Canadian Bioethics Society
Société canadienne de bioéthique
Strengthening Interdisciplinary and inter-professional networks to pursue excellence in bioethics education, research and policy
The Community Ethics Network (CEN)
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The Community Ethics Network (CEN) includes members from across Canada and beyond whose services operate at the local and regional levels involving direct service provision, coordination, and commissioning.
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Traditionally, ethics resources have focused on clinical ethics in acute care in institutional settings. Although there is an increasing recognition of community-based care as an essential part of the health care system, there have been few ethics resources developed specifically for those working in this sector.
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The CEN addresses this resource gap by collaborating with community-based organizations to support ethical practice across the full continuum of care. In particular, the CEN works to support front-line providers – personal support workers, nurses, social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, etc. - who often work without access to a team or other formal support to address the ethical issues they encounter in practice.
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The CEN aims to make innovations in applied ethics available to this often isolated service provider population. To this end, the CEN leads and facilitates building of ethics capacity in the community health care and support services sectors. Through its website, newsletters, tools and resources and member-led workshops, the CEN promotes a common approach to ethical decision-making, and supports knowledge exchange in clinical and organizational ethics, within and across its member organizations.
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Membership is open to community health care and support organizations and to independent individuals with an evident connection to these sectors. An annual membership fee is payable in April each year to cover ongoing administrative costs.
For further information about the CEN, see the website, or contact the CEN Coordinator.