Lack Of Informed Consent In Clinical Research

Research Ethics

The term ethics dates back hundreds of years, and today the meaning still holds true. Ethics is simply doing the right thing, which involves acting in the right spirit, out of an unwavering respect and concern for one another. In learning about the health profession one of the very first things a student is introduced to is ethics. What is considered morally right? What ethical decision-making process leads a person to a particular decision? In clinical research, ethics plays a very critical role, as medical professionals and researchers heavily rely on their ethics and the ethical decision- making process to produce the best caring response for patients. One way to guarantee that patients involved in clinical research are
Informed consent is essentially when the patient or participant grants permission with the knowledge of all possible consequences, risks, and benefits that are associated with the procedure being performed. It is critically important to obtain informed consent from all clinical participants involved, as this helps all medical professionals and research to perform their duties knowing full well that they are taking into account the needs and wishes of the participants. There is no guessing involved as to what the participants would want to do in regards to the procedure because everything is outlined within the informed consent (Purtilo & Doherty, n.d.p. 250). There are various factors to informed consent some of which include, the health or value of what the research will hold for all participants involved. It must also show the validity of the research to ensure it is scientifically sound. Informed consent also provides the risks associated with the research being performed, and along with that the research must be approved and reviewed and could possibly be terminated. Informed consent fully supports the principle of patient autonomy by fully allowing any patient or research participant to decline treatment or procedures (Emanuel,
One common misconception is that animals are so different from humans that research is unconnected. However, one of the reasons why animal research is so essential in scientific discovery is because animals actually share very similar biologically. We share the same organs and these bodily processes work the same way in both humans and animals, so it is important to see how certain treatment, drugs and diseases affect animals because it gives us a clue as to how the human body would respond. Another misconception is that medicine that works in people are toxic to animals and vise versa. An example of this misconception is that penicillin is toxic to guinea pigs; however, studies have shown that much like humans, penicillin is only toxic in extreme doses. In a case like the one involving penicillin, this study further proves that by testing this antibiotic on animals first we can discover what the recommended doses are and how much is needed to treat an infection. Lastly, the misconception that animal research is inconclusive and has not made any real contributions in the medical field is simply false. Again, animal research has contributed greatly toward the medical field as the discovery of insulin was tested first on dogs who were diabetic and the results were so promising that insulin was introduced as the go to treatment for diabetes among people.