Prof. Lynley Anderson1
1University Of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Biography:
Professor Lynley Anderson originally trained as a physiotherapist working in hospitals and private practice. Lynley completed her PhD on ethical issues for elite sports doctors in New Zealand and was subsequently asked to write a code of ethics for the Australasian College of Sports and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP) (2008, 2016). This was followed by one for the NZ Physiotherapy Board (2011, 2017). Lynley teaches ethics and professional issues to undergraduate and postgraduate health professional students. Previously Head of Department of the Bioethics Centre, Dunedin School of Medicine, she is currently the Acting Dean, Dunedin School of Medicine. Lynley was a founding editor of the NZ Bioethics Journal and founding co-editor of the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. Currently she is the PI on research into unacceptable behaviours experienced by clinical students from patients and staff. Also publishing in the field of health care in sports.
Abstract:
Collision sports pose a high risk of concussion. How to respond to this risk is more ethically complex when considering children and adolescents, particularly due to the paucity of evidence and the vulnerabilities experienced by this group. We consider whether parents should be free to allow their children/adolescents to play contact or collision sport. We present the harms and benefits of collision sports, methods of determining risk, ‘best interests’ and ‘right to an open future’ frameworks and outline our support for the precautionary principle. Rather than banning child/adolescent participation in collision sport, we argue that permissibility should be decided on a sport-by-sport basis. Finally, we apply the ‘Accountability of Reasonableness’ framework to ensure that sound ethical values guide and support protections for this vulnerable group in the absence of high quality evidence.
Presentation Slides PDF – Click here