This paper addresses psychological factors that might interfere with informed consent on the part of stable patients as potential early-phase clinical trial participants. Thirty-six semistructured interviews with patients who had either diabetes or gout were conducted. We investigated stable patients' attitudes towards participating in a…

Background: Medical research on children has increased in the last 20 years. International ethical regulations for conducting clinical research on children may not pertain to Muslim communities where religious beliefs play a big role in decision-making process. Methods: The aim of this paper was to illustrate the origins of bioethics principles in…

In contemporary society, the fundamental nature of healthcare and healthcare-related research has come under particular scrutiny. While decidedly based upon human need and human care, a wide variety of historical developments often can collide not just with how these services are effected, but even more deeply as to their meaning in human culture.…

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and their federal overseers protect human subjects, but this vital work is often dysfunctional despite their conscientious efforts. A cardinal, but unrecognized, explanation is that IRBs are performing a specific function -- the management of risk -- using a flawed theoretical and practical approach. At the time…

"Ethics in practice" are the ethical dilemmas that arise during the conduct of research. In this article, we describe the ethical issues we faced when conducting an exploration of the experiences of 19 potential living kidney donors, and demonstrate how reflexivity can guide the ethical decision-making throughout the research process. We…

Discusses the controversy surrounding amniocentesis (used to detect and abort mongoloid fetuses) as an example of the ethical and social assessments that must be made with new scientific and medical developments. (JR)

The problems of the use of humans as subjects of medical research and the protection of their rights are discussed. Issues include the use of informed consent, the evaluation of risks and benefits, and the review of research plans by a committee. (JD)

Physicians are in positions to make decisions on which lives depend. The question of who should be making decisions concerning medical research and practice is a moral issue. The problems of medical ethics concern such concepts as autonomy, burden of proof, coercion, informed consent, paternalism, and diminished capacity. (SW)

This article describes an innovative curriculum module the first author created on the two-way exchange between statistics and applied ethics. The module, having no particular mathematical prerequisites beyond high school algebra, is part of an undergraduate interdisciplinary ethics course which begins with a 3-week introduction to basic applied…

The role of Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council, an independent statutory body, in distribution of funds for research projects, programs, units, and major institutes. The agency's evaluation system, resource allocation practices, and training and career support system are described briefly. (MSE)