Non-Professional Healthcare Workers and Ethical Obligations to Work during Pandemic Influenza

This paper (which provides perspective from the UK National Health Service with potential relevance to U.S. health settings) considers whether non-professional healthcare professionals have an obligation to work during a pandemic, and, if so, whether professional obligations outweigh others they may have (e.g., to their families). The authors explore if workers should be compelled to work, and propose that any compulsion involve, “a larger pool of people with the relevant skills and abilities” as that is a more equitable approach.