摘要：Summary. In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by
Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public
health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to
public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism
doesn’t offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria
must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers
similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest
a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles:
absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the “minimum” mandatory
principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.
关键词：Key words: personalism, public health ethics, principles.
