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  • Between Policy and Politics: When Bioethics Ventures into Public Debate
  • Jean–Christophe Bélisle Pipon, Marie–Ève Lemoine, Maude Laliberté, and Bryn Williams–Jones

Preamble

Dissemination of and discussion about research results are increasingly recognized as a necessary part of research, to the point that knowledge [End Page 3] transfer (KT) is viewed by many researchers and institutions as an ethical obligation and is increasingly expected (and even required) by research funders. KT is especially important for population health researchers, whose research has a direct impact on the lives of individuals and communities. However, it is not easy to transfer knowledge to the general public, especially when the subject is sensitive or highly political. The advice of academic experts may be ignored or contested by policy makers, for example, due to differences in values and priorities, or because it does not fit political objectives. In this context, we—a group of bioethics students, with the support of a professor—produced a YouTube video explaining the current state of knowledge and the potential consequences of a bill that would massively reorganise healthcare administration in the province of Québec, Canada. Our goal was to stimulate debate about the bill and its impact on the healthcare system.

This paper recounts, in narrative form, a fictional dialogue1 between the students and two professors regarding the development, dissemination and ensuing critique of the video, and their reflections on how junior and established bioethics scholars can and should engage in innovative KT on topics of public importance, that have significant political ramifications for a variety of stakeholders.

Dialogue

Three bioethics students are having lunch in their department; two of their professors walk by and stop for a chat.

Professor A:

Hi guys! I’m glad to find the three of you here, I wanted to congratulate you on that Bill 10 KT project! You did a great job summarizing the issues and presenting it in a simple and entertaining fashion. I was impressed!

Student 1:

I’m glad that you liked it. There was very little we could do in a short space of time. But at least we hope to have raised awareness in the general public.

Professor B:

A KT project on Bill 10? What form did it take? Did you do a presentation or something?

Professor A:

Actually, these three, with the help of a few more students in the Faculty, developed and released a very cool YouTube video that explained to lay–people how Bill 10 was contrary to most evidence in the field of healthcare management, and how it would likely have a major impact on healthcare costs and service delivery. Their video received 10,000 views in a little over two weeks, which is quite impressive in a small market such as the province of Quebec.

Professor B:

Oh, okay, no offense intended, but on what grounds do you students justify expressing these views? You’re not experts in the field of healthcare management, nor in the field of KT.

Student 2:

You’re right. We fully acknowledge that we’re not healthcare management experts, but we gathered our information from a panel presentation given by four eminent researchers in the field, and also searched the literature. As for KT, we think it should be part of bioethics activities and also of all graduate studies actually, and we like to believe that KT can be learned along the way—and it was quite a learning experience! With all humility, our goal was simply to share with the public what we learned in the academic context, and so help raise awareness of what is clearly an important issue for all citizens in our province.

Student 3:

Experts do research and write papers and reports. They very seldom bother engaging with lay–people to help inform them about their findings. We felt like somebody had to do something, and as socially engaged bioethics students, we wanted to put our values into practice.

Professor A:

I fully agree! I regularly tell my students—and my colleagues!—that its critical that we move academic findings and knowledge into the public space and so support more informed public debate. I even go so...

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