Avoiding harm is an uncontroversial aim of personalized medicine and other epidemiologic initiatives. However, the precise mathematical translation of "harm" is disputable. Here we use a formal causal language to study common, but distinct, definitions of "harm". We clarify that commitment to a definition of harm has important practical and philosophical implications for decision making. We relate our practical and philosophical considerations to ideas from medical ethics and legal practice.

翻译：避免伤害是个性化医学及其他流行病学倡议中无争议的目标。然而，"伤害"的精确数学转化仍存争议。本文采用形式化的因果语言，研究"伤害"这一常见但具有区别性的多种定义。我们阐明，对伤害定义的承诺对决策制定具有重要的实践与哲学意涵。此外，我们将实践与哲学考量与医学伦理及法律实践中的相关理念相联系。