Public Health Ethics
Volume 5 Issue 1 April 2012
http://phe.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

Case Discussion
Mat Walton and Eva Mengwasser
An Ethical Evaluation of Evidence: A Stewardship Approach to Public Health Policy
Public Health Ethics (2012) 5(1): 16-21 doi:10.1093/phe/phr037

Abstract
This article aims to contribute to the application of ethical frameworks to public health policy. In particular, the article considers the use of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics stewardship model as an applied framework for the evaluation of evidence within public health policymaking. The ‘Stewardship framework’ was applied to a policy proposal to restrict marketing of food and beverages to children. Reflections on applying the stewardship model as a framework are provided. The article concludes that the questions used to apply the stewardship model usefully introduced ethical considerations into the evidence review. However, the real value will likely come from the type of policy process within which the framework is used, identifying competing value positions and capturing local value requirements.