Considering the historic follies involving human subject research in the recent past, it is imperative to ensure research involving human subjects is conducted ethically. Ethical mandates, however, are difficult to implement given the diversity of opinions that comprise human moral thought. This essay will explore several ethical consideration as they relate to research, specifically, consent, confidentiality, the Belmont report and its implications, beneficence and the role of research review boards. While established frameworks of conduct help guide researchers, ethical thought is continually evolving and changing the methods and behaviors of researchers.
An ethical framework is needed to ensure that subjects; or participants, in research …show more content…
Hiriscau, Stingelin-Giles, Stadler, Schmeck, and Reiter-Theil (2014) state that there is little or insufficient guidance provided in federal codes, the Nuremberg code and other ethical guidelines for this population. This dueling of ethical considerations continues to challenge researcher, but there are some solutions to these difficulties. Hiriscau, Stingelin-Giles, Stadler, Schmeck, and Reiter-Theil (2014) recommend that researchers inform participates of the limits of confidentiality, so participants understand before the start of a study what may result in the disclosure of patient information. While this solution may protect patients and researchers, it may also discourage participation for fear of disclosures that result in social …show more content…
While many might laud this development in reaction to historically significant unethical research; such as the Tuskegee experiments and the medical testing of the Third Reich during the Second World War, others see institutional review boards as having a chilling effect on scientific research. Sontag (2012) states that by their nature, institutional review boards are risk averse, have standards that are applied inconsistently across differing institutions and often lack appeal mechanisms when research is denied. While these boards perform a vital function in ensuring ethical research takes place, there are opportunities for revision of their dictatorial paradigm, such as allowing an appeal process for studies that are
An ethical framework is needed to ensure that subjects; or participants, in research …show more content…
Hiriscau, Stingelin-Giles, Stadler, Schmeck, and Reiter-Theil (2014) state that there is little or insufficient guidance provided in federal codes, the Nuremberg code and other ethical guidelines for this population. This dueling of ethical considerations continues to challenge researcher, but there are some solutions to these difficulties. Hiriscau, Stingelin-Giles, Stadler, Schmeck, and Reiter-Theil (2014) recommend that researchers inform participates of the limits of confidentiality, so participants understand before the start of a study what may result in the disclosure of patient information. While this solution may protect patients and researchers, it may also discourage participation for fear of disclosures that result in social …show more content…
While many might laud this development in reaction to historically significant unethical research; such as the Tuskegee experiments and the medical testing of the Third Reich during the Second World War, others see institutional review boards as having a chilling effect on scientific research. Sontag (2012) states that by their nature, institutional review boards are risk averse, have standards that are applied inconsistently across differing institutions and often lack appeal mechanisms when research is denied. While these boards perform a vital function in ensuring ethical research takes place, there are opportunities for revision of their dictatorial paradigm, such as allowing an appeal process for studies that are