ETHICA—ETHICs in Action: Values, Dilemmas, and Decision-Making in Contemporary Healthcare
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Healthcare Organizations, Systems, and Providers".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 September 2026 | Viewed by 18
Special Issue Editors
2. Department of Health Care Surveillance and Bioethics, Section of Bioethics and Medical Humanities, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo F. Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy
Interests: research ethics; research ethics committees; ethics of resources allocation; clinical ethics
2. Research Centre for Clinical Bioethics & Medical Humanities, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
Interests: health technology assessment; ethics; bioethics; research ethics; clinical research
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue originates from the ETHICA Project, “Ethics in Action: values, dilemmas, and decision-making in contemporary healthcare,” promoted by the Department of Healthcare Surveillance and Bioethics, Section of Bioethics and Medical Humanities, “A. Gemelli” School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Research Centre for Clinical Bioethics and Medical Humanities, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
ETHICA is a collaborative research initiative that explores how ethical reasoning is enacted, sustained, and challenged within both clinical and organizational contexts. The project has been carried out by scholars from the two abovementioned institutions, integrating complementary expertise in bioethics, clinical practice, law, and the social sciences.
The primary aim of this Special Issue is to present the outcomes and insights generated within ETHICA, with particular attention to the ways in which values, dilemmas, and ethical decision-making shape contemporary healthcare practices.
Specifically, the contributions included will accomplish the following:
- Investigate how ethical principles are integrated into healthcare decision-making, both at the bedside and within broader institutional frameworks;
- Analyse the tools, processes, and cultural conditions that foster or hinder ethically sound practices;
- Explore the role of Clinical Ethics Support Services (CESSs), stakeholder experiences (patients, families, and professionals), and the impact of ethics consultation on the quality of care;
- Address systemic and organizational aspects of ethics in healthcare, as well as innovative approaches—such as the use of narrative and literature—to enrich moral imagination and professional empathy.
By fostering a multidisciplinary conversation rooted in the findings of the project, we aim to contribute to the development of healthcare systems that are not only clinically effective but also ethically attentive, value-driven, and responsive to the human experience of illness and care.
We look forward to your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Antonio Gioacchino Spagnolo
Dr. Pietro Refolo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- clinical ethics
- healthcare decision-making
- moral dilemmas
- clinical ethics consultation
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