Ethics in research COLLAPSE In the delivery of healthcare, biomedical research i

Ethics in research
COLLAPSE
In the delivery of healthcare, biomedical research is essential as it allows scientists to understand the nature of diseases, and improve preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic interventions. Although the main goal of biomedical research is to evolve new knowledge, this can never supersede the rights and interests of the study participants (Avasthi et al., 2013). According to the Nuremberg Code, biomedical research requires a high level of ethical and scientific education, training, and credentials to be conducted (Nuremberg Military Tribunal, 1996). Moreover, respecting the dignity, rights, and well-being of study participants requires adherence to ethical standards and guidelines. In order to ensure that the proper ethical standards are being upheld, an ethics committee should examine all studies involving human subjects such as the Institutional Review Board. Internationally, there are major ethical principles that should be considered when conducting medical research including autonomy, beneficence and nonmaleficence, and justice. Autonomy refers to the respect for the individuality of the study population and their ability to make decisions for themselves and the right to withdraw from the study. The other principle is beneficence, which states that the researcher should act to the best of the participants by maximizing possible benefits and minimizing possible harms. Furthermore, the distributive justice principle requires the benefits and burdens of research to be fairly allocated (Avasthi et al., 2013). Informed consent is an important part of conducting research that reflects the adherents of ethical principles. The World Medical Association (WMA) declaration of Helsinki provides guidelines regarding informed consent. It stated that potential participants should be able to provide informed consent and must receive sufficient information and be fully apprised about the objectives, methods, funding sources, potential conflicts of interest (WMA, 2022). Moreover, they should be informed about the institutional affiliations of the researcher, anticipated benefits and risks, potential discomfort, post-study provisions, and any other pertinent study details. The only person with the authority to decide whether to participate in a study is the participant or the participant’s legal guardian in case of vulnerable populations. The physician or another adequately trained person must collect the informed consent, ideally in writing, after making sure that participants have a clear understanding of the research project (WMA, 2022). If the consent cannot be taken in writing form, it must be legally recorded and witnessed. Other ethical considerations are confidentiality and privacy(Avasthi et al., 2013). Participants’ identities and records are kept as private as possible (except when required for legal reasons) to prevent participants from experiencing any hardship, discrimination, or stigma as a result of their participation in the study.
References:
Avasthi, A., Ghosh, A., Sarkar, S., & Grover, S. (2013). Ethics in medical research: General principles with special reference to psychiatry research. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(1), 86. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.105525
Nuremberg Military Tribunal. (1996). The Nuremberg Code. JAMA, 276(20), 1691. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11644854
WMA. (2022). Wma Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-…
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1 hour ago
AISHA ALSHEHRI Biomedical research ethics
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Thank you Shatha for your informative discussion
I want to add that to ensure participants have the autonomous right to self-determination, researchers must ensure that potential participants understand that they have the right to decide whether or not to participate in research studies voluntarily and that declining to participate in any research will not affect in any way their access to current or subsequent care. Also, self-determined participants must have the ability to ask the researcher questions and the ability to comprehend questions asked by the researcher. Researchers must also inform participants that they may stop participating in the study at any time without fear of penalty. As noted not all individuals have the capacity to be autonomous concerning research participation. Whether because of the individual’s developmental level or because of various illnesses or disabilities, some individuals require special research protections that may involve exclusion from research activities that can cause potential harm, or appointing a third-party guardian to oversee the participation of such vulnerable persons (Barrow et al., 2022).
Reference:
Barrow, J. M., Brannan, G. D., & Khandhar, P. B. (2022). Research ethics. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.