Social and Ethical Aspects of Biomedical Research

2009 ◽  
pp. 126-144
Author(s):  
Gerrhard Fortwengel
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Biomedical Science ◽  
Basic Requirement ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Core Section ◽  
Social And Ethical Issues ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual

At the beginning of this section the authors provide a definition of biomedical research and an interpretation of the meaning of ethics and social values of research. They continue with the introduction of the risk-benefit approach as basic requirement for any biomedical research involving human subjects and illustrate the need for uniformity with respect to social and ethical issues. The differences and similarities between social and ethical research are described in the core section; social and ethical aspects are presented according to central and peripheral dimensions. In reference to specific areas of research in biomedical science it is exemplary shown that more general principles are not sufficient to cover all types of research, and that depending on research characteristics, the techniques used and the purpose of the research, other specific aspects might need to be considered as well. The chapter ends with a short conclusion calling for continued reflection and review of social and ethical issues speeding an age of fast changes in science and technologies to thereby ensure proper protection of the individual and the best future for society.

scholarly journals Public involvement in the governance of population-level biomedical research: unresolved questions and future directions

2020 ◽  
pp. medethics-2020-106530
Author(s):  
Sonja Erikainen ◽  
Phoebe Friesen ◽  
Leah Rand ◽  
Karin Jongsma ◽  
Michael Dunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Research Governance ◽  
Collective Models ◽  
Stakeholder Interests ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
The Individual

Population-level biomedical research offers new opportunities to improve population health, but also raises new challenges to traditional systems of research governance and ethical oversight. Partly in response to these challenges, various models of public involvement in research are being introduced. Yet, the ways in which public involvement should meet governance challenges are not well understood. We conducted a qualitative study with 36 experts and stakeholders using the World Café method to identify key governance challenges and explore how public involvement can meet these challenges. This brief report discusses four cross-cutting themes from the study: the need to move beyond individual consent; issues in benefit and data sharing; the challenge of delineating and understanding publics; and the goal of clarifying justifications for public involvement. The report aims to provide a starting point for making sense of the relationship between public involvement and the governance of population-level biomedical research, showing connections, potential solutions and issues arising at their intersection. We suggest that, in population-level biomedical research, there is a pressing need for a shift away from conventional governance frameworks focused on the individual and towards a focus on collectives, as well as to foreground ethical issues around social justice and develop ways to address cultural diversity, value pluralism and competing stakeholder interests. There are many unresolved questions around how this shift could be realised, but these unresolved questions should form the basis for developing justificatory accounts and frameworks for suitable collective models of public involvement in population-level biomedical research governance.

Medical ethics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Wikler
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Truth Telling ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Moral Uncertainty ◽  
Consent To Treatment ◽  
Protection Of Human Subjects ◽  
The Individual

Medical ethics was once concerned with the professional obligations of physicians, spelled out in codes of conduct such as the ancient Hippocratic oath and elaborated by contemporary professional societies. Today this subject is a broad, loosely defined collection of issues of morality and justice in health, health care and related fields. The term ‘bioethics’ is often used interchangeably, though it is also used with its original broad meaning, which included issues in ecology. The range of concerns grouped under ‘medical ethics’ begins with the relationship of doctor to patient, including such issues as consent to treatment, truth-telling, paternalism, confidentiality and the duty to treat. Particular moral uncertainty is engendered by contexts which demand divided allegiances of physicians, such as medical experimentation on human subjects, public health emergencies and for-profit medicine. Issues in medical ethics arise in every stage of life, from the fate of defective newborns to the withholding of life-sustaining therapies from the very old. Medical practices with patients who may not be competent to make their own medical decisions, including paediatrics and psychiatry, raise a distinctive set of ethical issues, as does medical genetics, which involves choices affecting family members, future individuals and offspring in utero. In recent years, medical ethics has broadened its focus beyond the individual physician or nurse to include the organization, operation and financing of the health care system as a whole, including difficult theoretical and practical uncertainties regarding the fair allocation of health care resources. Medical ethics is at once a field of scholarship and a reform movement. The latter has campaigned in many countries on behalf of patients’ rights, better care of the dying and freedom for women in reproductive decisions. As a field of scholarship, medical ethics addresses these and many other issues, but is not defined by positions taken on any of them. Though ethicists often favour an emphasis on informed consent, oppose paternalism, urge permission to end life-sustaining therapy (or choose suicide) and seek protection of human subjects of experimentation, a diversity of viewpoints finds expression in the medical ethics literature.

Constraints on teaching the social and ethical issues arising from developments in biomedical research: A view across the curriculum in England and Wales

2000 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Levinson ◽  
Anna Douglas ◽  
Jane Evans ◽  
Alison Kirton ◽  
Pavlos Koulouris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social And Ethical Issues

scholarly journals The ethical issues of research involving human beings contained in the editorial guidelines of Brazilian medical journals

2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Malafaia ◽  
Aline Sueli De Lima Rodrigues ◽  
André Talvani
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Ethics Committee ◽  
Ethical Standards ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Medical Journals ◽  
Present Information ◽  
Need For Approval

The present study aimed to analyze the ethical aspects contained in the sections “Instructions to authors” of Brazilian medical journals which were highly qualified on the assessment of the Qualis program of Conselho Técnico Científico da Educação Superior (CTC-ES) (Medicine I area - reference year 2007). Moreover, we searched in the journals that present information about the ethical issues involved in research with humans, if these journals inform the authors about how they should confirm to the editors the compliance with ethical issues of their studies. The editorial guidelines of 34 journals (17.6%, B2 score; 35.3% B3 score; 47.1% B4 score) were analyzed. It was observed that only 7 (20.6%) journals do no mention some ethical questions related to research involving human subjects and that 25 (73.5%) journals indicate the need for approval of research by Ethics Committee of the institution where the study was conducted. However, less than half (44.1%) of the journals clearly indicate in their “Instructions to authors” that information about the ethical aspects of research involving human subjects should be cited in the text of the manuscript submitted. Thus, further improvement is still necessary regarding the approach of ethical issues in the editorial guidelines of the Brazilian medical journals analyzed. Researches like this seek to contribute with the discussion about the awareness of editors, so that they mention in the instructions of their journals the principles, rules and ethical standards that must be considered in the research involving human beings.

(VOJAŠKI) ROBOTSKI SISTEMI: MERILA ZA RAZVRŠČANJE V SKUPINE IN DRUŽBENO-ETIČNE DILEME

2018 ◽  
pp. 71-84
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Autonomous Robot ◽  
Robot System ◽  
The Social ◽  
Robot Systems ◽  
Social And Ethical Issues ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Future Technologies

Povzetek Tehnologije prihodnosti, ki nastajajo na presečišču štirih znanstvenotehnoloških domen (nano-, info-, bio- in kogno), prežemajo vse družbene sloje – oborožene sile pri tem niso izjema. Pregled pomembnejših obrambnih konceptov, ki v luči novih strategij vojskovanja predvidevajo uporabo novih vojaških tehnologij, pokaže, da v sodobnih oborožitvenih sistemih robotika vseskozi igra pomembno vlogo. Namen prispevka je identificirati in opredeliti vojaške robotske sisteme, prikazati razvrščanje teh sistemov glede na področje uporabe in stopnjo avtonomije ter odgovoriti na nekatera družbeno-etična vprašanja, ki jih prinašajo (pol)avtonomni robotski sistemi. Ugotavljamo, da splošno sprejeta definicija, ki bi pojasnjevala, kaj robotski sistem je, ne obstaja, opredelitve vojaškega robota pa so pogosto nejasne. Na podlagi teh izsledkov in po pregledu več definicij predlagamo izhodišča za oblikovanje nove definicije (vojaškega) robotskega sistema. Za konec izpostavljamo še nekatere dileme, ki predstavljajo del širšega razmisleka o oceni tveganj, ki jih prinašata razvoj in uporaba avtonomnih robotskih sistemov, sprašujemo se, ali slediti svariteljskim ali proakcijskim načelom. Ključne besede: tehnologije prihodnosti, robotski sistemi, sistemi brez posadke, avtonomija, družbeno-etične dileme Abstract Future technologies, which are emerging at the intersections of four scientific and technological domains (Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno), are now permeating all spheres of society – the armed forces are no exception. Regarding an overview of key defence concepts, which in the light of the modern strategies foresee the use of new military technologies shows that robotics has, throughout, played an important role in the context of contemporary weapons systems. The purpose of this article is to identify and define military robot systems, to present a comprehensive taxonomy of a broad range of robots and autonomy levels, and to discuss the social and ethical issues that arise from the use of (semi) autonomous robot systems. According to the literature review, there is no generally accepted definition of a robot, and definitions of a military robot are often unclear. Based on these findings and after reviewing the definitions by several authors, we propose a few bases to develop a new definition of a (military) robot system. Finally, we highlight some dilemmas as part of a broader discussion of a risk assessment brought about by the development and use of autonomous robot systems. We debate whether to follow the precautionary or the proactionary principle. Key words: Future technologies, robot systems, unmanned systems, ethical dilemmas

Ethical Issues in Prehospital Research

1993 ◽  
Vol 8 (S1) ◽  
pp. S11-S14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Davis ◽  
Ronald F. Maio
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Medical Research ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
Institutional Review Boards ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Institutional Review ◽  
Protection Of Human Subjects ◽  
The Individual

The atrocities committed by Nazi physicians and scientists, in the name of furthering medical science, is an appalling page of the history of medical research. In the wake of World War II, the scientific community strived to develop regulations to guard against future abuses in medical research. However, a particularly sobering thought is that the atrocities in Germany were being carried out in a country that had specific regulations for protecting human research subjects: Nazi Germany was the only European country to have such regulations. A more in-depth look at these regulations reveals institutional or department heads were held accountable, but not the individual researcher. The lesson from this analysis is clear: individual investigators must bear the responsibility of conducting ethical research. Governmental regulations and Institutional Review Boards never can replace investigators who are advocates for the protection of human subjects.The purpose of this paper is to address issues broadly regarding ethics and prehospital research, with a focus on the topic of informed consent.

How Important Is Consent for Controlled Clinical Trials?

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara MacKinnon
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Experimental Therapy ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Nuremberg Code ◽  
Declaration Of Helsinki ◽  
Voluntary Consent ◽  
Risk And Benefit

The Nuremberg Code of ethical principles for experiments involving human beings has as its first requirement that “the voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.” Since the time of the trials that supplied its motivation the principles have been amplified and detail and distinctions have been added. For example, the Declaration of Helsinki, adopted by the World Medical Association in 1964, again laid down general principles related to voluntariness, balance of risk and benefit, and scientific soundness. However, it also noted that the ethical issues with regard to two distinctly different types of human experiment vary. These two types are clinical research (i.e., “medical research combined with profession care”) and nonclinical biomedical research (i.e., “nontherapeutic biomedical research involving human subjects”). In actuality, we may distinguish three types of human biomedical experimentation. Two of these are therapeutic and nontherapeutic experimentation. The first is directed primarily to the benefit of the experimental subjects who are being treated with some new experimental therapy for their ailment. In the second an experiment is designed to increase medical knowledge and uses volunteers who are healthy or whose illness is not related to the experimental study. One key difference between the ethical requirements specified by the Declaration of Helsinki for therapeutic and nontherapeutic experimentation was that the second approach required participation only by volunteers whom we assume are able to and do give their informed consent. However, in the first approach if consent were not obtained, the physician must specify the reasons and present these before an independent committee.

scholarly journals Historical Approaches to Euthanasia: The Unfinished Story of a Concept

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-114
Author(s):  
A. Haddadi ◽  
F. Ravaz
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Ethics Committees ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Medical Interventions ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
The World ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
Social And Ethical Issues ◽  
Definition Of

Various ethics committees in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, Portugal, and France have made attempts to describe the notion of euthanasia. Opinion No 063 (January 27, 2000) of the National Advisory Committee on Ethics shows that there has been no concensus on the definition of this concept. It is therefore necessary to review historical background of euthanasia from ancient times to modern period to better understand its potential applications in divergent contexts.Studies devoted to euthanasia usually involve two modalities, namely active and passive. The active modality entails the act of deliberately killing a patient with or against their will in order to relieve persistent suffering, while the passive modality deals with the rational valid refusal of life-sustaining medical interventions necessary for the patient's life and health. The goal of this article is to present different historical approaches to euthanasia from two modalities and engage the bioethics community in a discussion on legal, social, and ethical issues of euthanasia all over the world.

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