Articles Tagged With: ethical
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Research Professionals Question Structure, Effectiveness of IRBs
Finding ways to evaluate IRB ethical quality and effectiveness has been an elusive ideal. Two research professionals are advocating for directly measuring quality of board oversight, rather than relying on the structure of the IRB. An upcoming U.S. Government Accountability Office evaluation of commercial IRBs also may promote the conversation.
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Beyond Healthcare Workers, COVID-19 Immunization is Ethically Complex
There is optimism about the coming availability of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. However, supplies are likely to be limited, at least initially. Thus, various groups have suggested prioritization schemes to allocate limited vaccine supplies.
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Neurotechnology Takes Human Research Ethics to New Frontiers
It is possible that any IRB might someday review a study that involves making healthy people smarter, cognitively faster, and more resilient mentally. Neurotechnology, including research funded by the government, also is designed to help people with Parkinson’s disease, locked-in syndrome, mental illness, and other issues. But it could take things a step further for people with no chronic conditions. This potential raises ethical questions.
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CDC: Healthcare Workers First in Line for COVID-19 Vaccine
Healthcare workers have been designated as the highest priority group to receive the first safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine cleared for use in the United States, according to recent discussions and materials reviewed in a non-voting meeting of top immunization advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Vaccine Trials Should Follow the Four Ethical Principles
All human research, including COVID-19 vaccine trials, should be guided by the four ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. When researchers, data safety monitoring boards, or the Food and Drug Administration decide to stop a clinical trial or expedite approval or use of an investigational product, these principles still apply.
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More Research Needed Into How IRBs Operate and Make Decisions
The revised Common Rule’s provision that a single IRB should review protocols for multisite studies raises questions about how these IRBs handle conflicts of interest, local knowledge, and other issues. When a group of researchers sought to answer these questions, they found a big obstacle: Some IRBs, including the largest ones, were unwilling to participate.
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Healthcare Workers’ Well-Being Is Ethical Concern During Pandemic
Half of 1,257 healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients in 34 hospitals in China reported depression, 45% reported anxiety, 34% reported insomnia, and 71.5% reported psychological distress, according to a recent study. These findings point to significant ethical concerns regarding clinicians’ well-being.
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Ethics, Case Managers, and the Value Proposition
The pressures case managers face are a reality in a value-based healthcare system. Cost of care and penalties for readmissions are the bottom line in every institution, and that pressure will affect how well case managers perform in their everyday duties. To uphold their ethical tenets, and advocate in the best interests of their patients, a case manager must be prepared to handle these pressures.
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New guidance on ethics of charity dental clinics
Informed consent and lack of access to necessary follow-up care are two ethical concerns with charity clinics offering free dental care, according to a white paper from the American Dental Association.
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Ebola outbreak brought unprecedented ethical challenges
Sangeeta Lamba, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine and surgery at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, says Ebola was one of the biggest systemwide ethical challenges she’s seen in her career. “Nothing has challenged us more in emergency medicine, in the ethical realm, than Ebola,” she says.