1. Indian Council on Medical Research. Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research on Human Participants. New Delhi: Indian Council on Medical Research, 2006.
The source provides detailed guidelines for any biomedical research on Human subjects. The central principle in these guidelines is the protection of the human subjects as well as ensuring that they benefit from the results of the research. The guidelines also provides for informed consent by the subjects where possible as a mandatory requirement for research on human subjects. Although the guidelines were developed for research in India the ethical principles and issues regard to research involving human subjects are universal.
2. Hesse Biber. The Ethics of Social Research: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, 2005. Print
The author describes the Tuskegee syphilis study which are is the subject of the ethical analysis. The author not only presents the design of the study and the findings of the study but also examines the ethical considerations that were not addressed by the researchers. This is an important source because it gives a good background on the case study on which the ethical analysis is done.
3. Hyder, A A, et al. "Ethical review of health research: a perspective from developing country researchers." J Med Ethics (2004): accessed 27 October 2011 < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/14872079/>.
The paper reviews the opinions and research realities of researchers from developing countries to assess the ethical concerns relating the research collaboration between the developing and the developed countries especially those involving human subjects. As these collaborations have increased with time there have been concerns that they present a loophole for the exploitation of poor countries hence the study was commissioned by what was known as the National Bioethics Advisory Commission. The study established that the local Institutional Review Boards were more lenient (compared to the USA review boards) on several ethical requirements such as having consent and approval letters in the local language.
4. Hyder, AA and SA Wali. "Informed consent and collaborative research: perspectives from the developing world." Dev World Bioeth (2006 ): accessed 27 October 2011 < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/16436172/>.
A review of a study done in developing countries using local researches as a study group to investigate the process of obtaining informed consent utilized by these researchers. While most respondents recognized the need for informed consent from the study subjects as well disclosure (informing the subjects on the study procedures, benefits and risks) they expressed the need to modify the ethical regulations particularly in collaborative research. The researchers recommended flexibility in the regulation regarding to drafting the informed consent. About 84% of the respondents voiced the need to have a means to measure the understanding of study subject as part of obtaining their informed consent.
5. Lairumbi, Geoffrey M, et al. "Stakeholders understanding of the concept of benefit sharing in health research in Kenya: a qualitative study." BMC Medical Ethics 3 October 2011. accesed 27 October 2011< http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/12/20>
The article reviews the level of awareness among research stakeholders on the concept of benefit sharing to ensure that international collaborative health research in poor countries and communities eventually translates to social value for communities involved. The review shows the results of the assessment of the awareness of benefits due by the mentioned stakeholders. The study concluded that the process of benefit sharing if convoluted thus the need to examine the process of establishing the ethical principals involved in human research.
6. Lansang, M A. "The ethics of international biomedical researchNeeds a commitment to high values in an open discussion with a variety of partners." BMJ (2000). Accessed 27 October 2011 http://www.bmj.com/content/321/7264/777.
This is a commentary on the issues of ethics and equity in collaborative biomedical research. The issue of how and whether communities can gain from results of studies they participate in when and if they cannot afford the new inventions they helped to prove effective in mitigating certain health problems. It also points out the need for parties affected by health research projects being involved in designing and carrying out of the research is also discussed.
7. Newton, S K and J Appiah-Poku. "The perspectives of researchers on obtaining informed consent in developing countries." Dev World Bioeth (2007 ) accessed 27 October 2011: 19-24. < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17355328/>.
The paper analyses the perspective of various researchers on the process of obtaining the informed consent of study subject as well as what they understand to be the constituents of the inform consent and how different circumstances affect the process of obtaining the informed consent. The study established that the principles and the application of the informed concept is the same globally but the process of obtaining the consent varies with different circumstances. The literacy level, the background and the setting of the study population influenced the process of obtaining informed consent.
8. Klitzman, Robert. "How local IRBs view central IRBs in the US." BMC Medical Ethics 23 June 2011. accesed 27 October 2011< http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/12/13>.
The study focused on the operations of the centralized institutional review boards (IRBs) in the US vis-à-vis local reviews. The respondents gave the merits and demerits of the local IRBs. The respondents stated that the local IRBs enhanced mutual trust between the researchers and subjects by availing information on both parties. The interviewees felt that the researchers could engage with the local IRBS more easily as compared to the centralized IRBS. The centralized IRBs were not supported by many respondents but were seen as a means to streamline the reviews.
9. Tanne, Janice Hopkins. Guatemala study researchers tried to keep information secret, new report shows. (19 September 2011). 28 october 2011 <http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d5994.full>.
The source is a news article on the release of a report on the study of the effectiveness of antibiotics such as penicillin in treatment of STDs (which were a major problem for the US Military in World War II). The study was carried out in Guatemala in 1940s and 1950s and approximately 1300 people (mainly prostitutes, inmates, leprosy patients, orphans and school going children) were intentionally infected with STDs. The ethical concerns raised in the report included lack of consent from the subject, application of invasive procedures on subjects, death of 83 subjects, some patients were not treated and the findings of the study were never published.
10. Vries, Martine C de, et al. "Ethical issues at the interface of clinical care and research practice in pediatric oncology: a narrative review of parents' and physicians' experiences." BMC Medical Ethics . (27 september 2011). accessed 27 October 2011 < http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/12/18>.
The paper reviews the ethical complexity involving the integration of care in pediatric oncology and research. The ethical issues raised in the mentioned integration include the prioritizing the children interest and informed concert. Parents wanting the best for their children often give consent without fully understanding possible implications.
The references identified for use in the ethical analysis: 1-5
Works cited
Hesse Biber. The Ethics of Social Research: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, 2005. Print
Hyder, A A, et al. "Ethical review of health research: a perspective from developing country researchers." J Med Ethics (2004): :68-72.
Hyder, AA and SA Wali. "Informed consent and collaborative research: perspectives from the developing world." Dev World Bioeth (2006 ): 33-40.
Indian Council on Medical Research. Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research on Human Participants. New Delhi: Indian Council on Medical Research, 2006.
Klitzman, Robert. "How local IRBs view central IRBs in the US." BMC Medical Ethics 23 June 2011.
Lairumbi, Geoffrey M, et al. "Stakeholders understanding of the concept of benefit sharing in health research in Kenya: a qualitative study." BMC Medical Ethics 3 October 2011.
Lansang, M A. "The ethics of international biomedical researchNeeds a commitment to high values in an open discussion with a variety of partners." BMJ (2000).
Newton, S K and J Appiah-Poku. "The perspectives of researchers on obtaining informed consent in developing countries." Dev World Bioeth (2007 ): 19-24.
Tanne, Janice Hopkins. Guatemala study researchers tried to keep information secret, new report shows. 19 September 2011. 28 october 2011 <http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d5994.full>.
Vries, Martine C de, et al. "Ethical issues at the interface of clinical care and research practice in pediatric oncology: a narrative review of parents' and physicians' experiences." BMC Medical Ethics (2011).
