My ADA

Ethics Committee Report Spring 2006

The Ethics Committee is a joint committee of the Board of Directors, House of Delegates and Commission on Dietetic Registration. The purpose of the Ethics Committee is to review, promote and enforce the Code of Ethics for the Profession of Dietetics (which can be found on the ADA Web site at www.eatright.org/codeofethics). The committee is also responsible for educating members, credentialed practitioners, students and the public about the ethical principles of the Code of Ethics.

Below you will find a progress report related to the Committee’s nine goals established for the 2005-2006 program year.

Address ethics complaints of an alleged violation in a timely manner.
Progress to Date: Fifteen new complaint cases have been submitted during the program year. The status of the cases is as follows: two cases were dismissed; eight cases were investigated and resolved; five are under investigation. The average length of time to investigate and resolve a complaint is a minimum of five months. The committee was notified of actions taken by a state licensure board against two RD practitioners. The committee is investigating these two situations. Also, the committee continues to monitor a situation that may result in another complaint case.
Finalize and publish the new Ethics Opinion related to conflict of interest and research funding in 2005. The opinion relates to Principle #12 (“The dietetics practitioner is alert to situations that might cause a conflict of interest or have the appearance of a conflict. The dietetics practitioner provides full disclosure when a real or potential conflict of interest arises.”).
Progress to Date: The draft Ethics Opinion was reviewed by an ethicist, the ADA Board of Directors, HOD Leadership Team, Commission on Dietetic Registration and members during a 60-day comment period during July and August 2005. One hundred and two ADA members and CDR credentialed practitioners provided input on the draft during this comment period. Revisions to the draft were made based on member feedback. The draft Ethics Opinion “Conflicts of Interest in Presentations and Publications and Dietetics Research” was approved and published in the January 2006 Journal of the American Dietetic Association (2006;106:27-31).
Initiate development of a third Ethics Opinion on the topic “questionable nutrition advice promoted in the popular literature.”
Progress to Date: The committee has initiated the development of a third Ethics Opinion tentatively entitled “Writing for the Popular Press: Public Interest and Science Based Information.” The authors and reviewers were selected. The committee anticipates the Ethics Opinion to be published in May 2007.
Provide the Journal staff with five to seven topics to develop for the “Ethics in Action” column in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Topics to be considered are (order indicates priority):
- Business Ethics (relates to Principles #1, #5, #7, #12, #13 and #14): The article would address very general business ethics including working with editing and marketing departments that may want to change intended content, factual advertising and maintaining scientific integrity while promoting products and services.
- Health Care Autonomy: The article would address subjects such as health care proxies, living wills and health care initiatives (not related to a specific Principle of the Code of Ethics).
- Eating Disorders and Dietetics Students (relates to Principles #9 and #17c): Article would address how to approach a student with this disorder and would provide guidance on how to manage the situation.
- Ethical Action Related to Reviews and Employment References (relates to Principle #11): This article would address the legal and ethical considerations when asked to provide a coworker, employee or student review, reference or letter of recommendation.
- Promotion of Non-Beneficial “Health” Products for Financial Gain (relates to Principle #14): The dietetics practitioner promotes or endorses products in a manner that is neither false nor misleading. Also, relates to the guidelines “Sale of Dietary Supplements by Dietetics Professionals” approved by the House of Delegates.
- The Ethics of Working in an Alternative Health Care Setting (relates to Principle #2): The dietetics practitioner practices dietetics based on scientific principles and current information.
- Representation of ADA and the Profession by Members who Serve in Multiple Capacities with the Association (relates to Principle #12): The dietetics practitioner is alert to situations that might cause a conflict of interest or have the appearance of a conflict. The dietetics practitioner provides full disclosure when a real or potential conflict of interest arises.
Progress to Date: The committee has provided the Journal staff at ADA Headquarters with the topics and the potential authors for future “Ethics in Action” columns. The following “Ethics in Action” columns have been published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association: “Electronic Plagiarism or e-Cheating” (July 2005) and “Ethical Framework for the RD in Decisions Regarding Withholding/Withdrawing Medically Assisted Nutrition and Hydration” (February 2006). Two future articles to be published are: “Ethical Issues in Research with Human Subjects” (May 2006) and “Conflict of Interest Disclosure on Listservs” (July 2006). Five additional articles are in development for publication in “Ethics in Action” in the near future which address issues such as long-term care and promotion of non-beneficial health products for financial gain.
Update the Code of Ethics “For Further Reading” list and distribute to members via the HOD, DPG and Affiliate EMLs and DieteticsL. This document will be posted to the ADA Web site. Updates will occur in August 2005 and January 2006.
Progress to Date: The updating of the “For Further Reading” list was completed in August 2005 and January 2006. The updated list is attached as a reference and is available on the ADA Web site at www.eatright.org/ada/ada/files/ADA_CDR_Code_Of_Ethics_Reading_List.pdf.
Promote the Ethics Speaker’s Bureau to HOD, DPGs and Affiliates three times per year (September 2005, January 2006 and May 2006) and will collaborate with the ADA Marketing Team; Solicit new names for speakers and topics through the ADA House of Delegates, DPGs and Affiliates.
Progress to Date: The committee approved a plan to promote the Ethics Speaker’s Bureau. Promotional information will be shared with HOD, DPGs and Affiliates in April 2006.
Establish a plan to develop additional ethics training tools to enhance understanding and application of the Code of Ethics for the Profession of Dietetics. Education related to the foundations of ethics in decision making, including general health care ethical issues (survey instruction in development to help practitioners assess their ethical decision-making skills).
Progress to Date: The committee has agreed to proceed with a plan to promote the use of current ethics educational materials available for members to the HOD, DPGs and Affiliates. As a result, the committee will not pursue development of new educational materials, but rather encourage member use of the current items available. The current list of educational materials available include the following items: Code of Ethics for the Profession of Dietetics booklet; “For Further Reading” List; Ethics Training Toolkit (PowerPoint presentation with script, case studies and evaluation form); “Ethics in Action” columns (published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association); Ethics Opinions (published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association); “Guidelines for the Sale of Dietary Supplements by Dietetics Professionals” (published in the August 2002 Journal of the American Dietetic Association). All these materials are available on the ADA Web site at www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_1816_ENU_HTML.htm.
Sponsor an ethics session during FNCE 2005 entitled “Ethics and the Scope of Dietetics Practice: Practical Applications.” Initiate planning for a session during the FNCE 2006.
Progress to Date: The FNCE 2005 session “Ethics and the Scope of Dietetics Practice: Practical Applications” was conducted on Sunday, October 23, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The committee submitted a session proposal for FNCE 2006 entitled “Decision-Making: Feeding and Hydration for Incapacitated Individuals” which was not accepted. The committee will pursue conducting a roundtable discussion with members during FNCE 2006 using case studies. More information about this member roundtable discussion will be shared in advance of FNCE 2006.
Conduct one meeting (FNCE, October 2005) and a minimum of six conference calls to address issues before the Ethics Committee.
Progress to Date: The committee has met six times via conference call and met face-to-face in St. Louis during FNCE 2005.

If you have any questions related to the Code of Ethics, please contact the Ethics mailbox (ethics@eatright.org) or one of the ADA staff contacts, Harold Holler (hholler@eatright.org or 800/877-1600, ext. 4896) or Heidi Schwartz (hschwartz@eatright.org or ext. 4893).

2005-2006 Ethics Committee

Cynthia (Broadhurst) Facemire, MS, RD, Chair (CDR Representative)
Julie O’Sullivan-Maillet, PhD, RD, FADA (BOD Representative)
Alice Fornari, EdD, RD, (HOD Representative)
Harold Holler, RD, ADA Staff
Heidi Schwartz, MS, RD, CSP, ADA Staff
Craig Busey, ADA Legal Counsel

Print Version