Which principle of public health supports the idea of reducing harm while promoting individuals' rights?

The principle that supports the idea of reducing harm while promoting individuals' rights is nonmaleficence. This ethical principle emphasizes the obligation to avoid causing harm to others. In the context of public health, nonmaleficence requires that policies, practices, and interventions are designed to minimize negative impacts on individuals and communities. By focusing on harm reduction, this principle aligns with the goal of protecting individuals' rights to make informed choices while ensuring their safety and well-being.

Nonmaleficence encompasses a proactive approach to health that seeks to identify potential risks and mitigate them, which can enhance public trust and cooperation. It recognizes the need to balance individual freedoms with the responsibility to protect public health. For instance, harm reduction strategies in substance use interventions aim to minimize the negative health and social effects that might arise from those behaviors, illustrating the application of this principle.

Other principles, such as justice, autonomy, and beneficence, while important, focus on different aspects of public health ethics. Justice addresses fairness and equity in health resource distribution; autonomy emphasizes individuals' rights to make their own health decisions; and beneficence centers on promoting the well-being of individuals and communities. However, nonmaleficence specifically encapsulates the notion of reducing harm