Ethics in Health Education: Are Health Educators Familiar with it?

Because of risks and uncertainties associated with research and medical interventions، ethical considerations are often necessary for medical research. Unfortunately، these ethical considerations have not been addressed extensively in the field of health education and health promotion. In Iran، sources and texts related to ethics and health education/health promotion are very limited. Therefore، we hoped the present paper would be a small step toward filling a corner of this great gap. This paper is a review of literature and resources related to ethics in the health education/health promotion profession. In the first part of this article، generalities about ethics، and approaches and theories of the origin and emergence of morality are given. Then، in another part of this paper، the Persian version of the ethical codes for the health education/health promotion profession (6 sections and 47 articles)، which has been approved by the coalition of national health education organizations (CNHEO)، has been presented for the first time. In general، one of the main responsibilities of health educators is to help individuals make wise decisions related to their health. Health educators in their professional practices encounter a range of difficult and uncertain situations. On the other hand، health educators act as a role model for others. The authors of this paper recommend specialized and practical training on ethical issues in health education for professionals، researchers، students، and other activists in the field of health education and health promotion.