In an article entitled “Unethical Clinical Trials Still Being Conducted in Developing Countries,” it exposed that even as recent as 2013, there are still clinical trials being conducted in the developing countries in Africa and Asia that violate research ethics. Carome, M. (2014) mentioned that even with the presence of two effective vaccines for rotavirus, United States funded clinical trials are still being conducted without being held accountable for the possible consequences of the trials considering that the illness at hand is said to be life-threatening. Rotavirus is an ailment affecting millions of children worldwide especially in the developing countries. Carome, M. (2010) stressed that instead of giving the children directly with the two effective vaccines for the said virus, some of them are given the placebo which is not effective at all just for the sake of the trials. This act, the writer mentioned is a violation of the ethics of medical research because giving the ineffective placebo for the children can make them most vulnerable of acquiring the disease. Despite the present of two effective vaccines, the World Health Organization collated a data which estimates 450,000 children across the globe dying of Rotavirus. The clinical trials conducted in India were mostly funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
Resnik, D. (2015) in an article stressed that the foundation of all ethics is the Golden Rule that says, “Do unto others what you want others do unto you.” In health research, the creed or the Hippocratic Oath of medical practitioners is the foundation. The Hippocratic Oath means, “first of all, do no harm.” Applying this principle in the clinical trials being conducted in the developing countries, the proponents of the trials did not consider the consequences of their actions. They are actually harming the children by making them vulnerable of the deadly disease. On the other hand, one of the most important thing about ethics especially with medical researches what Resnik, D. (2015) said as the accountability of the researchers to the public. At this point, the researchers in the clinical trials did not really consider this ethics because in the course of their trials, there has not been any case where they were held accountable for what the consequences of their research. There was no justice in the trials especially that their subjects are human beings. The principle of justice is how to treat all people fairly. In this research, treating people fairly should include allowing the subjects to understand the trial before being subjected to such trials. People should not be treated as experiments just to pursue a medical interest especially in the case where there are already available cure or immunity for certain kind of diseases.
Organization Issue: The Problem with Team Work in an Organization
Hypothesis: Creative people work independently
References:
Carome, M. (2014). “Unethical Clinical Trials Still Being Conducted in Developing Countries.” Huff Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-carome-md/unethical-clinical-trials_b_5927660.html
Resnik, D. (2015). “What is Ethics in Research and Why is it important?” National Institute of Environmental Health Science. Retrieved from
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/index.cfm
Resnik, D. (2015). “Glossary of Commonly Used Terms in Research Ethics.” National Institute of Environmental Health Science. Retrieved from
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/glossary/index.cfm
