Transcript Ethics
What is ethics? Retha Britz 1 Retha Britz Copyright 2013 All rights reserved for this presentation Ethics is: Sub-discipline of philosophy Study of the concepts involved in practical reasoning- “good” vs “bad” & “right” vs “wrong”, choice, freedom, virtue Submit actions to the measure of obligation (duty e.g. duty to respect) 2 How we ought to do/behave [in certain situations] being moral beings Reasons for the behaviour Moral principles Morality is: 3 Has to do with duty, obligation, principles of conduct, serving ethics for the more Morality and ethics of people amount to the same thing What makes research on/with humans ethical? 4 Retha Britz Copyright 2013 All rights reserved for this presentation Eight (8) Principles with Benchmarks 5 Comprehensive list of practical guidance/measures (benchmarks) to determine the extent to which research satisfies the principles (references) Provides unified and consistent ethical guidance Differences in health, economic, social and cultural aspects of a research setting change the weight or priority of benchmarks When benchmarks compete, them (requires judgment) Minimize the risk of exploitation Benchmarks of ethical research (Emanuel et al) 6 Collaborative Partnership Social Value Scientific Validity Fair Subject Selection Favorable Risk-Benefit Ratio Independent Review Informed Consent Respect for Recruited Participants and Study Communities Collaborative Partnership 7 Develop partnership between researcher & community (representation of parties) Collaboration: involve partners in sharing responsibilities to assess value, planning, conducting and overseeing research Mutual respect: community’s values, culture, traditions and social practices in design Pts and community to benefit from research Share benefits Social Value 8 Specify the beneficiaries of the research – who will benefit? Assess what benefits Social value for the host community must be specified and enhanced (disseminate results in appropriate language and format Scientific Validity Science and ethics do not conflict Valid science = ethical requirement Scientific design realize: Social value of primary beneficiaries (credible data used by specified beneficiaries) 9 Scientific objective Research is feasible within social, political and cultural context to be conducted in Fair Subject Selection A fair selection of target villages, tribes or city neighbourhoods from which pts will be recruited 10 Study population to ensure valid science Minimize risk of research for study population Collaborative partnership developed and social value realized Identify and protect vulnerable populations Favorable Risk-Benefit Ratio Risks vs benefits for individuals in the context in which they live (social value, collaborative partnership etc) 11 Favorable for community Independent Review Required to conflict of interest and ensure public accountability through mandated by laws & regulations Transparency and reviews: 12 Disagreement may reflect how ethical requirements are met not whether they are met Conflicts arise due to different guidelines/regulatory requirements not having good ethical justification or insensitive Independent and competent reviews Informed Consent 13 Involve community in establishing recruitment procedures & incentives consistent with cultural, political, social practices Disclose information & obtain consent in culturally acceptable and linguistically appropriate formats Implement supplementary community and familial consent procedures Ensure free choice (refuse or withdraw) Respect for Recruited Pts and Study Communities 14 Develop and implement procedures to protect/maintain confidentiality of pt info Pts know they have the right to withdraw Provide information that becomes available during the research Develop strategies to inform pts & community of research results References BLACKBURN, S., ed. 2008. Dictionary of philosophy. New York: Oxford. 407 p. EMANUEL, E.J., WENDLER, D., KILLEN, J. and GRADY, C. 2004. What Makes Clinical Research in developing countries ethical? The benchmark of ethical research. Perspective, 198:930-937, 1 Mar.