern strategy of managing conflicts by separating public and private sphere doesn’t work anymore. Indeed, many authors have suggested that we live in post-secular societies, in which religious attitudes and secular values are closely interconnected and influence each other.
Also for this reason, it has become more and more evident that bioethical issues cannot be dealt with just with principles and rules, because they always involve dimensions of meaning. Since the most important sources of meaning for the life of people come from religious traditions, reference to religions is inescapable.
Yet, the more such reference and consideration of religions become inevitable, the more bioethics must create the conditions for a fruitful dialogue among these traditions and between religious and secular persons.
The lecture series explicitly identifies the basis for this dialogue in the anthropological dimension. Such strategy seems to make possible and justify, better than other approaches, the link between bioethics and religions.

"Religion and Bioethics" - Overview
Programme
Accomodation in Padova
Online registration