Institutional ethics review of clinical study agreements

PubMed Central

DuVal, G

2004-01-01

Accordingly, it is necessary that some independent body have the authority both to review research contracts for compliance with norms of subject protection and ethical integrity, and to reject studies that fail to meet ethical standards. Such review should take place prior to the start of research, not later. Because of its expertise and authority, the institutional ethics review board (IRB or REB) is the appropriate body to undertake such review. Much recent commentary has focused on contractual restrictions on the investigator's freedom to publish research findings. The Olivieri experience, and that of other investigators, has brought freedom of publication issues into sharp focus. Clinical study agreements also raise a number of other ethical issues relating to human subjects and research integrity, however, including disclosures relating to patient safety, data analysis and reporting, budget, confidentiality, and premature termination of the study. This paper describes the ethical issues at stake in structuring such agreements and suggests ethical standards to guide institutional ethics review. PMID:14872068

Five key players shape institution's ethical character.

PubMed

Craig, R P; Middleton, C J; O'Connell, L J

1986-05-01

Various individuals or groups play important roles in achieving moral insight and direction in a health care facility. The administration, medical and nursing staffs, the professional theologian, and the bishop all contribute unique perspectives to the complex process of developing an institution's ethical character. An institutional ethics committee's (IEC's) effectiveness depends largely on the administrator's ability to support educational programming in ethics for the entire staff, coordinate ethical reflection throughout the organization, and shape ethically informed policy based on an IEC's practical experience. The medical staff brings its scientific background and practical experience to ethical issues under a committee's consideration, and nurses offer valuable insights based on their close contact with patients and family. The theologian provides resources and background on Catholic tradition as well as information on current theological developments. The IEC also should maintain a relationship with the local bishop whose duty is to articulate the Church's positions in health care ethics. Forthright dialogue among all parties is central to the IEC's task.

Building a Community of Scholars: One University's Comparison of "Typical" vs. Open Ended Ethics Case Studies in First-Year Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reid, Kenneth J.

2012-01-01

Ethics is among the professional skills embedded in the first year engineering curriculum in many institutions. The general format of the study of ethics is similar to many other institutions: student teams review case studies and develop written and oral presentations on the ethical issues encountered. This report investigates whether the use of…

Institutional Ethics and Values. The Fundamentals. Board Basics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corts, Thomas E.

1998-01-01

This booklet offers trustees of institutions of higher education a guide to the ethical principles upon which the institution should base its decisions. An introductory section offers actual examples of unethical decisions by single officials for which the institution was responsible. The following sections each explain a principle and offer…

Institutional ethics policies on medical end-of-life decisions: a literature review.

PubMed

Lemiengre, Joke; de Casterlé, Bernadette Dierckx; Van Craen, Katleen; Schotsmans, Paul; Gastmans, Chris

2007-10-01

The responsibility of healthcare administrators for handling ethically sensitive medical practices, such as medical end-of-life decisions (MELDs), within an institutional setting has been receiving more attention. The overall aim of this paper is to thoroughly examine the prevalence, content, communication, and implementation of written institutional ethics policies on MELDs by means of a literature review. Major databases (Pubmed, Cinahl, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, FRANCIS, and Philosopher's Index) and reference lists were systematically searched for all relevant papers. Inclusion criteria for relevance were that the study was empirically based and that it focused on the prevalence, content, communication, or implementation of written institutional ethics policies concerning MELDs. Our search yielded 19 studies of American, Canadian, Dutch and Belgian origin. The majority of studies dealt with do-not-resuscitate (DNR) policies (prevalence: 10-89%). Only Dutch and Belgian studies dealt with policies on pain and symptom control (prevalence: 15-19%) and policies on euthanasia (prevalence: 30-79%). Procedural and technical aspects were a prime focus, while the defining of the specific roles of involved parties was unclear. Little attention was given to exploring ethical principles that question the ethical function of policies. In ethics policies on euthanasia, significant consideration was given to procedures that dealt with conscientious objections of physicians and nurses. Empirical studies about the implementation of ethics policies are scarce. With regard to providing support for physicians and nurses, DNR and euthanasia policies expressed support by primarily providing technical and procedural guidelines. Further research is needed whether and in which way written institutional ethics policies on MELDs could contribute to better end-of-life care.

Research Ethics: Institutional Review Board Oversight of Art Therapy Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deaver, Sarah P.

2011-01-01

By having their research proposals reviewed and approved by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), art therapists meet important ethical principles regarding responsibility to research participants. This article provides an overview of the history of human subjects protections in the United States; underlying ethical principles and their application…

Corporate Social Responsibility: Practices of Ethics in Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Law, Marla S.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore and examine perceptions among public and private higher education leaders in Pennsylvania regarding their institutions Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) codes of conduct, ethics training programs, and practices of ethics. Highly publicized misconduct incidents warranted the need for scrutiny of the…

Ethics Review for Qualitative Inquiry: Adopting a Values-Based, Facilitative Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connolly, Kate; Reid, Adela

2007-01-01

In many institutions, the institutional review board/research ethics board (IRB/REB) uses the traditional audit approach that emerged from the biomedical community (e.g., Nuremburg Code, Belmont Report) to review the ethical acceptability of research using humans as participants. This approach is guided by participant protection and risk…

Social responsibility and research ethics in community-driven studies of industrialized hog production.

PubMed Central

Wing, Steve

2002-01-01

Environmental health research can document exposures and health effects that result from inequitable relationships between communities of low income or people of color and the institutions that derive benefits (profits, federal and state funding or services, avoidance of wastes) from activities and policies that burden these communities. Researchers, most of whom work in relatively privileged institutions, are placed in situations of conflicting loyalties if they conduct research in collaboration with, or on behalf of, communities burdened by environmental injustices. These conflicts can threaten the self-interest of researchers and may raise social and ethical issues that do not typically arise in research projects that respond to the agendas of institutions. This article describes how we addressed issues of research ethics and social responsibility in environmental health research on industrialized hog production in North Carolina. Researchers and institutional review boards are not well prepared to address ethical issues when interests of entire communities, as well as individual research participants, are involved. Community-driven research partnerships can help address problems in research ethics and can enhance the social responsibility of researchers and their institutions. PMID:12003746

Comparison of engagement with ethics between an engineering and a business program.

PubMed

Culver, Steven M; Puri, Ishwar K; Wokutch, Richard E; Lohani, Vinod

2013-06-01

Increasing university students' engagement with ethics is becoming a prominent call to action for higher education institutions, particularly professional schools like business and engineering. This paper provides an examination of student attitudes regarding ethics and their perceptions of ethics coverage in the curriculum at one institution. A particular focus is the comparison between results in the business college, which has incorporated ethics in the curriculum and has been involved in ethics education for a longer period, with the engineering college, which is in the nascent stages of developing ethics education in its courses. Results show that student attitudes and perceptions are related to the curriculum. In addition, results indicate that it might be useful for engineering faculty to use business faculty as resources in the development of their ethics curricula.

Clinical ethics residency for nurses: an education model to decrease moral distress and strengthen nurse retention in acute care.

PubMed

Grace, Pamela J; Robinson, Ellen M; Jurchak, Martha; Zollfrank, Angelika A; Lee, Susan M

2014-12-01

The experience of unaddressed moral distress can lead to nurse attrition and/or distancing from patients, compromising patient care. Nurses who are confident in their ethical decision making abilities and moral agency have the antidote to moral distress for themselves and their colleagues and can act as local or institutional ethics resources. We describe a grant-funded model education program designed to increase ethics competence throughout the institution.

ENHANCING RESEARCH ETHICS REVIEW SYSTEMS IN EGYPT: THE FOCUS OF AN INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM INFORMED BY AN ECOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH TO ENHANCING RESEARCH ETHICS CAPACITY

PubMed Central

Edwards, Hillary Anne; Hifnawy, Tamer; Silverman, Henry

2014-01-01

Recently, training programs in research ethics have been established to enhance individual and institutional capacity in research ethics in the developing world. However, commentators have expressed concern that the efforts of these training programs have placed “too great an emphasis on guidelines and research ethics review”, which will have limited effect on ensuring ethical conduct in research. What is needed instead is a culture of ethical conduct supported by national and institutional commitment to ethical practices that are reinforced by upstream enabling conditions (strong civil society, public accountability, and trust in basic transactional processes), which are in turn influenced by developmental conditions (basic freedoms of political freedoms, economic facilities, social opportunities, transparency guarantees, and protective security). Examining this more inclusive understanding of the determinants of ethical conduct enhances at once both an appreciation of the limitations of current efforts of training programs in research ethics and an understanding of what additional training elements are needed to enable trainees to facilitate national and institutional policy changes that enhance research practices. We apply this developmental model to a training program focused in Egypt to describe examples of such additional training activities. PMID:24894063

Enhancing Research Ethics Review Systems in Egypt: The Focus of an International Training Program Informed by an Ecological Developmental Approach to Enhancing Research Ethics Capacity.

PubMed

Edwards, Hillary Anne; Hifnawy, Tamer; Silverman, Henry

2015-12-01

Recently, training programs in research ethics have been established to enhance individual and institutional capacity in research ethics in the developing world. However, commentators have expressed concern that the efforts of these training programs have placed 'too great an emphasis on guidelines and research ethics review', which will have limited effect on ensuring ethical conduct in research. What is needed instead is a culture of ethical conduct supported by national and institutional commitment to ethical practices that are reinforced by upstream enabling conditions (strong civil society, public accountability, and trust in basic transactional processes), which are in turn influenced by developmental conditions (basic freedoms of political freedoms, economic facilities, social opportunities, transparency guarantees, and protective security). Examining this more inclusive understanding of the determinants of ethical conduct enhances at once both an appreciation of the limitations of current efforts of training programs in research ethics and an understanding of what additional training elements are needed to enable trainees to facilitate national and institutional policy changes that enhance research practices. We apply this developmental model to a training program focused in Egypt to describe examples of such additional training activities. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pedagogical Ethics: A Review of the Literature for Public Relations and Advertising.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Stanley L.

Ethics is of increasing concern to United States colleges and universities, according to a survey of 183 institutions on this issue focusing on two areas--public relations and advertising. A 75% return from 134 institutions disclosed that some 25% offer an ethics course but less than half require one. Overwhelmingly (93%), most respondents…

Evaluating the ethical acceptability of animal research.

PubMed

Bout, Henriëtte J; Fentener van Vlissingen, J Martje; Karssing, Edgar D

2014-11-01

The ethical acceptability of animal research is typically evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Legislation such as Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes provides guidance for ethical evaluation of animal use proposals but does not dictate the outcome, leaving this determination to the ethical review committees of individual institutions. The authors assess different ethics models and how these are reflected in the guidelines of Directive 2010/63/EU. They also describe a matrix for carrying out harm-benefit analyses of animal use proposals, which they identified by examining the practices of three ethical review committees in the Netherlands. Finally, they discuss how this matrix can be applied by ethical review committees at other institutions.

Ethical philanthropy in academic psychiatry.

PubMed

Roberts, Laura Weiss

2006-05-01

From an ethical perspective, psychiatrists cannot accept gifts of significant monetary value from their patients. This guideline raises important questions regarding institutional practices related to gift-giving in academic psychiatry. The first aim of this article is to explain the ethical tensions and shared ethical commitments of the professions of psychiatry and philanthropy. The second aim is to outline a series of steps that may be undertaken to assure ethical philanthropic practices within an institution, including the establishment of a committed advisory workgroup and the creation of ground rules and safeguards for gift-giving. Each situation should be evaluated for "ethical risk," and specific measures to safeguard donors should be considered. The author outlines methods to manage, minimize, or eliminate conflict of interest issues, including identification and disclosure of conflicting interests, role separation, goal clarification, confidentiality protections, proper timing, and ongoing oversight. Three case illustrations are provided and discussed. The process of institutional engagement, dialogue, and shared problem-solving is especially important. A shared, constructive ethic will be attained only if leaders and diverse stakeholders communicate the value of the new approach through their words, expectations, and actions. Through these efforts, greater attention will be given to the concerns of people with mental illness, and academic institutions may be better able to fulfill their responsibilities to this important but neglected population now and in the future.

Institutional Ethical Review and Ethnographic Research Involving Injection Drug Users: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Small, Will; Maher, Lisa; Kerr, Thomas

2014-01-01

Ethnographic research among people who inject drugs (PWID) involves complex ethical issues. While ethical review frameworks have been critiqued by social scientists, there is a lack of social science research examining institutional ethical review processes, particularly in relation to ethnographic work. This case study describes the institutional ethical review of an ethnographic research project using observational fieldwork and in-depth interviews to examine injection drug use. The review process and the salient concerns of the review committee are recounted, and the investigators’ responses to the committee’s concerns and requests are described to illustrate how key issues were resolved. The review committee expressed concerns regarding researcher safety when conducting fieldwork and the investigators were asked to liaise with the police regarding the proposed research. An ongoing dialogue with the institutional review committee regarding researcher safety and autonomy from police involvement, as well as formal consultation with a local drug user group and solicitation of opinions from external experts, helped to resolve these issues. This case study suggests that ethical review processes can be particularly challenging for ethnographic projects focused on illegal behaviours, and that while some challenges could be mediated by modifying existing ethical review procedures, there is a need for legislation that provides legal protection of research data and participant confidentiality. PMID:24581074

Ethical Leadership: Successfully Communicating Institutional Values.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilcox, John R.; Ebbs, Susan L.

1993-01-01

College leaders can be symbols of moral unity for their institutions. The leader must have a vision of the institution's ethical life, then be able to create and sustain it in the campus community. Strategic planning can help resolve conflicts constructively, based on values expressed in the mission statement. (MSE)

Understanding bureaucracy in health science ethics: toward a better institutional review board.

PubMed

Bozeman, Barry; Slade, Catherine; Hirsch, Paul

2009-09-01

Research involving human participants continues to grow dramatically, fueled by advances in medical technology, globalization of research, and financial and professional incentives. This creates increasing opportunities for ethical errors with devastating effects. The typical professional and policy response to calamities involving human participants in research is to layer on more ethical guidelines or strictures. We used a recent case-the Johns Hopkins University/Kennedy Kreiger Institute Lead Paint Study-to examine lessons learned since the Tuskegee Syphilis Study about the role of institutionalized science ethics in the protection of human participants in research. We address the role of the institutional review board as the focal point for policy attention.

Understanding Bureaucracy in Health Science Ethics: Toward a Better Institutional Review Board

PubMed Central

Bozeman, Barry; Hirsch, Paul

2009-01-01

Research involving human participants continues to grow dramatically, fueled by advances in medical technology, globalization of research, and financial and professional incentives. This creates increasing opportunities for ethical errors with devastating effects. The typical professional and policy response to calamities involving human participants in research is to layer on more ethical guidelines or strictures. We used a recent case—the Johns Hopkins University/Kennedy Kreiger Institute Lead Paint Study—to examine lessons learned since the Tuskegee Syphilis Study about the role of institutionalized science ethics in the protection of human participants in research. We address the role of the institutional review board as the focal point for policy attention. PMID:19608947

Furthering the sceptical case against virtue ethics in nursing ethics.

PubMed

Holland, Stephen

2012-10-01

In a recent article in this journal I presented a sceptical argument about the current prominence of virtue ethics in nursing ethics. Daniel Putman has responded with a defence of the relevance of virtue in nursing. The present article continues this discussion by clarifying, defending, and expanding the sceptical argument. I start by emphasizing some features of the sceptical case, including assumptions about the nature of sceptical arguments, and about the character of both virtue ethics and nursing ethics. Then I respond to objections of Putman's such as that, according to virtue ethics, virtue is relevant to the whole of a human life, including one's behaviour in a professional context; and that eudaimonia should be central in explaining and motivating a nurse's decision to enter the profession. Having argued that these objections are not compelling, I go on to discuss an interesting recent attempt to reassert the role of virtue ethics in the ethics of professions, including nursing. This centres on whether role-specific obligations - e.g. the obligations that arise for a moral agent qua lawyer or mother - can be accommodated in a virtue ethics approach. Sean Cordell has argued that the difficulty of accommodating role-specific obligations results in an 'institution-shaped gap' in virtue ethics. He suggests a way of meeting this difficulty that appeals to the ergon of institutions. I endorse the negative point that role-specific obligations elude virtue ethics, but argue that the appeal to the ergon of institutions is unsuccessful. The upshot is further support for scepticism about the virtue ethics approach to nursing ethics. I end by gesturing to some of the advantages of a sceptical view of virtue ethics in nursing ethics. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Mock Institutional Review Board: Promoting Analytical and Reasoning Skills in Research Ethics.

PubMed

Dols, Jean Dowling; Hoke, Mary M; Rauschhuber, Maureen L

Although it is critical that nurses possess ethical reasoning skills for research, there is limited information on effective strategies to develop these skills in graduate health care students. A research study analyzing educational interventions including the effect of online human subjects training followed by a mock institutional review board simulation demonstrated that knowledge acquisition is not enough to acquire the ethical reasoning skills needed to implement health care research. Situational context is also needed to envision the application of ethical principles.

[Ethic review on clinical experiments of medical devices in medical institutions].

PubMed

Shuai, Wanjun; Chao, Yong; Wang, Ning; Xu, Shining

2011-07-01

Clinical experiments are always used to evaluate the safety and validity of medical devices. The experiments have two types of clinical trying and testing. Ethic review must be done by the ethics committee of the medical department with the qualification of clinical research, and the approval must be made before the experiments. In order to ensure the safety and validity of clinical experiments of medical devices in medical institutions, the contents, process and approval criterions of the ethic review were analyzed and discussed.

The Impact of Ethics Review on a Research-Led University Curriculum: Results of a Qualitative Study in Australia.

PubMed

Wynn, L L

2016-04-01

In the human sciences, a student research-centered pedagogy is constrained by institutional ethics review, yet there is little research on the impact of ethics review on research-led teaching. This article documents a range of ways that Australian universities are responding to ethics review of undergraduate human research. Forty teachers and administrators were interviewed at 14 universities using purposive sampling to document the range of ways teachers are avoiding ethics review or incorporating it into their curriculum. Some reported halting undergraduate research or evading ethics review, regarding it as meaningless bureaucracy divorced from actual ethical thinking. Those who incorporated ethics review into student research did so by collaborating with administrators. Institutions can facilitate research-led teaching by designing dedicated forms and decentralized review procedures for student research. © The Author(s) 2016.

Ethics in Program Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

The common approach to instituting ethics taken by both corporations and government organizations is to introduce a set of rules or standards of...desired personal or professional outcomes. The common approach to ethics taken by both corporations and government organizations is to institute a set of...trading scandal, and a plethora of large corporate scandals involving companies like Enron , Tyco, and WorldCom. Troubling scandals have emerged

Understanding community-based processes for research ethics review: a national study.

PubMed

Shore, Nancy; Brazauskas, Ruta; Drew, Elaine; Wong, Kristine A; Moy, Lisa; Baden, Andrea Corage; Cyr, Kirsten; Ulevicus, Jocelyn; Seifer, Sarena D

2011-12-01

Institutional review boards (IRBs), designed to protect individual study participants, do not routinely assess community consent, risks, and benefits. Community groups are establishing ethics review processes to determine whether and how research is conducted in their communities. To strengthen the ethics review of community-engaged research, we sought to identify and describe these processes. In 2008 we conducted an online survey of US-based community groups and community-institutional partnerships involved in human-participants research. We identified 109 respondents who met participation criteria and had ethics review processes in place. The respondents' processes mainly functioned through community-institutional partnerships, community-based organizations, community health centers, and tribal organizations. These processes had been created primarily to ensure that the involved communities were engaged in and directly benefited from research and were protected from research harms. The primary process benefits included giving communities a voice in determining which studies were conducted and ensuring that studies were relevant and feasible, and that they built community capacity. The primary process challenges were the time and resources needed to support the process. Community-based processes for ethics review consider community-level ethical issues that institution-based IRBs often do not.

Goals of clinical ethics support: perceptions of Dutch healthcare institutions.

PubMed

Dauwerse, L; Abma, T A; Molewijk, B; Widdershoven, G

2013-12-01

In previous literature, ethicists mention several goals of Clinical Ethics Support (CES). It is unknown what key persons in healthcare institutions see as main--and sub-goals of CES. This article presents the goals of CES as perceived by board members and members of ethics support staff. This is part of a Dutch national research using a mixed methods design with questionnaires, focus groups and interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed and combined in an iterative process. Four main clusters of goals were found: 1) encouraging an ethical climate, 2) fostering an accountable and transparent organization, 3) developing professionalism and a final goal, overarching the previous three, 4) good care. Most important sub-goals of CES were: attention for ethical issues, raising awareness of ethical issues, fostering ethical reflection and supporting employees. The article ends with a discussion on the desirability to further operationalize the general goal of good care, the context-boundedness of our findings and the need to relate goals of CES to the features of organizational cultures to further improve the integration of CES in healthcare institutions.

Ethics Across the Curriculum: Prospects for Broader (and Deeper) Teaching and Learning in Research and Engineering Ethics.

PubMed

Mitcham, Carl; Englehardt, Elaine E

2016-08-22

The movements to teach the responsible conduct of research (RCR) and engineering ethics at technological universities are often unacknowledged aspects of the ethics across the curriculum (EAC) movement and could benefit from explicit alliances with it. Remarkably, however, not nearly as much scholarly attention has been devoted to EAC as to RCR or to engineering ethics, and RCR and engineering ethics educational efforts are not always presented as facets of EAC. The emergence of EAC efforts at two different institutions-the Illinois Institute of Technology and Utah Valley University (UVU)-provide counter examples. The remarkably successful UVU initiative gave birth to EAC as a scholarly movement and to the associated Society for Ethics Across the Curriculum. EAC initiatives at the Colorado School of Mines, however, point up continuing institutional resistances to EAC. Finally, comparative reflection on successes and failures can draw some lessons for the future. One suggestion is that increasing demands for accountability and pedagogical research into what works in teaching and learning offers special opportunities.

Profile: Institute of Society, Ethics and the Life Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callahan, Daniel

1971-01-01

Describes an institute founded to examine moral, ethical, and legal issues raised by possibilities of euthanasia, genetic engineering, behavior control, population control, and improved disease control. Indicates scope of present research. (Editor/AL)

Ethical international research on human subjects research in the absence of local institutional review boards.

PubMed

Bhat, S B; Hegde, T T

2006-09-01

International health-related research on human subjects entails unique ethical responsibilities and difficulties. Often, these difficulties are augmented by the lack of a local ethical review infrastructure. In a recent cross-national study conducted by us, three critical components of ethical regulation were identified--external oversight, local oversight and subject involvement--and integrated into the study design. These three concepts are outlined and established as an important aspect of ensuring ethical coherence in the local context, particularly when reviews by the local institutional review boards cannot practically be obtained. The three levels of ethical oversight identified are suggested to be the framework within which future field studies on human subjects are developed and a standard for maintaining ethical rigorousness in research on humans.

Institutional Ethics Resources: Creating Moral Spaces.

PubMed

Hamric, Ann B; Wocial, Lucia D

2016-09-01

Since 1992, institutions accredited by The Joint Commission have been required to have a process in place that allows staff members, patients, and families to address ethical issues or issues prone to conflict. While the commission's expectations clearly have made ethics committees more common, simply having a committee in no way demonstrates its effectiveness in terms of the availability of the service to key constituents, the quality of the processes used, or the outcomes achieved. Beyond meeting baseline accreditation standards, effective ethics resources are requisite for quality care for another reason. The provision of care to the sick is a practice with profound moral dimensions. Clinicians need what Margaret Urban Walker has called "moral spaces," reflective spaces within institutions in which to explore and communicate values and ethical obligations as they undergird goals of care. Walker proposed that ethicists needed to be concerned with the design and maintenance of these moral spaces. Clearly, that concern needs to extend beyond ethicists to institutional leaders. This essay uses Walker's idea of moral space to describe individuals and groups who are actual and potential ethics resources in health care institutions. We focus on four requisite characteristics of effective resources and the challenges to achieving them, and we identify strategies to build them. In our view, such moral spaces are particularly important for nurses and their colleagues on interprofessional teams and need to be expanded and strengthened in most settings. © 2016 The Hastings Center.

Error reduction, patient safety and institutional ethics committees.

PubMed

Meaney, Mark E

2004-01-01

Institutional ethics committees remain largely absent from the literature on error reduction and patient safety. In this paper, the author endeavors to fill the gap. As noted in the Hastings Center's recent report, "Promoting Patient Safety," the occurrence of medical error involves complex web of multiple factors. Human misstep is certainly one such factor, but not the only one. This paper builds on the Hastings Center's report in arguing that institutional ethics committees ought to play an integral role in the transformation of a "culture of blame" to a "culture of safety" in healthcare delivery.

Institutional initiatives in professional scientific ethics: three case studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nickless, Edmund; Bilham, Nic

2015-04-01

Learned and professional scientific bodies can play a vital role in promoting ethical behaviours, giving practical substance to theoretical consideration of geoethical principles and complementing the efforts of individual scientists and practitioners to behave in a professional and ethical manner. Institutions may do this through mandatory professional codes of conduct, by developing guidelines and initiatives to codify and stimulate the uptake of best practice, and through wider initiatives to engender a culture conducive to such behaviours. This presentation will outline three current institutional initiatives which directly or indirectly address scientific ethics: i. The UK Science Council's Declaration on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. ii. Development and promulgation of the American Geosciences Institute's (AGI) Guidelines for Ethical Professional Conduct. iii. The American Geophysical Union's (AGU) Scientific Code of Conduct and Professional Ethics. The focus of the Science Council and its member bodies (including the Geological Society of London) on diversity is of central importance when considering ethical behaviours in science. First, improving equality and diversity in the science workforce is at the heart of ethical practice, as well as being essential to meeting current and future skills needs. Second, in addition to demographic diversity (whether in terms of gender, race, economic status, sexuality or gender identity, etc), an important dimension of diversity in science is to allow space for a plurality of scientific views, and to nurture dissenting voices - essential both to the development of scientific knowledge and to its effective communication to non-technical audiences.

The Ethics Liaison Program: building a moral community.

PubMed

Bates, Sarah R; McHugh, Wendy J; Carbo, Alexander R; O'Neill, Stephen F; Forrow, Lachlan

2017-09-01

Ethicists often struggle to maintain institution-wide awareness of and commitment to medical ethics. At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), we created the Ethics Liaison Program to address that challenge by making ethics part of the moral culture of the institution. Liaisons represent clinical and non-clinical areas throughout the medical centre. The liaison has a four-part role: to spread awareness and understanding of Ethics Programs among their coworkers; share information regarding ethical dilemmas in their work area with the members of the Ethics Support Service; review ethics activities and needs within their area; and undertake ethics-related projects. This paper lists the notable attributes of the Ethics Liaison Program, and describes the purpose and structure of the programme, its advantages and the challenges to implementing it. The Ethics Liaison Program has helped to make ethics part of the everyday culture at BIDMC, and other medical centres might benefit from the establishment of similar programmes. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Institution animal care and use committees need greater ethical diversity.

PubMed

Hansen, Lawrence Arthur

2013-03-01

In response to public outrage stemming from exposés of animal abuse in research laboratories, the US Congress in 1985 mandated Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) to oversee animal use at institutions receiving federal grants. IACUCs were enjoined to respect public concern about the treatment of animals in research, but they were not specifically instructed whether or not to perform ethical cost-benefit analyses of animal research protocols that IACUCs have chosen, with approval contingent upon a balancing of animal pain and suffering against a reasonable expectation of resultant human benefit. IACUCs have chosen not to make such ethical judgments but, rather, restrict themselves to an advisory role, often tweaking the details of animal-use protocols, but eventually approving all of them. This disinclination by IACUCs to take a broader ethical view of their authority and responsibilities may reflect a membership composition highly skewed towards animal researchers themselves (67%) and institutional veterinarians (15%), both with vested interests in continuing animal research. The resultant ethical monoculture may impair IACUC's ability to meet public concern for laboratory animal welfare. Psychological research has established that unconscious bias affects us all, that deliberations among the like-minded lead to adapting extremist positions, and that groupthink blinds organisations to alternatives that might be obvious to outsiders. Taken together, skewed IACUC membership composition and psychological research insights into unconscious bias and groupthink suggest that an infusion of ethical diversity by increasing the percentage of institutionally unaffiliated members on IACUCs would broaden their ethical perspectives and enable them to better address public concerns about laboratory animal welfare.

Institution animal care and use committees need greater ethical diversity

PubMed Central

Hansen, Lawrence Arthur

2013-01-01

In response to public outrage stemming from exposés of animal abuse in research laboratories, the US Congress in 1985 mandated Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) to oversee animal use at institutions receiving federal grants. IACUCs were enjoined to respect public concern about the treatment of animals in research, but they were not specifically instructed whether or not to perform ethical cost-benefit analyses of animal research protocols that IACUCs have chosen, with approval contingent upon a balancing of animal pain and suffering against a reasonable expectation of resultant human benefit. IACUCs have chosen not to make such ethical judgments but, rather, restrict themselves to an advisory role, often tweaking the details of animal-use protocols, but eventually approving all of them. This disinclination by IACUCs to take a broader ethical view of their authority and responsibilities may reflect a membership composition highly skewed towards animal researchers themselves (67%) and institutional veterinarians (15%), both with vested interests in continuing animal research. The resultant ethical monoculture may impair IACUC's ability to meet public concern for laboratory animal welfare. Psychological research has established that unconscious bias affects us all, that deliberations among the like-minded lead to adapting extremist positions, and that groupthink blinds organisations to alternatives that might be obvious to outsiders. Taken together, skewed IACUC membership composition and psychological research insights into unconscious bias and groupthink suggest that an infusion of ethical diversity by increasing the percentage of institutionally unaffiliated members on IACUCs would broaden their ethical perspectives and enable them to better address public concerns about laboratory animal welfare. PMID:23131895

Fulfilling institutional responsibilities in health care: organizational ethics and the role of mission discernment.

PubMed

Gallagher, John A; Goodstein, Jerry

2002-10-01

In this paper we highlight the emergence of organizational ethics issues in health care as an important outcome of the changing structure of health care delivery. We emphasize three core themes related to business ethics and health care ethics: integrity, responsibility, and choice. These themes are brought together in a discussion of the process of Mission Discernment as it has been developed and implemented within an integrated health care system. Through this discussion we highlight how processes of institutional reflection, such as Mission Discernment, can help health care organizations, as well as corporations, make critical choices in turbulent environments that further the core mission and values and fulfill institutional responsibilities to a broad range of stakeholders.

Institutional ethical review and ethnographic research involving injection drug users: a case study.

PubMed

Small, Will; Maher, Lisa; Kerr, Thomas

2014-03-01

Ethnographic research among people who inject drugs (PWID) involves complex ethical issues. While ethical review frameworks have been critiqued by social scientists, there is a lack of social science research examining institutional ethical review processes, particularly in relation to ethnographic work. This case study describes the institutional ethical review of an ethnographic research project using observational fieldwork and in-depth interviews to examine injection drug use. The review process and the salient concerns of the review committee are recounted, and the investigators' responses to the committee's concerns and requests are described to illustrate how key issues were resolved. The review committee expressed concerns regarding researcher safety when conducting fieldwork, and the investigators were asked to liaise with the police regarding the proposed research. An ongoing dialogue with the institutional review committee regarding researcher safety and autonomy from police involvement, as well as formal consultation with a local drug user group and solicitation of opinions from external experts, helped to resolve these issues. This case study suggests that ethical review processes can be particularly challenging for ethnographic projects focused on illegal behaviours, and that while some challenges could be mediated by modifying existing ethical review procedures, there is a need for legislation that provides legal protection of research data and participant confidentiality. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Qualitative research ethics on the spot: Not only on the desktop.

PubMed

Øye, Christine; Sørensen, Nelli Øvre; Glasdam, Stinne

2016-06-01

The increase in medical ethical regulations and bureaucracy handled by institutional review boards and healthcare institutions puts the researchers using qualitative methods in a challenging position. Based on three different cases from three different research studies, the article explores and discusses research ethical dilemmas. First, and especially, the article addresses the challenges for gatekeepers who influence the informant's decisions to participate in research. Second, the article addresses the challenges in following research ethical guidelines related to informed consent and doing no harm. Third, the article argues for the importance of having research ethical guidelines and review boards to question and discuss the possible ethical dilemmas that occur in qualitative research. Research ethics must be understood in qualitative research as relational, situational, and emerging. That is, that focus on ethical issues and dilemmas has to be paid attention on the spot and not only at the desktop. © The Author(s) 2015.

[Clinical ethics in psychiatry: the experience at Douglas Hospital].

PubMed

Zacchia, Camillo; Tremblay, Jacques

2006-01-01

The authors present a brief overview of the clinical ethics committee within their mental health university institute as well as its evolving mandates over the past few decades. The main functions include case consultation, input on elaboration of institutional policy, and staff education as well as public information on issues of ethics and mental illness. With examples and questions brought to the committee's attention, the authors demonstrate how these functions are intertwined. The authors conclude that ethical questioning helps examine clinical practices and serves ultimately in guiding towards best practices in mental health.

Too much information: visual research ethics in the age of wearable cameras.

PubMed

Mok, Tze Ming; Cornish, Flora; Tarr, Jen

2015-06-01

When everything you see is data, what ethical principles apply? This paper argues that first-person digital recording technologies challenge traditional institutional approaches to research ethics, but that this makes ethics governance more important, not less so. We review evolving ethical concerns across four fields: Visual ethics; ubiquitous computing; mobile health; and grey literature from applied or market research. Collectively, these bodies of literature identify new challenges to traditional notions of informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality, privacy, beneficence and maleficence. Challenges come from the ever-increasing power, breadth and multi-functional integration of recording technologies, and the ubiquity and normalization of their use by participants. Some authors argue that these evolving relationships mean that institutional ethics governance procedures are irrelevant or no longer apply. By contrast, we argue that the fundamental principles of research ethics frameworks have become even more important for the protection of research participants, and that institutional frameworks need to adapt to keep pace with the ever-increasing power of recording technologies and the consequent risks to privacy. We conclude with four recommendations for efforts to ensure that contemporary visual recording research is held appropriately accountable to ethical standards: (i) minimizing the detail, scope, integration and retention of captured data, and limiting its accessibility; (ii) formulating an approach to ethics that takes in both the 'common rule' approaches privileging anonymity and confidentiality together with principles of contextual judgement and consent as an ongoing process; (iii) developing stronger ethical regulation of research outside academia; (iv) engaging the public and research participants in the development of ethical guidelines.

A Survey of Ethics Curriculum in Canadian Initial Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxwell, Bruce; Tremblay-Laprise, Audrée-Anne; Filion, Marianne

2015-01-01

This paper reports the results of a survey on ethics education in initial teacher education in Canada. Using an online survey and an academic calendar analysis, data was collected on ethics course requirements, perceptions about ethics content, institutional factors mediating the implementation of ethics courses, and teaching and learning…

Economic Ethics and Industrial Policy: The Analysis of Ethical Standardization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnal, Juliette

2008-01-01

Beyond the presupposed cleavage between economics and ethics, the institutional dimension of economic ethics needs to be emphasized. The firm can use a large scope of instruments in order to formalize economic ethics. The asset of ethical standards is that they represent a specific way of coordination. They engender positive effects such as the…

Balancing between two goods: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and ethical compliancy considerations for privacy-sensitive materials in health sciences archival and historical special collections.

PubMed

Wiener, Judith A; Gilliland, Anne T

2011-01-01

The investigation provides recommendations for establishing institutional collection guidelines and policies that protect the integrity of the historical record, while upholding the privacy and confidentiality of those who are protected by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or professional ethical standards. The authors completed a systematic historical investigation of the concepts of collection integrity, privacy, and confidentiality in the formal and informal legal and professional ethics literature and applied these standards to create best practices for institutional policies in these areas. Through an in-depth examination of the historical concepts of privacy and confidentiality in the legal and professional ethics literature, the authors were able to create recommendations that would allow institutions to provide access to important, yet sensitive, materials, while complying with the standards set by HIPAA regulations and professional ethical expectations. With thoughtful planning, it is possible to balance the integrity of and access to the historical record of sensitive documents, while supporting the privacy protections of HIPAA and professional ethical standards. Although it is theorized that collection development policies of institutions have changed due to HIPAA legislation, additional research is suggested to see how various legal interpretations have affected the integrity of the historical record in actuality.

Factors influencing the effectiveness of research ethics committees.

PubMed

Schuppli, C A; Fraser, D

2007-05-01

Research ethics committees - animal ethics committees (AECs) for animal-based research and institutional research boards (IRBs) for human subjects - have a key role in research governance, but there has been little study of the factors influencing their effectiveness. The objectives of this study were to examine how the effectiveness of a research ethics committee is influenced by committee composition and dynamics, recruitment of members, workload, participation level and member turnover. As a model, 28 members of AECs at four universities in western Canada were interviewed. Committees were selected to represent variation in the number and type of protocols reviewed, and participants were selected to include different types of committee members. We found that a bias towards institutional or scientific interests may result from (1) a preponderance of institutional and scientist members, (2) an intimidating atmosphere for community members and other minority members, (3) recruitment of community members who are affiliated with the institution and (4) members joining for reasons other than to fulfil the committee mandate. Thoroughness of protocol review may be influenced by heavy workloads, type of review process and lack of full committee participation. These results, together with results from the literature on research ethics committees, suggested potential ways to improve the effectiveness of research ethics committees.

Research ethics consultation: ethical and professional practice challenges and recommendations.

PubMed

Sharp, Richard R; Taylor, Holly A; Brinich, Margaret A; Boyle, Mary M; Cho, Mildred; Coors, Marilyn; Danis, Marion; Havard, Molly; Magnus, David; Wilfond, Benjamin

2015-05-01

The complexity of biomedical research has increased considerably in the last decade, as has the pace of translational research. This complexity has generated a number of novel ethical issues for clinical investigators, institutional review boards (IRBs), and other oversight committees. In response, many academic medical centers have created formal research ethics consultation (REC) services to help clinical investigators and IRBs navigate ethical issues in biomedical research. Key functions of a REC service include assisting with research design and implementation, providing a forum for deliberative exploration of ethical issues, and supplementing regulatory oversight. As increasing numbers of academic research institutions establish REC services, there is a pressing need for consensus about the primary aims and policies that should guide these activities. Establishing clear expectations about the aims and policies of REC services is important if REC programs are to achieve their full potential. Drawing on the experiences of a Clinical and Translational Science Award Research Ethics Consultation Working Group, this article describes three major ethical and professional practice challenges associated with the provision of REC: (1) managing multiple institutional roles and responsibilities, (2) managing sensitive information, and (3) communicating with consultation requestors about how these issues are managed. The paper also presents several practical strategies for addressing these challenges and enhancing the quality of REC services.

Research Ethics Consultation: Ethical and Professional Practice Challenges and Recommendations

PubMed Central

Sharp, Richard R.; Taylor, Holly A.; Brinich, Margaret A.; Boyle, Mary M.; Cho, Mildred; Coors, Marilyn; Danis, Marion; Havard, Molly; Magnus, David; Wilfond, Benjamin

2015-01-01

The complexity of biomedical research has increased considerably in the last decade, as has the pace of translational research. This complexity has generated a number of novel ethical issues for clinical investigators, institutional review boards (IRBs), and other oversight committees. In response, many academic medical centers have created formal research ethics consultation (REC) services to help clinical investigators and IRBs navigate ethical issues in biomedical research. Key functions of a REC service include: assisting with research design and implementation, providing a forum for deliberative exploration of ethical issues, and supplementing regulatory oversight. As increasing numbers of academic research institutions establish REC services, there is a pressing need for consensus about the primary aims and policies that should guide these activities. Establishing clear expectations about the aims and policies of REC services is important if REC programs are to achieve their full potential. Drawing on the experiences of a Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) Research Ethics Consultation Working Group, this article describes three major ethical and professional practice challenges associated with the provision of REC: 1) managing multiple institutional roles and responsibilities, 2) managing sensitive information, and 3) communicating with consultation requestors about how these issues are managed. The paper also presents several practical strategies for addressing these challenges and enhancing the quality of REC services. PMID:25607942

Closing unprofitable services: ethical issues and management responses.

PubMed

Summers, James W

1985-01-01

Closing unprofitable services often requires as much analysis, public relations, marketing, and planning as any expansion. Further, issues about ethics, indigents, and the hospital mission force the consideration of values explicitly if a marketing fiasco is to be avoided. By integrating values analysis with more traditional management tasks, the challenges of service closure can be converted into opportunities to demonstrate how your institution has met or exceeded its ethical obligations. A case involving OB is developed to show how ethical and management issues blend into one another. Specific strategies for consensus building and marketing of the legitimacy of the hospital's position are given. Institutional ethics committees are one primary mechanism for developing a plan to benefit from unpleasant decisions.

The establishment of research ethics consultation services (RECS): an emerging research resource.

PubMed

McCormick, Jennifer B; Sharp, Richard R; Ottenberg, Abigale L; Reider, Carson R; Taylor, Holly A; Wilfond, Benjamin S

2013-02-01

Emphasis on translational research to facilitate progression from the laboratory into the community also creates a dynamic in which ethics and social policy questions and solutions are ever pressing. In response, academic institutions are creating Research Ethics Consultation Services (RECS). All Clinical Translational Science Award institutions were surveyed in early 2010 to determine which institutions have a RECS in operation and what is their composition and function. Of the 46 institutions surveyed, 33 (70%) have a RECS. Only 15 RECS have received any consult requests in the last year. Issues that are common among these relatively nascent services include relationships with institutional oversight committees, balancing requestor concerns about confidentiality with research integrity and human subjects protection priorities, tracking consult data and outcomes, and developing systems for internal evaluation. There is variability in how these issues are approached. It will be important to be attentive to the institutional context to develop an appropriate approach. Further data about the issues raised by requestors and the recommendations provided are necessary to build a community of scholars who can navigate and resolve ethical issues encountered along the translational research pathway. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Tiny tweaks, big changes: An alternative strategy to empower ethical culture of human research in anesthesia (A Taiwan Acta Anesthesiologica Taiwanica-Ethics Review Task Force Report).

PubMed

Luk, Hsiang-Ning; Ennever, John F; Day, Yuan-Ji; Wong, Chih-Shung; Sun, Wei-Zen

2015-03-01

For this guidance article, the Ethics Review Task Force (ERTF) of the Journal reviewed and discussed the ethics issues related to publication of human research in the field of anesthesia. ERTF first introduced international ethics principles and minimal requirements of reporting of ethics practices, followed by discussing the universal problems of publication ethics. ERTF then compared the accountability and methodology of several medical journals in assuring authors' ethics compliance. Using the Taiwan Institutional Review Board system as an example, ERTF expressed the importance of institutional review board registration and accreditation to assure human participant protection. ERTF presented four major human research misconducts in the field of anesthesia in recent years. ERTF finally proposed a flow-chart to guide journal peer reviewers and editors in ethics review during the editorial process in publishing. Examples of template languages applied in the Ethics statement section in the manuscript are expected to strengthen the ethics compliance of the authors and to set an ethical culture for all the stakeholders involved in human research. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Reductio ad absurdum. Editorial.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buck, George H.

2003-01-01

Recently, universities and other research institutions have increased the number of regulations concerning research "ethics." Driven by fears of litigation or political unpopularity and acting in an authoritarian manner, many institutional ethics boards are exceeding their purpose and are threatening both the validity of their faculty's…

Experimentation in Institutions: Ethics, Creativity, and Existential Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Donnell, Aislinn

2018-01-01

The existential, experiential, ethical, pathic and pre-pathic dimensions of education are essential for the creative composition of subjectivities in institutional spaces, yet educational research and policy tend increasingly to privilege technical discourses and prescriptive approaches both when evaluating "what is effective in…

The Teaching of Ethics. Vol. 1-9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1980

The state of ethics teaching at the undergraduate and professional school levels is examined in these comprehensive monographs sponsored by the Institute of Society, Ethics and the Life Sciences/The Hastings Center. "The Teaching of Ethics in Higher Education (I)" encompasses: (1) the number and extent of courses in ethics, (2) the status and…

The Order of Things: Ethical Foundations for Community College Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stumpf, Arthur D.; Holt, Lynn; Crittenden, Laura; Davis, James E.

2012-01-01

This article calls attention to the need for community college leaders to develop a deeper understanding of ethics in preparation for addressing ethical issues that arise in the administration of their institutions. It discusses briefly the nature of ethics and the ethical theories of some modern and postmodern authors. The article is concerned…

Teaching Engineering Ethics to PhD Students: A Berkeley-Delft Initiative : Commentary on "Ethics Across the Curriculum: Prospects for Broader (and Deeper) Teaching and Learning in Research and Engineering Ethics".

PubMed

Taebi, Behnam; Kastenberg, William E

2016-07-13

A joint effort by the University of California at Berkeley and Delft University of Technology to develop a graduate engineering ethics course for PhD students encountered two types of challenges: academic and institutional. Academically, long-term collaborative research efforts between engineering and philosophy faculty members might be needed before successful engineering ethics courses can be initiated; the teaching of ethics to engineering graduate students and collaborative research need to go hand-in-hand. Institutionally, both bottom-up approaches at the level of the faculty and as a joint research and teaching effort, and top-down approaches that include recognition by a University's administration and the top level of education management, are needed for successful and sustainable efforts to teach engineering ethics.

[Perception of ethical aspects in psychiatric patient care: a pilot study].

PubMed

Rabenschlag, Franziska; Steinauer, Regine; Heimann, Regine; Reiter-Theil, Stella

2014-10-01

Research on staff perception of ethical aspects of psychiatric patient care are scarce; little is known about systematic supplies of ethics support in psychiatric institutions. The goal of this pilot study is to inform the implementation of Clinical Ethics Support Services in psychiatric institutions by assessing which topics of psychiatric practice are considered ethically challenging by the staff. Explorative survey as pilot study by questionnaire with clinical staff, quantitative (descriptive) and qualitative (coding) data-analysis. Involuntary treatment, the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients, staff shortage and the collaboration between the professions as well as dealing with patient relatives came up as ethical challenges. Clinical Ethics Support in psychiatric patient care should not only cover aspects that are specific for psychiatry, but also structural topics such as short resources, interprofessional collaboration and communication with relatives. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A survey of students` ethical attitudes using computer-related scenarios

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanchey, C.M.; Kingsbury, J.

Many studies exist that examine ethical beliefs and attitudes of university students ascending medium or large institutions. There are also many studies which examine ethical attitudes and beliefs of computer science and computer information systems majors. None, however, examines ethical attitudes of university students (regardless of undergraduate major) at a small, Christian, liberal arts institution regarding computer-related situations. This paper will present data accumulated by an on-going study in which students are presented seven scenarios--all of which involve some aspect of computing technology. These students were randomly selected from a small, Christian, liberal-arts university.

Institutional Ethics Committee Regulations and Current Updates in India.

PubMed

Mahuli, Amit V; Mahuli, Simpy A; Patil, Shankargouda; Bhandi, Shilpa

2017-08-01

The aim of the review is to provide current updates on regulations for ethics committees and researchers in India. Ethical dilemmas in research since time immemorial have been a major concern for researchers worldwide. The question "what makes clinical research ethical" is significant and difficult to answer as multiple factors are involved. The research involving human participants in clinical trials should follow the required rules, regulations, and guidelines in one's own country. It is a dynamic process, and updates have to be learned by researcher and committee members. The review highlights the ethical regulation from the Drug Controller General of India, Clinical Trial Registry of India, and Indian Council of Medical Research guidelines. In this article, the updates on Indian scenario of the Ethical Committee and guidelines are compiled. The review comes handy for clinical researchers and ethics committee members in academic institutions to check on the current updates and keep abreast with the knowledge on regulations of ethics in India.

[Clinical ethics committees in Mexico: their development in the Mexican Institute of Social Security].

PubMed

Valdez-Martínez, Edith; Bedolla, Miguel

2007-01-01

The Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) considers the relevance of ethics in a similar context than other countries have developed. According to these considerations, IMSS implemented formally of system of local committees on clinical ethics (CLEC), not only to provide support when ethical dilemmas emerge, but to facilitate the development of an ethics culture among health professionals. The implementation of the CLEC network started in 2004, and since then, its number has increased across the country. Currently IMSS has 78 CLECs. Their number continues to grow due to the level of awareness about the importance of ethics for making medical decisions. In November 2006 the first CLEC national meeting was held and the need to redefine strategies to improve performance of CLECS emerged. This article reports the current situation of the CLECs in Mexico.

Are Military and Medical Ethics Necessarily Incompatible? A Canadian Case Study.

PubMed

Rochon, Christiane; Williams-Jones, Bryn

2016-12-01

Military physicians are often perceived to be in a position of 'dual loyalty' because they have responsibilities towards their patients but also towards their employer, the military institution. Further, they have to ascribe to and are bound by two distinct codes of ethics (i.e., medical and military), each with its own set of values and duties, that could at first glance be considered to be very different or even incompatible. How, then, can military physicians reconcile these two codes of ethics and their distinct professional/institutional values, and assume their responsibilities towards both their patients and the military institution? To clarify this situation, and to show how such a reconciliation might be possible, we compared the history and content of two national professional codes of ethics: the Defence Ethics of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Code of Ethics of the Canadian Medical Association. Interestingly, even if the medical code is more focused on duties and responsibility while the military code is more focused on core values and is supported by a comprehensive ethical training program, they also have many elements in common. Further, both are based on the same core values of loyalty and integrity, and they are broad in scope but are relatively flexible in application. While there are still important sources of tension between and limits within these two codes of ethics, there are fewer differences than may appear at first glance because the core values and principles of military and medical ethics are not so different.

Restoring trust through bioethics education?

PubMed

Salerno, Judith A

2008-06-01

Ethically conducted research involving human participants is a cornerstone of the academic medical research establishment. However, there is public mistrust of clinical research and, as a result, low participation rates in research studies among minorities and in communities where health disparities are glaring. Specific initiatives have been undertaken by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to restore public confidence in biomedical research and to ensure that research is conducted ethically and responsibly. The T15 program, instituted in 1997, made awards beginning in 1998 to institutions for up to three years to develop, conduct, and evaluate short-term courses on ethical issues in research. A companion solicitation (K01 program) targeted the career development of independent investigators in applied research ethics through mentored scientist development awards in research ethics. Both programs emphasized ethical research involving human participants and outreach to minority scientists. The author asks how the success of these programs should be gauged, especially in light of new--and often unforeseen--ethical challenges that are likely to confront the research community. Participation in some T15 programs indicates that few researchers and practitioners perceived the need to increase their proficiency in analyzing the ethical dimensions of their work. To improve participation and, ultimately, ethical approaches to human participants research, the NIH should foster appreciation for the centrality of bioethics in the biomedical research enterprise. The author calls on the NIH to provide leadership for bioethics by further developing a national agenda for bioethics training and research.

Balancing between two goods: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and ethical compliancy considerations for privacy-sensitive materials in health sciences archival and historical special collections

PubMed Central

Gilliland, Anne T

2011-01-01

Objective: The investigation provides recommendations for establishing institutional collection guidelines and policies that protect the integrity of the historical record, while upholding the privacy and confidentiality of those who are protected by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or professional ethical standards. Methods: The authors completed a systematic historical investigation of the concepts of collection integrity, privacy, and confidentiality in the formal and informal legal and professional ethics literature and applied these standards to create best practices for institutional policies in these areas. Results: Through an in-depth examination of the historical concepts of privacy and confidentiality in the legal and professional ethics literature, the authors were able to create recommendations that would allow institutions to provide access to important, yet sensitive, materials, while complying with the standards set by HIPAA regulations and professional ethical expectations. Conclusion: With thoughtful planning, it is possible to balance the integrity of and access to the historical record of sensitive documents, while supporting the privacy protections of HIPAA and professional ethical standards. Although it is theorized that collection development polices of institutions have changed due to HIPAA legislation, additional research is suggested to see how various legal interpretations have affected the integrity of the historical record in actuality. PMID:21243051

Justice in jeopardy: a qualitative study of institutional ethics committees in New Delhi.

PubMed

Kandhari, Rohini

2013-01-01

Protecting the safety and welfare of clinical trial subjects is the primary responsibility of the multidisciplinary ethics committee. In India, ethics committees have come under increasing criticism for functioning as "secret societies unaccountable to the public" (1). Yet, little effort has been made to undertake qualitative research on the ethics review bodies. This article describes the essential findings of a study that aimed at providing an insight into the structure and functioning of institutional ethics committees (IECs) in selected hospitals in Delhi. Importantly, the study also attempted to investigate the challenges faced by IEC members that pose barriers to IEC performance and thus jeopardise a just and effective system of protection for the human trial subject.

Study of Ethical Values and Practices in Academic Programmes at a Higher Learning Institution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narayanasamy, Kogilah; Shetty, M. V.

The study on ethical values in academic programmes has attracted the attention of many researchers throughout the world especially in view of its important role today. Many academic programmes today focus on how to make profit both for the individual and the organization and on how to increase the firm`s market share and shareholders value and in the process may compromise on their ethical values and have unethical practices. Thus, this study is undertaken to evaluate the extent of integration of ethical values in the academic programmes of the higher learning operating institution involved with post graduate and higher level programs. The impact of demographics and race of the lecturer and students have been separately ascertained. The sample has been taken from one college, rated to be high in ethical values and practices, a sample of 120 students and 31 lecturers from a leading college (reputed for ethical values) have been collated and analyzed for validation of the objectives. The explanation on ethics has been done to a large extent in the study. The study also indicates the number of higher learning institutions to indicate the extent of impact if these issues are appropriately addressed. Government policy in this regard also needs to be reviewed and improved to avoid deterioration of ethical values and practices in the dynamic market place of today. This study review that, the level at which lecturers at the institutions have high ethical values and do incorporate it in their lectures and discussions in the classroom. The impact of demographic factors on the ethical values and practice of the lecturers have useful insights for academic staff recruitment and staff training. On the other hand, students` ethical values and behavior is a cause for concern to everyone as these future pillars of the nation have been found to have their ethical values and practices at low levels. The implications for the college management as to consider further emphasis on the teaching of ethics as a single subject, while incorporating a discussion of the ethical issues (like) related to the various subjects taught in the college. The college should also ensure that they support and nurture in cultivating of ethical values and practices in all aspects of their activities and operations. Eventually, this will ensure to provide advantageous environment for not only creating knowledgeable individuals but also ethical citizens and leaders.

Research Ethics: Researchers Consider How Best to Prevent Misconduct in Research in Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions Through Ethics Education.

PubMed

Olesen, Angelina Patrick; Amin, Latifah; Mahadi, Zurina

2018-05-01

The purpose of this study is to encourage and highlight discussion on how to improve the teaching of research ethics in institutions of higher education in Malaysia. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 21 academics in a research-intensive university in Malaysia, interviewees agreed on the importance of emphasizing the subject of research ethics among students, as well as academics or researchers. This study reveals that participants felt that there is an urgent need to improve the current awareness and knowledge of issues related to misconduct in research among students and academics. The results of this study indicate a need for better teaching on the subject of research ethics in order to prevent misconduct in research. Finally, it concludes with suggestions that there should be a clear definition of research misconduct, to include consequences when engaging in misconduct; a separate research ethics syllabus for pure and social sciences should be conducted; research ethics should be implemented as a core subject, and there should be an early intervention and continuous learning of research ethics, with an emphasis on ethics training.

Claiming an Ethic of Care for midwifery.

PubMed

MacLellan, Jennifer

2014-11-01

The public domain of midwifery practice, represented by the educational and hospital institutions could be blamed for a subconscious ethical dilemma for midwifery practitioners. The result of such tension can be seen in complaints from maternity service users of dehumanised care. When expectations are not met, women report dehumanising experiences that carry long term consequences to both them and their child. To revisit the ethical foundation of midwifery practice to reflect the feminist Ethic of Care and reframe what is valuable to women and midwives during the childbirth experience. A comprehensive literature review is presented from the midwifery and feminist ethics discourse. Nil to report. Women are vulnerable during childbirth as they need care, yet they prioritise elements of relationship in their experience. The Ethic of Care approach equalises the relationship between the midwife and the woman, providing the space for relationship building and allowing midwives to meet the expectations of their accepted responsibility. Some midwives manage to balance the demands of the institution with the needs of the woman. This is described as both an emotional and professionally challenging balancing act. Until there is a formal acknowledgement of the different ethical approach to midwifery practice from within the profession and the Institution, midwifery identity and practice will continue to be compromised. © The Author(s) 2014.

Parallel problems: Applying institutional corruption analysis of Congress to big pharma.

PubMed

Fields, Gregg

2013-01-01

Dennis Thompson and Lawrence Lessig are leading thinkers in the realm of institutional corruption, the notion that inappropriate dependencies and conflicts of interest undercut the ethical foundations of institutions on which society relies. Both are particularly known for their work on institutional corruption as it affects government and politics. This essay examines the applicability of their writing to the private sector, particularly as it relates to vital and influential industries like pharmaceuticals. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Spotlight on Ethics: Institutional Review Boards as Systemic Bullies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Caleb T.

2015-01-01

Bullying, often considered an interpersonal or intergroup behaviour, has not been explored as an unintended artefact of organisational structure. Institutional review boards (IRBs), the 'human research ethics committees' at US universities, help oversee the protection of human research subjects, particularly in the social sciences within…

Teaching with "Liangxin" (Virtuous Heart) Held in Hands or Not: Untangling Self- and State-Governmentalization of Contemporary Chinese Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, Weili

2014-01-01

Contemporary Chinese teachers are being transformed into morally divided subjects by institutional teacher-evaluation governance. They claim such institutional governance can "devour" their basic professional ethics of "teaching with 'liangxin'" (??), a reinvoked Confucian ethical notion. Then, how does "liangxin"…

A Primer on Research Ethics in the Field of Gifted Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moon, Tonya R.

2011-01-01

Most organizations (e.g., institutions of higher education, K-12 school systems) that engage in research with human subjects have institutional review boards (IRBs; also known as research committees) responsible for the oversight of research activities to ensure the ethical treatment of participants. Professional societies such as American…

Institutions and Scholars Face Ethical Dilemmas over Pursuit of Research with Commercial Value.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mangan, Katherine S.

1987-01-01

Increased university efforts to help faculty members transfer the results of their research from the laboratory to the marketplace are posing ethical dilemmas for both institutions and scholars. Stanford's Office of Technology Licensing is cited, as are biotechnology developments, and secrecy and competitiveness issues. (LB)

[Research ethics committees: a necessary good].

PubMed

Riera, Alejandra V

2013-12-01

The Nuremberg Code, issued as the result of the deliberations of the Nuremberg Trials, which judged the atrocities carried out during Nazi Germany (1933-1945), was the first universal document that defined research ethics principles for human experimentation. This code served as the basis for the subsequent ethical codes and principles used today by the Research Ethics Committees. The Research Ethics Committee is a multidisciplinary body whose primary role is to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects through the review of research protocols, ensuring compliance with internationally and locally accepted ethical guidelines. Worldwide, there have been important improvements in order to promote and regulate bioethics in medical research. In Venezuela, several national organizations have been constituted with the aim of promoting the establishment of ethics committees; however, there has not been a significant progress in the quantity or quality of the functioning of Research Ethics Committees in the country. It is imperative for each research institution to establish and work to improve their ethics committee to ensure the quality of the clinical research conducted, making it adherent to ethical codes, and safeguarding the integrity and credibility of the investigators and the research institutions, and more importantly, the patient's rights.

Prevalence and content of written ethics policies on euthanasia in Catholic healthcare institutions in Belgium (Flanders).

PubMed

Gastmans, Chris; Lemiengre, Joke; van der Wal, Gerrit; Schotsmans, Paul; Dierckx de Casterlé, Bernadette

2006-04-01

Euthanasia is performed worldwide, regardless of the existence of laws governing it. Belgium became the second country in the world to enact a law on euthanasia in 2002. Healthcare institutions bear responsibility for guaranteeing the quality of care for patients at the end of life, and for ensuring support for caregivers involved. Therefore, institutional ethics policies on end-of-life decision-making, especially on euthanasia, may be useful. A cross-sectional mail survey of general directors of Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium was used to describe the prevalence and content of written ethics policies for competent terminally ill, incompetent terminally ill, and non-terminally ill patients. Of the 298 targeted institutions, 81% of hospitals and 62% of nursing homes returned complete questionnaires. Of these, 79% of hospitals and 30% of nursing homes had a written ethics policy on euthanasia. Of hospitals 83% and of nursing homes 85% permitted euthanasia for competent terminally ill patients only in exceptional cases in accordance with legal due care criteria and provisions outlined by the palliative filter procedure. Euthanasia for incompetent terminally ill patients was prohibited by 27% of the hospitals and by 60% of the nursing homes. For non-terminally ill patients, these figures were 43 and 64%, respectively. Catholic healthcare institutions in Belgium (Flanders) made great efforts to develop written ethics policies on euthanasia. Only a small group of institutions completely prohibited euthanasia. Most of the institutions considered euthanasia to be an option if all possible alternatives (e.g., palliative filter procedure, which contains more rigorous criteria than those in the Belgian Euthanasia Act), have been thoroughly investigated.

Maintaining respect and fairness in the usage of stored shared specimens.

PubMed

Mduluza, Takafira; Midzi, Nicholas; Duruza, Donold; Ndebele, Paul

2013-01-01

Every year, research specimens are shipped from one institution to another as well as across national boundaries. A significant proportion of specimens move from poor to rich countries. Concerns are always raised on the future usage of the stored specimens shipped to research institutions from developing countries. Creating awareness of the processes is required in all sectors involved in biomedical research. To maintain fairness and respect in sharing biomedical specimens and research products requires safeguarding by Ethics Review Committees in both provider and recipient institutions. Training in basic ethical principles in research is required to all sectors involved in biomedical research so as to level up the research playing field. By agreeing to provide specimens, individuals and communities from whom samples are collected would have placed their trust and all ensuing up-keep of the specimens to the researchers. In most collaborative set-up, laid down material transfer agreements are negotiated and signed before the shipment of specimens. Researchers, research ethics committees (RECs) and institutions in the countries of origin are supposed to serve as overseers of the specimens. There is need to advocate for honesty in sample handling and sharing, and also need to oversee any written commitments by researchers, RECs and institutions at source as well as in recipient institution. Commitments from source RECs and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and in the receiving institution on overseeing the future usage of stored specimens are required; including the ultimate confirmation abiding by the agreement. Training in ethical issues pertaining to sample handling and biomedical research in general is essential at all levels of academic pursuit. While sharing of biological specimens and research data demands honesty and oversight by ethical regulatory agents from both institutions in developing country and recipient institutions in developed countries. Archiving of biological specimens requires reconsideration for the future of biomedical findings and scientific break-throughs. Biomedical ethical regulations still need to established clear viable regulations that have vision for the future of science through shared and archived samples. This discussion covers and proposes essential points that need to be considered in view of future generations and scientific break-throughs. The discussion is based on the experience of working in resource-limited settings, the local regulatory laws and the need to refine research regulations governing sharing and storage of specimens for the future of science.

Ethical Responsibility Key to Computer Security.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynn, M. Stuart

1989-01-01

The pervasiveness of powerful computers and computer networks has raised the specter of new forms of abuse and of concomitant ethical issues. Blurred boundaries, hackers, the Computer Worm, ethical issues, and implications for academic institutions are discussed. (MLW)

The HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute: Training Early-Career Scientists to Conduct Research on Research Ethics.

PubMed

Fisher, Celia B; Yuko, Elizabeth

2015-12-01

The responsible conduct of HIV/drug abuse prevention research requires investigators with both the knowledge of and ability to generate empirical data that can enhance global ethical practices and policies. This article describes a multidisciplinary program offering early-career professionals a 2-year intensive summer curriculum along with funding to conduct a mentored research study on a wide variety of HIV/drug abuse research ethics topics. Now in its fifth year, the program has admitted 29 trainees who have to date demonstrated increased knowledge of research ethics, produced 17 peer-reviewed publications, 46 professional presentations, and submitted or been awarded five related federal grants. The institute also hosts a global information platform providing general and HIV/drug abuse relevant research ethics educational and research resources that have had more than 38,800 unique visitors from more than 150 countries. © The Author(s) 2015.

The HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute: Training Early-Career Scientists to Conduct Research on Research Ethics

PubMed Central

Fisher, Celia B.; Yuko, Elizabeth

2018-01-01

The responsible conduct of HIV/drug abuse prevention research requires investigators with both the knowledge of and ability to generate empirical data that can enhance global ethical practices and policies. This article describes a multidisciplinary program offering early-career professionals a 2-year intensive summer curriculum along with funding to conduct a mentored research study on a wide variety of HIV/drug abuse research ethics topics. Now in its fifth year, the program has admitted 29 trainees who have to date demonstrated increased knowledge of research ethics, produced 17 peer-reviewed publications, 46 professional presentations, and submitted or been awarded five related federal grants. The institute also hosts a global information platform providing general and HIV/drug abuse relevant research ethics educational and research resources that have had more than 38,800 unique visitors from more than 150 countries. PMID:26564944

Steps to strengthen ethics in organizations: research findings, ethics placebos, and what works.

PubMed

Pope, Kenneth S

2015-01-01

Research shows that many organizations overlook needs and opportunities to strengthen ethics. Barriers can make it hard to see the need for stronger ethics and even harder to take effective action. These barriers include the organization's misleading use of language, misuse of an ethics code, culture of silence, strategies of justification, institutional betrayal, and ethical fallacies. Ethics placebos tend to take the place of steps to see, solve, and prevent problems. This article reviews relevant research and specific steps that create change.

The Role of Ethics in Reducing and Improving the Quality of Coercion in Mental Health Care.

PubMed

Norvoll, Reidun; Hem, Marit Helene; Pedersen, Reidar

2017-03-01

Coercion in mental health care gives rise to many ethical challenges. Many countries have recently implemented state policy programs or development projects aiming to reduce coercive practices and improve their quality. Few studies have explored the possible role of ethics (i.e., ethical theory, moral deliberation and clinical ethics support) in such initiatives. This study adds to this subject by exploring health professionals' descriptions of their ethical challenges and strategies in everyday life to ensure morally justified coercion and best practices. Seven semi-structured telephone interviews were carried out in 2012 with key informants in charge of central development projects and quality-assurance work in mental health services in Norway. No facilities used formal clinical ethics support. However, the informants described five areas in which ethics was of importance: moral concerns as implicit parts of local quality improvement initiatives; moral uneasiness and idealism as a motivational source of change; creating a normative basis for development work; value-based leadership; and increased staff reflexivity on coercive practices. The study shows that coercion entails both individual and institutional ethical aspects. Thus, various kinds of moral deliberation and ethics support could contribute to addressing coercion challenges by offering more systematic ways of dealing with moral concerns. However, more strategic use of implicit and institutional ethics is also needed.

House Rules: Using the Television Series "House" to Teach Research Ethics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, Urkovia

2013-01-01

The purpose of this exercise is to get students to relay and connect with the impact of ethics on public relations research. Students will begin to realize and analyze how their personal ethics influence their professional ethics choices. This is conceptualized through the completion of the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)…

For Researchers on Animals, Ethics Training Is Sparse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keller, Josh

2008-01-01

While the past several decades have brought federal regulations that are designed to make animal research more humane, ethics courses still form only a patchwork across colleges. The amount and types of ethical training available to students vary widely by program and the culture of an institution. Now discussions about animal-research ethics that…

The context of ethics in the health care industry.

PubMed

Wells, B; Spinks, N

1996-01-01

Examines ethics in the health care industry from the perspectives of investors, employees, patients, competitors and the environment. Ethical behaviour in the health care industry is essential and desirable; however, determining which behavioural actions are ethical and which are unethical is difficult. Although never will everyone agree on specific ethical standards, everyone should agree that setting ethical standards is vital. Therefore, administrators of health care institutions and health care providers should work together to establish codes of ethics which define boundaries for ethical behaviours in the health care industry.

5 CFR 5501.111 - Awards tendered to employees of the National Institutes of Health.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... HUMAN SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES § 5501.111 Awards tendered to employees of the National Institutes of Health. (a... approved in writing in advance in accordance with procedures specified by the designated agency ethics...

5 CFR 5501.111 - Awards tendered to employees of the National Institutes of Health.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... HUMAN SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES § 5501.111 Awards tendered to employees of the National Institutes of Health. (a... approved in writing in advance in accordance with procedures specified by the designated agency ethics...

5 CFR 5501.111 - Awards tendered to employees of the National Institutes of Health.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... HUMAN SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES § 5501.111 Awards tendered to employees of the National Institutes of Health. (a... approved in writing in advance in accordance with procedures specified by the designated agency ethics...

Undergraduate Engineering Students' Attitudes and Perceptions towards "Professional Ethics" Course: A Case Study of India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sethy, Satya Sundar

2017-01-01

"Professional Ethics" has been offered as a compulsory course to undergraduate engineering students in a premier engineering institution of India. It was noticed that students' perceptions and attitudes were frivolous and ornamental towards this course. Course instructors and institution authorities were motivated to find out the factors…

Challenges of Postmodern Thought in Christian Higher Education Institutions: Implications for Ethical Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darroux, Dean A.

2013-01-01

The study investigated the question: What is the process that Christian higher education administrators and faculty members used when understanding the challenges of postmodern thought at the institutions, and what are the challenges for ethical leadership? Utilizing a grounded theory methodology, the researcher sought to develop a theory that…

Promoting Ethical Competencies: Education for Democratic Citizenship in a Mexican Institution of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patino-Gonzalez, Susana

2009-01-01

Higher education institutions have a responsibility to promote the development of students' ethical and citizenship competencies, especially in contexts of major social inequality. Graduates, who constitute a very small percentage of the population in Mxico, are the best qualified to conceive of creative alternatives to resolve its demanding…

English Language Teaching and the Promotion of Academic Ethics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ntombela, Berrington

2011-01-01

Institutions of higher learning carry a burden of inculcating a culture of academic ethical behaviour among students as part of their responsibility to produce citizens of high calibre. In fact, this burden is more expedient and pronounced because of aberrant behaviours such as cheating that can potentially affect institutions' credibility. This…

Getting from A to IRB: developing an institutional review board at a historically black university.

PubMed

Howard, Daniel L; Boyd, Carlton L; Nelson, Daniel K; Godley, Paul

2010-03-01

Shaw University, the oldest historically black college or university in the southern USA, recently partnered with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a major research institution in North Carolina, to further develop Shaw's research infrastructure. One aim of the partnership involved establishing a human research ethics committee and an accompanying administrative structure and research ethics education program. This paper describes the process of developing an entire human research protection program de novo through collaboration with and mentoring by the members of the human research protection program at a nearby major research institution. This paper provides a detailed description of the aims, procedures, accomplishments, and challenges involved in such a project, which may serve as a useful model for other primarily teaching institutions wishing to develop research infrastructure and ethical capacity.

Getting From A to IRB: Developing an Institutional Review Board at a Historically Black University

PubMed Central

Howard, Daniel L.; Boyd, Carlton L.; Nelson, Daniel K.; Godley, Paul

2011-01-01

Shaw University, the oldest historically black college or university in the southern USA, recently partnered with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a major research institution in North Carolina, to further develop Shaw’s research infrastructure. One aim of the partnership involved establishing a human research ethics committee and an accompanying administrative structure and research ethics education program. This paper describes the process of developing an entire human research protection program de novo through collaboration with and mentoring by the members of the human research protection program at a nearby major research institution. This paper provides a detailed description of the aims, procedures, accomplishments, and challenges involved in such a project, which may serve as a useful model for other primarily teaching institutions wishing to develop research infrastructure and ethical capacity. PMID:20235865

Institutional ethics committees as social justice advocates.

PubMed

Farley, M A

1984-10-01

The idea of involvement in social justice issues transcends the traditional responsibilities of most institutional ethics committees (IECs). Yet precedents for such an advocacy role exist in several areas: the development of regulations that protect handicapped newborns from discriminatory decisions of nontreatment and the institutional committees that review research protocols or formulate "do not resuscitate" policies. The need for IECs to take up social justice issues is based in the concepts of autonomy--the capacity for freedom of choice--and relationality--the capacity to known and to love. All the human ethical questions of freedom, well-being, and justice emerge in the health care setting, where the concepts of autonomy and relationality are intently focused on and sometimes threatened. If a health care institution is to address such questions as affirmative action policies in financing and purchasing, the just pricing of medical care, the ethics of treatment decisions, and the right to medical care, it needs a forum in which to deliberate, collaborate, and discern responsible corporate moral action. For example, an ethics committee can: Call for correction of problems of sexism, racism, and classism in health care institutions; Address government regulations in a way that enables a better understanding of professional commitments; and Lead facilities to discover ways to network with others to meet the needs of the populations they serve. Above all, IECs can help health care professionals find a new "hermeneutic" for interpreting the health care mission to allow them greater power to respond to the dignity and the needs of human persons.

Evaluating institutional capacity for research ethics in Africa: a case study from Botswana.

PubMed

Hyder, Adnan A; Zafar, Waleed; Ali, Joseph; Ssekubugu, Robert; Ndebele, Paul; Kass, Nancy

2013-07-30

The increase in the volume of research conducted in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC), has brought a renewed international focus on processes for ethical conduct of research. Several programs have been initiated to strengthen the capacity for research ethics in LMIC. However, most such programs focus on individual training or development of ethics review committees. The objective of this paper is to present an approach to institutional capacity assessment in research ethics and application of this approach in the form of a case study from an institution in Africa. We adapted the Octagon model originally used by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to assess an organization along eight domains in research ethics: basic values and identity; structure and organization; ability to carry out activities; relevance of activities to stated goals; capacity of staff and management; administrative, financing and accounting systems; its relations with target groups; and the national context. We used a mixed methods approach to collect empirical data at the University of Botswana from March to December 2010. The overall shape of the external evaluation Octagon suggests that strengths of the University of Botswana are in the areas of structure, relevance, production and identity; while the university still needs more work in the areas of systems of finance, target groups, and environment. The Octagons also show the similarities and discrepancies between the 'external' and 'internal' evaluations and provide an opportunity for exploration of these different assessments. For example, the discrepant score for 'identity' between internal and external evaluations allows for an exploration of what constitutes a strong identity for research ethics at the University of Botswana and how it can be strengthened. There is a general lack of frameworks for evaluating research ethics capacity in LMICs. We presented an approach that stresses evaluation from both internal and external perspectives. This case study highlights the university's rapid progress in developing research ethics capacity and points to some notable areas for improvement. We believe that such an empirically-driven and participatory assessment allows a more holistic measurement and promotion of institutional capacity strengthening for research ethics in LMICs.

Evaluating institutional capacity for research ethics in Africa: a case study from Botswana

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The increase in the volume of research conducted in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC), has brought a renewed international focus on processes for ethical conduct of research. Several programs have been initiated to strengthen the capacity for research ethics in LMIC. However, most such programs focus on individual training or development of ethics review committees. The objective of this paper is to present an approach to institutional capacity assessment in research ethics and application of this approach in the form of a case study from an institution in Africa. Methods We adapted the Octagon model originally used by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to assess an organization along eight domains in research ethics: basic values and identity; structure and organization; ability to carry out activities; relevance of activities to stated goals; capacity of staff and management; administrative, financing and accounting systems; its relations with target groups; and the national context. We used a mixed methods approach to collect empirical data at the University of Botswana from March to December 2010. Results The overall shape of the external evaluation Octagon suggests that strengths of the University of Botswana are in the areas of structure, relevance, production and identity; while the university still needs more work in the areas of systems of finance, target groups, and environment. The Octagons also show the similarities and discrepancies between the 'external' and 'internal' evaluations and provide an opportunity for exploration of these different assessments. For example, the discrepant score for 'identity' between internal and external evaluations allows for an exploration of what constitutes a strong identity for research ethics at the University of Botswana and how it can be strengthened. Conclusions There is a general lack of frameworks for evaluating research ethics capacity in LMICs. We presented an approach that stresses evaluation from both internal and external perspectives. This case study highlights the university's rapid progress in developing research ethics capacity and points to some notable areas for improvement. We believe that such an empirically-driven and participatory assessment allows a more holistic measurement and promotion of institutional capacity strengthening for research ethics in LMICs. PMID:23899301

Research Ethics Capacity Building in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of NIH Fogarty-Funded Programs 2000–2012

PubMed Central

Ndebele, Paul; Wassenaar, Douglas; Benatar, Solomon; Fleischer, Theodore; Kruger, Mariana; Adebamowo, Clement; Kass, Nancy; Hyder, Adnan A.; Meslin, Eric M.

2014-01-01

The last fifteen years have witnessed a significant increase in investment in research ethics capacity development throughout the world. We examine nine research ethics training programs that are focused on Sub-Saharan Africa and supported by the US National Institutes of Health. We collected data from grants awards’ documents and annual reports supplemented by questionnaires completed by the training program directors. Together, these programs provided long-term training in research ethics to 275 African professionals, strengthened research ethics committees in 19 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and created research ethics curricula at many institutions and bioethics centers within Africa. Trainees’ leadership resulted in new national systems and policies on research ethics, human tissue storage and export, and methods of monitoring compliance with research ethics guidelines. Training programs adapted to challenges that arose due to varied trainees’ background knowledge in ethics, duration of time available for training, spoken and written English language skills, administrative obstacles, and the need to sustain post-training research ethics activities. Our report showcases the development of awareness of research ethics and building/strengthening of basic research ethics infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless, the increasing amount and complexity of health research being conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa suggests the need for continued investment in research ethics capacity development in this region. This paper is part of a collection of papers analyzing the Fogarty International Center’s International Research Ethics Education and Curriculum Development program. PMID:24782070

A Scoping Study on the Ethics of Health Systems Research.

PubMed

Bachani, Abdulgafoor M; Rattani, Abbas; Hyder, Adnan A

2016-12-01

Currently, health systems research (HSR) is reviewed by the same ethical standards as clinical research, which has recently been argued in the literature to be an inappropriate standard of evaluation. The issues unique to HSR warrant a different review by research ethics committees (RECs), as it does not impose the same risks to study participants as other types of clinical or public health research. However, there are limited tools and supporting documents that clarify the ethical considerations. Therefore, there is a need for additional reflection around ethical review of HSR and their consideration by RECs. The purpose of this paper is to review, understand, and synthesize the current state of literature and practice to inform these deliberations and the larger discourse on ethics review guidelines for HSR. This paper presents a review of the literature on ethics of HSR in the biomedical, public health, and implementation research to identify ethical considerations specific to HSR; and to identify examples of commonly available guidance and/or tools for the ethical review of HSR studies. Fifteen articles were identified on HSR ethics issues, and forty-two international academic institutions were contacted (of the responses (n=29), no institution had special ethical guidelines for reviewing HSR) about their HSR ethics review guidelines. There appears to be a clear gap in the current health research ethics discourse around health systems research ethics. This review serves as a first step (to better understand the current status) towards a larger dialogue on the topic. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Research ethics capacity building in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of NIH Fogarty-funded programs 2000–2012.

PubMed

Ndebele, Paul; Wassenaar, Douglas; Benatar, Solomon; Fleischer, Theodore; Kruger, Mariana; Adebamowo, Clement; Kass, Nancy; Hyder, Adnan A; Meslin, Eric M

2014-04-01

The last fifteen years have witnessed a significant increase in investment in research ethics capacity development throughout the world. We examine nine research ethics training programs that are focused on Sub-Saharan Africa and supported by the US National Institutes of Health. We collected data from grants awards' documents and annual reports supplemented by questionnaires completed by the training program directors. Together, these programs provided long-term training in research ethics to 275 African professionals, strengthened research ethics committees in 19 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and created research ethics curricula at many institutions and bioethics centers within Africa. Trainees' leadership resulted in new national systems and policies on research ethics, human tissue storage and export, and methods of monitoring compliance with research ethics guidelines. Training programs adapted to challenges that arose due to varied trainees' background knowledge in ethics, duration of time available for training, spoken and written English language skills, administrative obstacles, and the need to sustain post-training research ethics activities. Our report showcases the development of awareness of research ethics and building/strengthening of basic research ethics infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless, the increasing amount and complexity of health research being conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa suggests the need for continued investment in research ethics capacity development in this region. This paper is part of a collection of papers analyzing the Fogarty International Center's International Research Ethics Education and Curriculum Development program.

Maintaining respect and fairness in the usage of stored shared specimens

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Every year, research specimens are shipped from one institution to another as well as across national boundaries. A significant proportion of specimens move from poor to rich countries. Concerns are always raised on the future usage of the stored specimens shipped to research insitutions from developing countries. Creating awareness of the processes is required in all sectors involved in biomedical research. To maintain fairness and respect in sharing biomedical specimens and reserch products requires safeguarding by Ethics Review Committees in both provider and recepient institutions. Training in basic ethical principles in research is required to all sectors involved in biomedical research so as to level up the research playing field. Discussion By agreeing to provide specimens, individuals and communities from whom samples are collected would have placed their trust and all ensuing up-keep of the specimens to the researchers. In most collaborative set-up, laid down material transfer agreements are negotiated and signed before the shipment of specimens. Researchers, research ethics committees (RECs) and institutions in the countries of origin are supposed to serve as overseers of the specimens. There is need to advocate for honesty in sample handling and sharing, and also need to oversee any written commitments by researchers, RECs and institutions at source as well as in recipient institution. Commitments from source RECs and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and in the receiving institution on overseeing the future usage of stored specimens are required; including the ultimate confirmation abiding by the agreement. Training in ethical issues pertaining to sample handling and biomedical research in general is essential at all levels of academic pursuit. While sharing of biological specimens and research data demands honesty and oversight by ethical regulatory agents from both institutions in developing country and recepient institutions in developed countries. Concluding summary Archiving of biological specimens requires reconsideration for the future of biomedical findings and scientific break-throughs. Biomedical ethical regulations still need to established clear viable regulations that have vision for the future of science through shared and archived samples. This discussion covers and proposes essential points that need to be considered in view of future generations and scientific break-throughs. The discussion is based on the experience of working in resource-limited settings, the local regulatory laws and the need to refine research regulations governing sharing and storage of specimens for the future of science. PMID:24565022

A scoping review of reporting 'Ethical Research Practices' in research conducted among refugees and war-affected populations in the Arab world.

PubMed

Makhoul, Jihad; Chehab, Rana F; Shaito, Zahraa; Sibai, Abla M

2018-05-15

Ethical research conduct is a cornerstone of research practice particularly when research participants include vulnerable populations. This study mapped the extent of reporting ethical research practices in studies conducted among refugees and war-affected populations in the Arab World, and assessed variations by time, country of study, and study characteristics. An electronic search of eight databases resulted in 5668 unique records published between 2000 and 2013. Scoping review yielded 164 eligible articles for analyses. Ethical research practices, including obtaining institutional approval, access to the community/research site, and informed consent/assent from the research participants, were reported in 48.2, 54.9, and 53.7% of the publications, respectively. Institutional approval was significantly more likely to be reported when the research was biomedical in nature compared to public health and social (91.7% vs. 54.4 and 32.4%), when the study employed quantitative compared to qualitative or mixed methodologies (61.7% vs. 26.8 and 42.9%), and when the journal required a statement on ethical declarations (57.4% vs. 27.1%). Institutional approval was least likely to be reported in papers that were sole-authored (9.5%), when these did not mention a funding source (29.6%), or when published in national journals (0%). Similar results were obtained for access to the community site and for seeking informed consent/assent from study participants. The responsibility of inadequacies in adherence to ethical research conduct in crisis settings is born by a multitude of stakeholders including funding agencies, institutional research boards, researchers and international relief organizations involved in research, as well as journal editors, all of whom need to play a more proactive role for enhancing the practice of ethical research conduct in conflict settings.

Site Variability in Regulatory Oversight for an International Study of Pediatric Sepsis.

PubMed

Michelson, Kelly N; Reubenson, Gary; Weiss, Scott L; Fitzgerald, Julie C; Ackerman, Kate K; Christie, LeeAnn; Bush, Jenny L; Nadkarni, Vinay M; Thomas, Neal J; Schreiner, Mark S

2018-04-01

Duplicative institutional review board/research ethics committee review for multicenter studies may impose administrative burdens and inefficiencies affecting study implementation and quality. Understanding variability in site-specific institutional review board/research ethics committee assessment and barriers to using a single review committee (an increasingly proposed solution) can inform a more efficient process. We provide needed data about the regulatory oversight process for the Sepsis PRevalence, OUtcomes, and Therapies multicenter point prevalence study. Survey. Sites invited to participate in Sepsis PRevalence, OUtcomes, and Therapies. Investigators at sites that expressed interest and/or participated in Sepsis PRevalence, OUtcomes, and Therapies. None. Using an electronic survey, we collected data about 1) logistics of protocol submission, 2) institutional review board/research ethics committee requested modifications, and 3) use of a single institutional review board (for U.S. sites). We collected surveys from 104 of 167 sites (62%). Of the 97 sites that submitted the protocol for institutional review board/research ethics committee review, 34% conducted full board review, 54% expedited review, and 4% considered the study exempt. Time to institutional review board/research ethics committee approval required a median of 34 (range 3-186) days, which took longer at sites that required protocol modifications (median [interquartile range] 50 d [35-131 d] vs 32 d [14-54 d)]; p = 0.02). Enrollment was delayed at eight sites due to prolonged (> 50 d) time to approval. Of 49 U.S. sites, 43% considered using a single institutional review board, but only 18% utilized this option. Time to final approval for U.S. sites using the single institutional review board was 62 days (interquartile range, 34-70 d) compared with 34 days (interquartile range, 15-54 d) for nonsingle institutional review board sites (p = 0.16). Variability in regulatory oversight was evident for this minimal-risk observational research study, most notably in the category of type of review conducted. Duplicative review prolonged time to protocol approval at some sites. Use of a single institutional review board for U.S. sites was rare and did not improve efficiency of protocol approval. Suggestions for minimizing these challenges are provided.

A Predictive Study of Community College Faculty Perceptions of Student Academic Preparation, Work Ethics, and Institutional Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibezim-Uche, Scholar

2013-01-01

Examined in this study were faculty perceptions of students who do not continue their college education. Also examined was how urban and rural community colleges faculty perceived academic preparation, work ethics, and institutional support as predictors of student success. In this predictive study of community college faculty, 36 faculty members…

Ethical Climate, Organizational Commitment, and Job Satisfaction of Full-Time Faculty Members

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Heather Louise

2012-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative study was to better understand the relationship of perceived ethical climate on the organizational commitment and job satisfaction of full-time faculty members in institutions of higher education. Full-time faculty members are the forefront employees of any educational institution, and they have a direct impact on…

Moral Judgments of Chief Academic Officers at Institutions of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Megan D.

2012-01-01

Chief Academic Officers (CAO) are leaders in institutions of higher education and have wide decision-making scope. Previous research has clearly demonstrated the need for leaders to engage in ethical decision-making. Moral judgments are an aspect of ethical decision-making, so it is important for CAOs to make moral judgments. This study examined…

The institutional turn in professional ethics.

PubMed

Thompson, Dennis F

1999-01-01

The traditional ideal in which professionals alone or in small groups serve their patients and clients in accord with a public-spirited goal is giving way to practice in which professionals serve in organizations that value mainly their expertise and expect them to act in accord with the organization's goals. The study of professional ethics has not kept pace with this trend and, as a result, has neglected the institutional aspects of ethical problems. I focus attention on these aspects by considering a case that raises 2 problems that are particularly relevant in the context in which professionals now practice: the problem of representation (whom does the professional act for) and the problem of authority (who has the right to make the policy for the institution).

Ethics in Physical and Sport Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spencer, Albert F.

1996-01-01

This article focuses on ways to integrate ethical issues in physical and sport education into professional action without involving institutional control, considering an individual approach to teaching-coaching practices that builds students' ethical decision making skills and develops character. Issues for group discussion and individual…

Steps to Strengthen Ethics in Organizations: Research Findings, Ethics Placebos, and What Works

PubMed Central

Pope, Kenneth S.

2015-01-01

Research shows that many organizations overlook needs and opportunities to strengthen ethics. Barriers can make it hard to see the need for stronger ethics and even harder to take effective action. These barriers include the organization’s misleading use of language, misuse of an ethics code, culture of silence, strategies of justification, institutional betrayal, and ethical fallacies. Ethics placebos tend to take the place of steps to see, solve, and prevent problems. This article reviews relevant research and specific steps that create change. PMID:25602131

A call for responsibility in ethical issues for IS professionals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Palmiter, C.W.

1994-12-31

In recent years there has been increased interest in the ethical values, beliefs and behavior of persons in the business world. Public abhorrence of questionable behavior of politicians, the savings and loan scandal and insider trading violations are just a few examples of many problems in business and professional life. A 1992 study by the Josephson Institute of Ethics involving 9,000 young people and adults revealed alarmingly low ethical characteristics in American institutions. Ferrell and Fraedrick have concluded that {open_quotes}business ethics is one of the most important concerns in today`s business world.{close_quote} A few professional organizations have tried to comprehendmore » the ethical values, beliefs and behavior of their constituents. Vittrell has studied the frequency of ethical behavior for management information specialists. Martin and Peterson have examined the ethical issues of insider trading. Fimbel and Burstein have investigated the ethical values of technology professionals. Thornburg made use of a survey concerning the ethical beliefs and practices of human resources professionals. On a preliminary basis, these studies indicate the various ethical issues and uncertainties which are problematic for members of the various professions. Most business people are ethical segregationists, that is they tend to segregate their ethical values into one type of behavior for business and another type of behavior away from business. Managers accused of unethical behavior respond with, III am not that type of person. I am active in my church, in community affairs, a good family man, and so on.« less

Unesco's Global Ethics Observatory

PubMed Central

Have, H ten; Ang, T W

2007-01-01

The Global Ethics Observatory, launched by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in December 2005, is a system of databases in the ethics of science and technology. It presents data on experts in ethics, on institutions (university departments and centres, commissions, councils and review boards, and societies and associations) and on teaching programmes in ethics. It has a global coverage and will be available in six major languages. Its aim is to facilitate the establishment of ethical infrastructures and international cooperation all around the world. PMID:17209103

"It's like Tuskegee in reverse": a case study of ethical tensions in institutional review board review of community-based participatory research.

PubMed

Malone, Ruth E; Yerger, Valerie B; McGruder, Carol; Froelicher, Erika

2006-11-01

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) addresses the social justice dimensions of health disparities by engaging marginalized communities, building capacity for action, and encouraging more egalitarian relationships between researchers and communities. CBPR may challenge institutionalized academic practices and the understandings that inform institutional review board deliberations and, indirectly, prioritize particular kinds of research. We present our attempt to study, as part of a CBPR partnership, cigarette sales practices in an inner-city community. We use critical and communitarian perspectives to examine the implications of the refusal of the university institutional review board (in this case, the University of California, San Francisco) to approve the study. CBPR requires expanding ethical discourse beyond the procedural, principle-based approaches common in biomedical research settings. The current ethics culture of academia may sometimes serve to protect institutional power at the expense of community empowerment.

Ethics Issues Arising in the Transition to Learning Health Care Systems: Results from Interviews with Leaders from 25 Health Systems.

PubMed

Morain, Stephanie R; Kass, Nancy E

2016-01-01

There is increased interest in transitioning to a "learning health care system" (LHCS). While this transition brings the potential for significant benefits, it also presents several ethical considerations. Identifying the ethical issues faced by institutions in this transition is critical for realizing the goals of learning health care so that these issues can be anticipated and, where possible, resolved. 29 semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with leaders within 25 health care institutions. Respondents were recruiting using purposive sampling, targeting institutions considered as LHCS leaders. All interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed. NVIVO10 software was used to support qualitative analysis. Respondents described seven ethical challenges: (1) ethical oversight of learning activities; (2) transparency of learning activities to patients; (3) potential tensions between improving quality and reducing costs; (4) data sharing and data management; (5) lag time between discovery and implementation; (6) transparency to patients about quality; and (7) randomization for quality improvement initiatives. To move towards LHCS, several ethical considerations require further attention, including: the continued appropriateness of the research-treatment distinction; policy frameworks for privacy and data sharing; informing patients about learning activities; obligations to share data on quality; and the potential for trade-offs between quality improvement and cost control. To our knowledge, this is the first project to ask leaders from health care systems committed to ongoing learning about the ethical issues they have faced in this effort. Their experiences can provide guidance on relevant ethical issues, and what might be done to resolve them.

Ethical perspectives in neuroscience nursing practice.

PubMed

Murphy, W J; Olsen, B J

1999-09-01

The role of neuroscience nurses in relation to ethical issues has become increasingly complex. Knowledge of ethical principles and theories assists the nurse in the development of a theoretical basis for resolution of ethical issues or concerns. Additionally, the nurse must possess information regarding practice codes or standards as well as legislative requirements. The nurse must act as an advocate for the patient and society through active participation in institutional ethics committees and legislative forums.

[Level of Development of Clinical Ethics Consultation in Psychiatry - Results of a Survey Among Psychiatric Acute Clinics and Forensic Psychiatric Hospitals].

PubMed

Gather, Jakov; Kaufmann, Sarah; Otte, Ina; Juckel, Georg; Schildmann, Jan; Vollmann, Jochen

2018-04-17

The aim of this article is to assess the level of development of clinical ethics consultation in psychiatric institutions in North Rhine-Westphalia. Survey among medical directors, directors of nursing and administrative directors of all psychiatric acute clinics and forensic psychiatric hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia. 113 persons working in psychiatric acute clinics responded (reponse rate: 48 %) and 13 persons working in forensic psychiatric hospitals (response rate 54 %). We received at least one response from 89 % of all psychiatric acute clinics and from 100 % of all forensic psychiatric hospitals. 90 % of the responding psychiatric acute clinics and 29 % of the responding forensic psychiatric hospitals have already implemented clinical ethics consultation. Clinical ethics consultation is more widespread in psychiatric institutions than was hitherto assumed. Future medical ethics research should therefore give greater attention to the methodology and the quality of clinical ethics consultation in psychiatric practice. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

The Impact of Religiously Affiliated Universities and Courses in Ethics and Religious Studies on Students' Attitude toward Business Ethics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Comegys, Charles

2010-01-01

Unfortunate unethical events are continuing in the business arena and now more than ever these business judgmental shortcoming focus attention on the ethics of business executives. Thus, colleges and universities must continue to address business ethics as they prepare and train the next generation of executives. Educational institutions should be…

The Irony of Ethics: (De)coding the Lived Experience of Women and Minority Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reybold, L. Earle

2014-01-01

What does it mean to "be" an ethical faculty member? A number of scholars point to legal and moral issues, aligning ethics with professional codes and regulated by institutional policy. From this perspective, being ethical is a matter of knowing and following the professional rules--the goal is to avoid certain actions. On the other…

Ethics approval: responsibilities of journal editors, authors and research ethics committees.

PubMed

Bain, Luchuo Engelbert

2017-01-01

Meaningful progress of medicine depends on research that must ultimately involve human subjects. Obtaining ethical approval therefore, especially in medical sciences, should be a moral reflex for researchers. This unfortunately is not the case, with numerous researchers bypassing the ethics approval procedure, or simply unaware of its importance. Good research involves risks taken by research participants and uses tax payers' money in the process. These mandates the research endeavor to aim at attaining the highest degree of respect for the sacrifices made by others for science. Most researchers mistake scientific clearance or approval, for ethics approval. For a study to be ethical sound, it must be scientifically sound. This is only one of the activities carried out during protocol review. It is not uncommon for sensitive ethical concerns, especially in the social sciences to be overlooked and considered not to be accompanied by any serious risks for the research participants.The researcher has the responsibility of systematically consulting the competent ethics committee for advice and consequent approvals or ethical waivers. Journal editors and reviewers have the duty to systematically evaluate the ethical soundness of manuscripts submitted for review. Capacity building in research ethics and institutional support for Research Ethics Committees to speed up protocol review could reduce the incentive of carrying out research in human subjects without ethics approvals. It is hypocritical and idle to continue to expect optimal reviews on time and of good quality, from ethics committees functioning purely on altruistic grounds. Capacity building for researchers in research ethics, and institutional reforms and support for Research Ethics Committees appear not to have received the attention they truly deserve.

The workers opinions have a value in the Code of Ethics: Analysis of the contributions of workers in virtual Forum Catalan Institute of Health.

PubMed

Peguero, Eva; Berenguera, Anna; Pujol-Ribera, Enriqueta; Roman, Begoña; Prieto, Carmen M; Terribas, Núria

2015-12-23

The Catalan Institute of Health (CIH) is the largest health services public provider in Catalonia. "CIH Code of Ethics Virtual Forum" (CEVF), was created within the Intranet of the CIH to facilitate participation among their employees. The current study aims to: a) Analyse the CIH workers' assessment of their own, their colleagues' and the organization's observance of ethical values; b) Identify the opinions, attitudes, experiences and practices related to the ethical values from the discourse of the workers that contributed voluntarily to the CEVF. Mixed methods study with convergent parallel design: 1. Cross sectional study by means of a self-administered, ad hoc, anonymous questionnaire to assess the observance of the ethical values of the CIH according to the participants. A total of 712 workers responded to the questionnaire. A descriptive, bivariate analysis of the results was carried out. 2. Qualitative study to determine the meaning for the workers of the ethical values put forward by the organization. Their individual opinions and experiences were explored by means of a thematic contents analysis of 225 comments posted in the CEVF. The study was conducted between May and December 2008. The average score for observance of the CE by the respondents themselves was high (over 4/5), between 3.5-4/5 for the observance by their colleagues and close to 3/5 for the CIH management. These results do not change when we compare by gender, age group and professional discipline. The comments on the values are information-rich, they mirror the ethical environment of the institution and show various ethical dilemmas and suggestions. Results show that it is feasible for a publicly funded health care organization to develop a CE with the participation of employees and the support of the management. Results underscore the relevance of this strategy for the implementation, improvement and update of the CE as a responsibility shared by all workers. Practices consistent with ethical values are rewarded by social approval, enhance employee's confidence and coherence in decision-making and improve public engagement and institutional policies.

School Administrators Who Serve in Different Institutions Ethical Dilemmas and Their Attitudes towards These Dilemmas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karayama, Saffet

2018-01-01

The aim of the study was to determine what ethical dilemmas are faced by school administrators working in different institutions, what they are doing to solve the dilemmas/according to the motives. The research is a patterned qualitative case study and multiple case design is used. 50 school administrators participated by easy-to-reach state…

The gap between law and ethics in human embryonic stem cell research: overcoming the effect of U.S. federal policy on research advances and public benefit.

PubMed

Taylor, Patrick L

2005-10-01

Key ethical issues arise in association with the conduct of stem cell research by research institutions in the United States. These ethical issues, summarized in detail, receive no adequate translation into federal laws or regulations, also described in this article. U.S. Federal policy takes a passive approach to these ethical issues, translating them simply into limitations on taxpayer funding, and foregoes scientific and ethical leadership while protecting intellectual property interests through a laissez faire approach to stem cell patents and licenses. Those patents and licenses, far from being scientifically and ethically neutral in effect, virtually prohibit commercially sponsored research that could otherwise be a realistic alternative to the federal funding gap. The lack of federal funding and related data-sharing principles, combined with the effect of U.S. patent policy, the lack of key agency guidance, and the proliferation of divergent state laws arising from the lack of Federal leadership, significantly impede ethical stem cell research in the United States, without coherently supporting any consensus ethical vision. Research institutions must themselves implement steps, described in the article, to integrate addressing ethical review with the many legal compliance issues U.S. federal and state laws create.

Ethics Issues for the College/University Lawyer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connell, Mary Ann

This paper addresses recurring ethical questions faced by college and university attorneys concerning who is the client, representation of individual and institutional defendants, and the witness-advocate rule. It also provides an overview of ethical considerations which can arise when the college/university attorney participates in the…

Ethical Principles, Practices, and Problems in Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baca, M. Carlota, Ed.; Stein, Ronald H., Ed.

Eighteen professionals analyze the ethical principles, practices, and problems in institutions of higher learning by examining the major issues facing higher education today. Focusing on ethical standards and judgements that affect decision-making and problem-solving, the contributors review the rights and responsibilities of academic freedom,…

The Care Dialog: the "ethics of care" approach and its importance for clinical ethics consultation.

PubMed

Schuchter, Patrick; Heller, Andreas

2018-03-01

Ethics consultation in institutions of the healthcare system has been given a standard form based on three pillars: education, the development of guidelines and concrete ethics consultation in case conferences. The spread of ethics committees, which perform these tasks on an organizational level, is a remarkable historic achievement. At the same time it cannot be denied that modern ethics consultation neglects relevant aspects of care ethics approaches. In our essay we present an "ethics of care" approach as well as an empirical pilot project-"Ethics from the bottom up"-which organizes ethics consultation based on this focus. Findings and philosophy of the project will be discussed as far as relevant for ethics consultation in the healthcare system.

The use of performance standards by AAALAC International to evaluate ethical review in European institutions.

PubMed

Guillen, Javier

2010-02-01

During the past several decades, society has become increasingly concerned about the welfare of animals used in research. Today, the public asks scientists to justify the use of research animals and to be accountable for their welfare. Research institutions, government bodies and other regulatory authorities have developed mechanisms to ensure that researchers follow the principles of the 3Rs and use and care for research animals in an ethical manner. Additionally, organizations such as the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC International) have developed voluntary programs that can help researchers to ensure that they are caring for research animals appropriately. The author discusses how AAALAC International uses performance standards to evaluate the ethical review processes of European institutions.

Evaluating ethics competence in medical education.

PubMed Central

Savulescu, J; Crisp, R; Fulford, K W; Hope, T

1999-01-01

We critically evaluate the ways in which competence in medical ethics has been evaluated. We report the initial stage in the development of a relevant, reliable and valid instrument to evaluate core critical thinking skills in medical ethics. This instrument can be used to evaluate the impact of medical ethics education programmes and to assess whether medical students have achieved a satisfactory level of performance of core skills and knowledge in medical ethics, within and across institutions. PMID:10536759

Business ethics in ethics committees?

PubMed

Boyle, P

1990-01-01

The "Ethics committees" column in this issue of the Hastings Center Report features an introduction by Cynthia B. Cohen and four brief commentaries on the roles hospital ethics committees may play in the making of institutional and public health care policy in the 1990s. The pros and cons of a broader, more public role for ethics committees in reconciling the business and patient care aspects of health care delivery are debated by Cohen in "Ethics committees as corporate and public policy advocates," and by Philip Boyle in this article. Boyle is an associate for ethical studies at The Hastings Center.

Digital Adultery, "Meta-Anon Widows," Real-World Divorce, and the Need for a Virtual Sexual Ethic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spencer, William David

Ethical issues that have emerged around relationships in virtual worlds can inform the way we approach the ethics of human/robot relationships. A workable ethic would be one that treats marriage as an enduring human institution and, while we value robots as worthy works of our hands, they are inappropriate partners for marital or sexual relationships.

Communicating Qualitative Research Study Designs to Research Ethics Review Boards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ells, Carolyn

2011-01-01

Researchers using qualitative methodologies appear to be particularly prone to having their study designs called into question by research ethics or funding agency review committees. In this paper, the author considers the issue of communicating qualitative research study designs in the context of institutional research ethics review and offers…

Raising the Bar: Ethics Education for Quality Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boon, Helen

2011-01-01

Since the 1970s an "ethics boom" has occurred to counter the disappearance of ethics education from tertiary institutions. This "boom" appears to be absent from teacher education programs in Australia and the United States. Given persistent calls to enhance teacher quality this is problematic because quality teaching is…

Finding The Right Way: Towards an Army Institutional Ethic

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-22

professionally and ethically," "demonstrate organisational values and codes of conduct," and "display high ethical and professional standards in all aspects of...government officials may find it necessary to violate that legal ban (official disobedience) in those instances.薍 Charitably , this is a tortured

Ethics as an Undergraduate Psychology Outcome: When, Where, and How to Teach It

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruiz, Ana; Warchal, Judith

2014-01-01

The American Psychological Association (APA) recently approved a new set of "Guidelines for the undergraduate psychology major, version 2.0" (APA, 2013a) which addressed ethics specifically. Yet the teaching of ethics receives little attention in publications, national and international institutes, and conferences. Few guidelines for…

Priming and Organizational Level Effects on Ethical Decision Making.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lautenschlager, Gary; Morris, Debbie

The study of ethical decision making has gained considerable interest among organizational scientists due to the widespread occurrence of wrongdoing in business, industry, government and various other institutions. This study examined the effects of priming and organizational level manipulation on an individual's ethical decision-making behavior.…

Examining Moral Reasoning and Ethical Decision Making among Mississippi's Community College Administrators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Vernesia Bracey

2010-01-01

As ethical dilemmas arise in community colleges, administrators make decisions that require sensitivity to the organizational, political, and environmental factors surrounding their particular institutional climates and locales. The moral reasoning and ethical decision-making of community college administrators were examined in this study. In…

The Problem of Loyalty in Teaching Character

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoll, Sharon K.

2012-01-01

In the last year, two prominent, famous, and revered coaches, Jim Tressel and Joe Paterno, committed disastrous lapses of ethics. Both coaches preached that sport and athletics build character. They either taught ethics or leadership courses at their institutions or were exemplars of ethical behavior in their personal and professional lives. Both…

The Rhetoric and Reality of Professional Ethics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cufaude, Jeffrey B.

1996-01-01

The ethical climate of organizations is discussed, and it is argued that the fostering of such a climate must be an intentional act of organizational leaders and members. Issues associated with fostering an ethical climate are outlined, a self-evaluation instrument for organizations and institutions is presented, and strategies for overcoming…

Ethical issues in the export, storage and reuse of human biological samples in biomedical research: perspectives of key stakeholders in Ghana and Kenya.

PubMed

Tindana, Paulina; Molyneux, Catherine S; Bull, Susan; Parker, Michael

2014-10-18

For many decades, access to human biological samples, such as cells, tissues, organs, blood, and sub-cellular materials such as DNA, for use in biomedical research, has been central in understanding the nature and transmission of diseases across the globe. However, the limitations of current ethical and regulatory frameworks in sub-Saharan Africa to govern the collection, export, storage and reuse of these samples have resulted in inconsistencies in practice and a number of ethical concerns for sample donors, researchers and research ethics committees. This paper examines stakeholders' perspectives of and responses to the ethical issues arising from these research practices. We employed a qualitative strategy of inquiry for this research including in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with key research stakeholders in Kenya (Nairobi and Kilifi), and Ghana (Accra and Navrongo). The stakeholders interviewed emphasised the compelling scientific importance of sample export, storage and reuse, and acknowledged the existence of some structures governing these research practices, but they also highlighted the pressing need for a number of practical ethical concerns to be addressed in order to ensure high standards of practice and to maintain public confidence in international research collaborations. These concerns relate to obtaining culturally appropriate consent for sample export and reuse, understanding cultural sensitivities around the use of blood samples, facilitating a degree of local control of samples and sustainable scientific capacity building. Drawing on these findings and existing literature, we argue that the ethical issues arising in practice need to be understood in the context of the interactions between host research institutions and local communities and between collaborating institutions. We propose a set of 'key points-to-consider' for research institutions, ethics committees and funding agencies to address these issues.

Forming engineers' sociocultural competence: Engineering ethics at tomsk polytechnic university

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galanina, E.; Dulzon, A.; Schwab, A.

2015-10-01

The aim of the present research is to discuss Tomsk Polytechnic University in respect of forming engineers’ sociocultural competence and teaching engineering ethics. Today international standards of training engineers cover efficient communication skills, ability to understand societal and environment context, professional and ethical responsibility. This article deals with the problem of contradiction between the need to form engineers’ sociocultural competence in Russian higher education institutions in order to meet the requirements of international accreditation organizations and the real capabilities of existing engineering curricula. We have described ethics teaching experience of TPU, studied the engineering master programs of TPU to see how the planned results are achieved. We have also given our recommendations to alter the structure of TPU educational curricula, which can also be applied in other higher education institutions.

Educating nurse leaders in ethics and end-of-life care.

PubMed

Simpson, M

1999-01-01

The Midwest Bioethics Center's Nursing Leadership Institute 1999 focused on leadership in ethics and end-of-life care. Twenty-four nurses attended the four-day retreat, during which national speakers, community experts, and Center staff facilitated the continuing education of nurse leaders dedicated to improving end-of-life care in their communities. All participants in the Institute agreed to design and implement a community project for their constituency. Project reports will be made prior to the next nursing leadership institute. This article examines the role of nurses in providing end-of-life care.

[Ethic rounds in intensive care. Possible instrument for a clinical-ethical assessment in intensive care units].

PubMed

Scheffold, N; Paoli, A; Gross, J; Riemann, U; Hennersdorf, M

2012-10-01

Ethical problems, such as medical end-of-life decisions or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment are viewed as an essential task in intensive care units. This article presents the ethics rounds as an instrument for evaluation of ethical problems in intensive care medicine units. The benchmarks of ethical reflection during the ethics rounds are considerations of ethical theory of principle-oriented medical ethics. Besides organizational aspects and the institutional framework, the role of the ethicist is described. The essential evaluation steps, as a basis of the ethics rounds are presented. In contrast to the clinical ethics consultation, the ethicist in the ethics rounds model is integrated as a member of the ward round team. Therefore ethical problems may be identified and analyzed very early before the conflict escalates. This preventive strategy makes the ethics rounds a helpful instrument in intensive care units.

Jurisdiction of the Medical Ethics Committees.

PubMed

Voljč, Božidar

2017-10-01

Ethical principles of assessing medical research are to the greatest extent defined by the Nuremberg Code, the Declarations of Geneva and Helsinki, and the Oviedo Convention. Pursuant to their directives various national Medical Ethics Committees (MECs) were established which assess the ethics of research according to the risk and benefit ratio of the persons involved. Following the example of other countries, medical ethics committees eventually appeared also in hospitals and some medical and educational institutions around Slovenia. Due to an increased number of ethical challenges, it is of great importance to define the jurisdiction of the Slovenian MECs in order to ensure their coordinated operation. Exclusive jurisdiction of the national MEC includes multicentre and multi-national research, drug research (phases 1-3), high-risk research and research related to doctoral theses. The jurisdiction of the sectoral MECs includes testing the conditions for research, monitoring the execution and overviewing the final reports. A more significant jurisdiction of the sectoral MEC is preserving an ethical environment in their institutions. A network of Slovenian MECs is to be organised in the form of a jurisdiction pyramid where each member has its own obligations and responsibilities and plays an important role in relation to the entire structure.

Moral distress in rehabilitation professionals: results from a hospital ethics survey.

PubMed

Mukherjee, Debjani; Brashler, Rebecca; Savage, Teresa A; Kirschner, Kristi L

2009-05-01

Moral distress in the rehabilitation setting was examined in a follow-up survey. The survey had 3 goals: (1) to systematically and anonymously gather data about the ethical issues that employees struggle with in their daily work; (2) to raise the visibility of the hospital-based ethics program and resources available to employees; and (3) to prioritize and focus the direction of the program's educational seminars, quality improvement projects, and ethics consultation. Online survey of employees. Urban rehabilitation system of care. The survey was open to all employees; 207 completed the survey. N/A MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: N/A CONCLUSIONS: Three broad categories of moral distress were identified: institutional ethics, professional practice, and clinical decision-making. Institutional ethics issues related to the health care environment, such as health care reimbursement pressures and corporate culture. Professional practice issues involved codes of behavior and concepts of professionalism, including patient confidentiality/privacy. Clinical decision-making included such practical dilemmas as conflicts around goal-setting, discharge planning, and assessment of decision-making capacity. An anonymous survey of staff members allowed the hospital ethics program to identify sources of moral distress and prioritize strategies to address them.

[Institutional ethics committees in Mexico: the ambiguous boundary between health care ethics and research ethics].

PubMed

Valdez-Martínez, Edith; Lifshitz-Guinzberg, Alberto; Medesigo-Micete, José; Bedolla, Miguel

2008-08-01

To identify ethics committees in medical practice in Mexico and possible implications stemming from their composition and functions. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from January-December 2005. A survey was sent by e-mail to the hospitals and family medicine centers with at 10 practices within the Mexican Institute for Social Security (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) (n=437) and the Institute for Security and Social Services for State Employees (Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado) (n=167) and to the Mexican Ministry of Health's most important health care centers (n=15). The following items were analyzed: name of the committee, date of formation, current status, composition, functions, and level of authority. In all, 116 committees were identified, with various names. Of these, 101 (87.1%) were active. The committees were formed from 1985-2006, with a spike occurring in 2004-2005. Of the active committees, 59 (58.4%) were charged with ethical problems/dilemmas related to clinical practice as well as those related to research projects. Of the committee members, 357 (59.0%) held managing positions in the establishment to which the committee pertained; most were medical professionals (71.5%), followed by nursing staff (11.9%). Among the members of the active committees, 77.9% had not received training in ethics. Legal conflicts can be expected, mainly within the organizations whose committees have the authority to determine a course of action. An integrated plan is needed that will set standards for the composition and proceedings of Mexico's ethics committees and the improved training of committee members.

EXPLORING VALUES OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT AGENCIES USING REFLECTIVE MULTICRITERIA AND RARE DISEASE CASE.

PubMed

Goetghebeur, Mireille M; Wagner, Monika; Samaha, Dima; O'Neil, William; Badgley, Danielle; Castro-Jaramillo, Hector; Abrishami, Payam; Sarria-Santamera, Antonio; Cleemput, Irina; Tringali, Michele

2017-01-01

Tackling ethical dilemmas faced by reimbursement decision makers requires deeper understanding of values on which health technology assessment (HTA) agencies are founded and how trade-offs are made. This was explored in this study including the case of rare disease. Representatives from eight HTA explored values on which institutions are founded using a narrative approach and reflective multicriteria (developed from EVIDEM, criteria derived from ethical imperatives of health care). Trade-offs between criteria and the impact of incorporating defined priorities (including for rare diseases) were explored through a quantitative values elicitation exercise. Participants reported a diversity of substantive and procedural values with a common emphasis on scientific excellence, stakeholder involvement, independence, and transparency. Examining the ethical imperatives behind EVIDEM criteria was found to be useful to further explore substantive values. Most criteria were deemed to reflect institutions' values, while 70 percent of the criteria were reported by at least half of participants to be considered formally by their institutions. The quantitative values elicitation highlighted the difficulty to balance imperatives of "alleviating or preventing patient suffering," "serving the whole population equitably," "upholding healthcare system sustainability," and "making decisions informed by evidence and context" but may help share the ethical reasoning behind decisions. Incorporating "Priorities" (including for rare diseases) helped reveal trade-offs from other criteria and their underlying ethical imperatives. Reflective multicriteria are useful to explore substantive values of HTAs, reflect how these values and their ethical underpinnings can be operationalized into criteria, and explore the ethical reasoning at the heart of the healthcare debate.

E-recruitment based clinical research: notes for Research Ethics Committees/Institutional Review Boards.

PubMed

Refolo, P; Sacchini, D; Minacori, R; Daloiso, V; Spagnolo, A G

2015-01-01

Patient recruitment is a critical point of today's clinical research. Several proposals have been made for improving it, but the effectiveness of these measures is actually uncertain. The use of Internet (e-recruitment) could represent a great chance to improve patient enrolment, even though the effectiveness of this implementation is not so evident. E-recruitment could bring some advantages, such as better interaction between clinical research demand and clinical research supply, time and resources optimization, and reduction of data entry errors. It raises some issues too, such as sampling errors, validity of informed consent, and protection of privacy. Research Ethics Committees/Institutional Review Boards should consider these critical points. The paper deals with Internet recruitment for clinical research. It also attempts to provide Research Ethics Committees/Institutional Review Boards with notes for assessing e-recruitment based clinical protocols.

Ethical Issues for an Editorial Board: "Kairaranga"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, John

2008-01-01

With academic journals, we think of the ethical aspects of the research contained in the articles rather than with the journal itself. However, journal editing has its own set of ethical concerns, which this article addresses. One is ensuring that the anonymity of institutions and participants, in research and the reporting of practice, is…

Ethical Concerns Raised by the Use of the Internet in Academia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peace, A. Graham; Hartzel, Kathleen S.

2002-01-01

Outlines several major ethical and social concerns that face an institution in attempting to integrate "cyberspace" into its academic arena. Focuses on American universities, though the issues are relevant for all levels of education in all geographic areas. Discusses major ethical dilemmas that academic use of cyberspace may present. Identifies…

Ethical Challenges and Complexities of Including People with Intellectual Disability as Participants in Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iacono, Teresa

2006-01-01

The aim of this article is to consider the implications for research involving people with intellectual disability--a vulnerable group--of ethics committees' attempts to apply these guidelines. The issue explored is whether committees such as Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECS) and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are becoming increasingly…

The Status of Computer Ethics Instruction at Air Force Educational and Training Institutions

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-01

134 deans of graduate business schools . The deans were asked to respond to questions about teaching business ethics. ’The study’s findings demonstrated...that... the business schools have neglected the study of ethics’ (5:12). Another survey was conducted at Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts in

Students' Perceptions of Business Ethics: Using Cheating as a Surrogate for Business Situations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smyth, Lynnette S.; Davis, James R.; Kroncke, Charles O.

2009-01-01

Today's college students are entering the workplace at a time when ethical issues are under greater scrutiny. Thus, the authors examined students' perceptions of varying ethical situations, sampling 786 college students at 3 institutions (1 public, 1 Baptist affiliated, 1 Catholic affiliated). The authors used an anonymous survey and statistically…

Modular Approach for Ethics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyne, Mudasser F.

2010-01-01

It is hard to define a single set of ethics that will cover an entire computer users community. In this paper, the issue is addressed in reference to code of ethics implemented by various professionals, institutes and organizations. The paper presents a higher level model using hierarchical approach. The code developed using this approach could be…

Syllabi for the Teaching of Management Ethics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dill, David D.; And Others

Stemming from the Society for Values in Higher Education's project designed to examine the problems of management ethics, the following five syllabi focus on improving the teaching of ethics to persons preparing for careers in corporate and public management. Designed for use in public and private institutions, the syllabi are modeled to be…

A psychological model that integrates ethics in engineering education.

PubMed

Magun-Jackson, Susan

2004-04-01

Ethics has become an increasingly important issue within engineering as the profession has become progressively more complex. The need to integrate ethics into an engineering curriculum is well documented, as education does not often sufficiently prepare engineers for the ethical conflicts they experience. Recent research indicates that there is great diversity in the way institutions approach the problem of teaching ethics to undergraduate engineering students; some schools require students to take general ethics courses from philosophical or religious perspectives, while others integrate ethics in existing engineering courses. The purpose of this paper is to propose a method to implement the integration of ethics in engineering education that is pedagogically based on Kohlberg's stage theory of moral development.

Assessing formal teaching of ethics in physiology: an empirical survey, patterns, and recommendations.

PubMed

Goswami, Nandu; Batzel, Jerry Joseph; Hinghofer-Szalkay, Helmut

2012-09-01

Ethics should be an important component of physiological education. In this report, we examined to what extent teaching of ethics is formally being incorporated into the physiology curriculum. We carried out an e-mail survey in which we asked the e-mail recipients whether their institution offered a course or lecture on ethics as part of the physiology teaching process at their institution, using the following query: "We are now doing an online survey in which we would like to know whether you offer a course or a lecture on ethics as part of your physiology teaching curriculum." The response rate was 53.3%: we received 104 responses of a total of 195 sent out. Our responses came from 45 countries. While all of our responders confirmed that there was a need for ethics during medical education and scientific training, the degree of inclusion of formal ethics in the physiology curriculum varied widely. Our survey showed that, in most cases (69%), including at our Medical University of Graz, ethics in physiology is not incorporated into the physiology curriculum. Given this result, we suggest specific topics related to ethics and ethical considerations that could be integrated into the physiology curriculum. We present here a template example of a lecture "Teaching Ethics in Physiology" (structure, content, examples, and references), which was based on guidelines and case reports provided by experts in this area (e.g., Benos DJ. Ethics revisited. Adv Physiol Educ 25: 189-190, 2001). This lecture, which we are presently using in Graz, could be used as a base that could lead to greater awareness of important ethical issues in students at an early point in the educational process.

Teaching, learning and assessment of medical ethics at the UK medical schools.

PubMed

Brooks, Lucy; Bell, Dominic

2017-09-01

To evaluate the UK undergraduate medical ethics curricula against the Institute of Medical Ethics (IME) recommendations; to identify barriers to teaching and assessment of medical ethics and to evaluate perceptions of ethics faculties on the preparation of tomorrow's doctors for clinical practice. Questionnaire survey of the UK medical schools enquiring about content, structure and location of ethics teaching and learning; teaching and learning processes; assessment; influences over institutional approach to ethics education; barriers to teaching and assessment; perception of student engagement and perception of student preparation for clinical practice. The lead for medical ethics at each medical school was invited to participate (n=33). Completed responses were received from 11/33 schools (33%). 73% (n=8) teach all IME recommended topics within their programme. 64% (n=7) do not include ethics in clinical placement learning objectives. The most frequently cited barrier to teaching was lack of time (64%, n=7), and to assessment was lack of time and suitability of assessments (27%, n=3). All faculty felt students were prepared for clinical practice. IME recommendations are not followed in all cases, and ethics teaching is not universally well integrated into clinical placement. Barriers to assessment lead to inadequacies in this area, and there are few consequences for failing ethics assessments. As such, tomorrow's patients will be treated by doctors who are inadequately prepared for ethical decision making in clinical practice; this needs to be addressed by ethics leads with support from medical school authorities. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Ethics Rounds: In the Eye of a Social Media Storm.

PubMed

McKlindon, Donna; Jacobson, Jake A; Nathanson, Pamela; Walter, Jennifer K; Lantos, John D; Feudtner, Chris

2016-09-01

Social media, no stranger to health care environments, is increasingly used by patients, families, clinicians, and institutions to interact and engage in new ways. The ethical challenges related to the use of social media in the clinical setting are familiar, yet come with a novel twist, including the possibility of having a conflict "go viral". Health care clinicians and institutions must understand and embrace these technologies, while at the same time promoting policies and practices that ensure the ethically appropriate use of social media and address strategies for preventing and responding to a social media crisis. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Ethical difficulties in nursing, educational needs and attitudes about using ethics resources.

PubMed

Leuter, Cinzia; Petrucci, Cristina; Mattei, Antonella; Tabassi, Gianpietro; Lancia, Loreto

2013-05-01

Ethical difficulties arise in healthcare practices. However, despite extensive research findings that demonstrate that most nurses are involved in recurrent ethical problems, institutions are not always able to effectively support nursing care professionals. The limited availability of ethics consultation services and traditional nursing training fails to meet the frequent and strong requests by health workers to support their ethical dilemmas. A questionnaire was administered to 374 nurses attending a specialist training and a lifetime learning programme in Italy. The respondents reported a high frequency of ethically sensitive situations, and they described the poor development of ethics support and a scarcity of ethics training programmes. The results suggest the importance of promoting ethics services that include consultation and ethics training. A need for systematic ethics educational activities was identified for improving the capacity of nurses to manage ethical issues in patient care.

Exploring perceptions and experiences of Bolivian health researchers with research ethics.

PubMed

Sullivan, Sarah; Aalborg, Annette; Basagoitia, Armando; Cortes, Jacqueline; Lanza, Oscar; Schwind, Jessica S

2015-04-01

In Bolivia, there is increasing interest in incorporating research ethics into study procedures, but there have been inconsistent application of research ethics practices. Minimal data exist regarding the experiences of researchers concerning the ethical conduct of research. A cross-sectional study was administered to Bolivian health leaders with research experience (n = 82) to document their knowledge, perceptions, and experiences of research ethics committees and infrastructure support for research ethics. Results showed that 16% of respondents reported not using ethical guidelines to conduct their research and 66% indicated their institutions did not consistently require ethics approval for research. Barriers and facilitators to incorporate research ethics into practice were outlined. These findings will help inform a comprehensive rights-based research ethics education program in Bolivia. © The Author(s) 2015.

Applying the institutional review board data repository approach to manage ethical considerations in evaluating and studying medical education

PubMed Central

Thayer, Erin K.; Rathkey, Daniel; Miller, Marissa Fuqua; Palmer, Ryan; Mejicano, George C.; Pusic, Martin; Kalet, Adina; Gillespie, Colleen; Carney, Patricia A.

2016-01-01

Issue Medical educators and educational researchers continue to improve their processes for managing medical student and program evaluation data using sound ethical principles. This is becoming even more important as curricular innovations are occurring across undergraduate and graduate medical education. Dissemination of findings from this work is critical, and peer-reviewed journals often require an institutional review board (IRB) determination. Approach IRB data repositories, originally designed for the longitudinal study of biological specimens, can be applied to medical education research. The benefits of such an approach include obtaining expedited review for multiple related studies within a single IRB application and allowing for more flexibility when conducting complex longitudinal studies involving large datasets from multiple data sources and/or institutions. In this paper, we inform educators and educational researchers on our analysis of the use of the IRB data repository approach to manage ethical considerations as part of best practices for amassing, pooling, and sharing data for educational research, evaluation, and improvement purposes. Implications Fostering multi-institutional studies while following sound ethical principles in the study of medical education is needed, and the IRB data repository approach has many benefits, especially for longitudinal assessment of complex multi-site data. PMID:27443407

State of Digital Education Options in the areas of Medical Terminology and the History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine

PubMed Central

Schochow, Maximilian; Steger, Florian

2015-01-01

Background: Institutes of the history of medicine, the theory of medicine, and medical ethics at German institutions of higher learning have created various e-learning options that are based on different learning platforms and tailored to the specific curricular needs of individual teaching. Up to now no valid data has been available about the types of such e-learning options as well as possibilities of future developments thanks to coordinated cooperation among the different institutes. Methods: Of 31 German institutes of the history and theory of medicine and medical ethics that were asked to fill out a questionnaire, 30 answered, which equals a return rate of 97 per cent. The questionnaire was completed between July and August 2012 using a telephone survey. Results: Available to students online, digitally interactive teaching tools have boomed in the course of the last few years at German institutes of the history of medicine, the theory of medicine, and medical ethics. This trend is also reflected in a willingness of more than half of the respective departments (67 per cent) to expand their e-learning options on the basis of previous experience. The offered e-learning systems are accepted very well by the students. 57 per cent of the institutes stated, that 90-100 per cent of the students use the offered systems regularly. E-learning courses for terminology are offered particularly often, this is also reflected in the intended extension of these courses by the majority of institutes which plan to expand their e-learning systems. Conclusions: This article discusses the results of a comprehensive empirical survey about e-learning. It illustrates ways in which individual German institutes plan to expand their e-learning options in the future. Finally, specific proposals for cooperation among institutions (not just online) are introduced, the purpose of which is to produce synergy in e-learning. PMID:26038682

State of Digital Education Options in the areas of Medical Terminology and the History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine.

PubMed

Schochow, Maximilian; Steger, Florian

2015-01-01

Institutes of the history of medicine, the theory of medicine, and medical ethics at German institutions of higher learning have created various e-learning options that are based on different learning platforms and tailored to the specific curricular needs of individual teaching. Up to now no valid data has been available about the types of such e-learning options as well as possibilities of future developments thanks to coordinated cooperation among the different institutes. Of 31 German institutes of the history and theory of medicine and medical ethics that were asked to fill out a questionnaire, 30 answered, which equals a return rate of 97 per cent. The questionnaire was completed between July and August 2012 using a telephone survey. Available to students online, digitally interactive teaching tools have boomed in the course of the last few years at German institutes of the history of medicine, the theory of medicine, and medical ethics. This trend is also reflected in a willingness of more than half of the respective departments (67 per cent) to expand their e-learning options on the basis of previous experience. The offered e-learning systems are accepted very well by the students. 57 per cent of the institutes stated, that 90-100 per cent of the students use the offered systems regularly. E-learning courses for terminology are offered particularly often, this is also reflected in the intended extension of these courses by the majority of institutes which plan to expand their e-learning systems. This article discusses the results of a comprehensive empirical survey about e-learning. It illustrates ways in which individual German institutes plan to expand their e-learning options in the future. Finally, specific proposals for cooperation among institutions (not just online) are introduced, the purpose of which is to produce synergy in e-learning.

Activities of an ethics consultation service in a Tertiary Military Medical Center.

PubMed

Waisel, D B; Vanscoy, S E; Tice, L H; Bulger, K L; Schmelz, J O; Perucca, P J

2000-07-01

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations requires hospitals to have a mechanism to address issues of medical ethics. Most hospitals, especially those in the military, have an ethics committee composed solely of members who serve as an additional duty. To enhance the ethics consultation service, the 59th Medical Wing created a position under the chief of the medical staff for a full-time, fellowship-trained, medical ethicist. After establishment of this position, the number of consultations increased, a systematic program for caregiver education was developed and delivered, and an organizational presence was achieved by instituting positions on the institutional review board, the executive committee of the medical staff, and the credentials committee. Issues in medical care are becoming increasingly complicated, due in large part to financial stresses and technological advancements. Ethics consultation can help prevent and resolve many of these problems. This report discusses the activities of the first year of a full-time ethicist in a tertiary military medical center.

Undergraduate engineering students' attitudes and perceptions towards `professional ethics' course: a case study of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sethy, Satya Sundar

2017-11-01

'Professional Ethics' has been offered as a compulsory course to undergraduate engineering students in a premier engineering institution of India. It was noticed that students' perceptions and attitudes were frivolous and ornamental towards this course. Course instructors and institution authorities were motivated to find out the factors contributing to this awkwardness. For this purpose, a questionnaire was prepared and administrated to 336 students registered for the July-November 2014 semester. The study found two factors contributing to students' indifference towards the Professional Ethics course. First, most of the students did not have self-interest to join the engineering programme, and while pursuing their study, they decided to switch to a different field upon completion of their engineering study. Second, students who desired to be engineers in their future believed that engineering code of ethics is not really referred to in most of the engineering jobs, and therefore Professional Ethics course is only meant for classroom discussions.

A Study on the Directed Living Non-Related Donor Kidney Transplantation Submitted to the Hospital Transplant Ethics Committee at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute.

PubMed

Suguitan, G; Arakama, M-H I; Danguilan, R

2017-03-01

In the latter part of 2009, the Department of Health of the Philippines prohibited kidney transplantation with non-related kidney donors. Hence, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute created a Hospital Transplant Ethics Committee. This study describes directed non-related kidney donation at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute. This retrospective study reviewed the profiles of recipients and directed living non-related kidney transplant donors submitted to the Hospital Transplant Ethics Committee. A total 74 recipients and donors were reviewed by the Hospital Transplant Ethics Committee in 2014. Donors initiated the talks about being a donor (75%) to repay the good deeds that were done by the recipient for them or their families; examples of which are: sometime in their lives they needed financial assistance for hospitalization for their relatives and it was the patient who paid the hospital bill; or because they pitied the recipient, whom they found to be a good person, thus they would want to give one of their kidneys. Seventy-four (100%) said that they were not expecting anything in return for this act but wanted to be of help to the recipient. Of these 74 cases, 70 cases (95%) were approved and the others were disapproved. With a Hospital Transplant Ethics Committee in place, directed kidney donation is a valuable tool as an additional source of kidney donor without violating any ethical issues. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Ethical Perspectives in Open and Distance Education System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anitha, C.; Harsha, T. S.

2013-01-01

Today, e-learning and various online education applications are used in many countries and educational institutions than ever before. Ethics deals with the principle governing ideal or good behavior, it focuses on what is right or what is wrong. Although in education, the ethical issues that they may be facing are not about of life and death…

Ethical Issues in Transnational Higher Education: The Case of International Branch Campuses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkins, Stephen

2017-01-01

The establishment of an international branch campus can impact upon a diverse range of stakeholders in both home and host countries. Many of the arguments against international branch campuses are based on ethical issues, such as the lack of academic freedom and civil liberties in host countries. Ignoring ethical issues may deny institutions the…

Ethical Review as a Tool for Enhancing Postgraduate Supervision and Research Outcomes in the Creative Arts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romano, Angela

2016-01-01

This article outlines the potential for Research Higher Degree (RHD) supervisors at universities and similar institutions to use ethical review as a constructive, dynamic tool in guiding RHD students in the timely completion of effective, innovative research projects. Ethical review involves a bureaucratized process for checking that researchers…

Communication Ethics in the Communication Curriculum: United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swenson-Lepper, Tammy; Leavitt, Michelle A.; Hoffer, Melba; Charron, Lori N.; Ballard, Robert L.; Bell McManus, Leeanne M.; Holba, Annette M.; Jovanovic, Spoma; Tompkins, Paula S.

2015-01-01

This study investigated the status of communication ethics pedagogy at colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Data were collected from 193 institutions that responded to an online survey. Results showed an increase in communication ethics courses compared with 19 years ago, with 51% now offering a required or…

A Correlational Study: Code of Ethics in Testing and EFL Instructors' Professional Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashraf, Hamid; Kafi, Zahra; Saeedan, Azaam

2018-01-01

The present study has aimed at delving the code of ethics in testing in English language institutions to see how far adhering to these ethical codes will result in EFL teachers' professional behavior. Therefore, 300 EFL instructors teaching at English language schools in Khorasan Razavi Province, Zabansara Language School, as well as Khorasan…

Creating a Course in Global Business Ethics: A Modest Proposal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dhooge, Lucien J.

2011-01-01

The College of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology has placed more emphasis on the topic of business ethics in the past few years. Business ethics has always been a required component of the legal environment of business course whether taught at the undergraduate or graduate levels. More recently, the college has introduced an…

Ethics instruction in the dental hygiene curriculum.

PubMed

Kacerik, Mark G; Prajer, Renee G; Conrad, Cynthia

2006-01-01

Dental hygiene ethics is an essential component of the dental hygiene curriculum. The accreditation standards for dental hygiene education state that graduates must be competent in applying ethical concepts to the provision and/or support of oral health care services. Although the standards for entry into the profession of dental hygiene emphasize the importance of ethical reasoning, there is little published research specific to ethics instruction in dental hygiene programs. The purpose of this study was to assess how ethics is taught in the dental hygiene curriculum. A 17-item survey was designed and distributed to 261 accredited dental hygiene programs in the United States for a response rate of 56% (N=147). The survey requested that participants provide information on teaching and evaluation methodologies, didactic and clinical hours of instruction, individuals responsible for providing instruction, and the degree of emphasis placed on ethics and integration of ethical reasoning within the dental hygiene curriculum. Results of the survey reflect that dental hygiene programs devote a mean of 20. hours to teaching dental hygiene ethics in the didactic component of the curriculum. With regard to the clinical component of the curriculum, 63% of respondents indicated that 10 or less hours are devoted to ethics instruction. These results show an increase in didactic hours of instruction from previous studies where the mean hours of instruction ranged from 7 to 11.7 hours. Results showed 64% of respondents offered a separate course in ethics; however, 82% of programs surveyed indicated that ethics was incorporated into one or more dental hygiene courses with 98% utilizing dental hygiene faculty to provide instruction. Most programs utilized a variety of instructional methods to teach ethics with the majority employing class discussion and lecture (99% and 97% respectively). The type of institution-technical college, community college, four-year university with a dental school, and four-year university without a dental school-had little influence on the degree of emphasis placed on teaching ethics. Although the number of hours devoted to ethics instruction has increased, 43% of respondents indicated that they would like to see more emphasis placed on ethics in the program with which they are affiliated. This study reveals that programs have taken measures to employ a variety of teaching strategies to ensure that students are competent in applying ethical concepts in the provision of oral health care. However, programs continue to rely primarily on traditional methods of instruction and evaluation such as lecture, discussion, quizzes, and written assignments. Inferential analysis focusing on the influence of the type of institution, showed that in general, the type of institution has little influence on the level of emphasis placed on teaching ethics in dental hygiene curricula. It is recommended that dental hygiene programs continue to implement and evaluate instructional methods that simulate real life experiences and emphasize ethical concepts that promote comprehensive oral health care. Future studies should investigate the effectiveness of ethics instruction within dental hygiene curricula.

Human research ethics committees: examining their roles and practices.

PubMed

Guillemin, Marilys; Gillam, Lynn; Rosenthal, Doreen; Bolitho, Annie

2012-07-01

Considerable time and resources are invested in the ethics review process. We present qualitative data on how human research ethics committee members and health researchers perceive the role and function of the committee. The findings are based on interviews with 34 Australian ethics committee members and 54 health researchers. Although all participants agreed that the primary role of the ethics committee was to protect participants, there was disagreement regarding the additional roles undertaken by committees. Of particular concern were the perceptions from some ethics committee members and researchers that ethics committees were working to protect the institution's interests, as well as being overprotective toward research participants. This has the potential to lead to poor relations and mistrust between ethics committees and researchers.

Global mental health, autonomy and medical paternalism: reconstructing the 'French ethical tradition' in psychiatry.

PubMed

Pires Marques, Tiago

2017-09-01

In the last few decades, the definition of deontological ethics, a well-identified ethical territory in psychiatry, has been the object of increasing concerns. This has been the case in France, where claims of a specific ethical tradition in psychiatry have accompanied the institutionalization of psychiatric ethics and the perceived globalization of an Anglo-American model of mental health care. This study traces the history of the 'French ethical tradition in psychiatry' and its relationship with establishing institutional spaces for ethical decision-making. The 'ethical tradition' thus conceived proves to be functional in terms of preserving the threatened identity of French psychiatry. Nevertheless, this movement also pinpoints impasses that transcend the French context and may provide valuable resources for ethical reflections on mental health on a global scale.

Australian Undergraduate Biotechnology Student Attitudes towards the Teaching of Ethics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lysaght, Tamra; Rosenberger, Philip J., III; Kerridge, Ian

2006-08-01

In recent years, ethics has become part of most tertiary biotechnology curricula. There is, however, considerable variation in the extent and manner of ethics education provided to students in different institutions. In addition, the perceived need that students and employers have regarding ethics education, and the aims and expected outcomes of ethics education, are rarely made clear. This research reports the findings of a questionnaire administered to 375 undergraduate biotechnology students from 19 Australian universities to determine their attitudes towards the teaching of ethics. The results suggest that undergraduate biotechnology students generally regard ethics education to be important and that ethics should be included in undergraduate biotechnology curricula. Students tended, however, to emphasize the professional and industrial side of ethics and not to recognize the personal effects of morals and behaviour. We provide suggestions for rethinking how ethics should be taught.

Code of Ethics for Electrical Engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsuki, Junya

The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ) has established the rules of practice for its members recently, based on its code of ethics enacted in 1998. In this paper, first, the characteristics of the IEEJ 1998 ethical code are explained in detail compared to the other ethical codes for other fields of engineering. Secondly, the contents which shall be included in the modern code of ethics for electrical engineers are discussed. Thirdly, the newly-established rules of practice and the modified code of ethics are presented. Finally, results of questionnaires on the new ethical code and rules which were answered on May 23, 2007, by 51 electrical and electronic students of the University of Fukui are shown.

[Ethics, science and utilitarianism].

PubMed

Ribeiro, T

1997-11-01

We begin this article with the distinction between Deontology, Moral and Ethics. We also review the concept and the relevance of Bioethics, as the "science of survival", and as part of Ethics, a section of Philosophy. We tried to answer two further questions considering the role of Science in orienting Ethics, or the possible place of utilitarianism in controlling Ethics. The author discusses some new aspects of the doctor/patient relationship, and their evolution in the last 100 years, as well as the relations between patients and Health care institutions. Some ethical problems were also raised related to the beginning and the end of life. Finally the author reflects on the difficulties of defining ethical concepts in the near future.

Ethics pocket cards: an educational tool for busy clinicians.

PubMed

Volpe, Rebecca L; Levi, Benjamin H; Blackhall, George F; Green, Michael J

2014-01-01

The adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is widely used in healthcare settings and can be applied to the work of institutional clinical ethics committees. The model of clinical ethics consultation, however, is inherently reactive: a crisis or question emerges, and ethics experts are called to help. In an effort to employ a proactive component to the model of clinical ethics consultation (as well as to standardize our educational interventions), we developed ethics pocket cards. The purpose of this article is to: (1) describe the rationale for using ethics pocket cards, (2) provide examples of our cards, and (3) begin a dialogue about the potential uses of ethics pocket cards. In doing so, we hope to explore how such portable, economical devices can advance the goals of ethics consultation as well as the educational aims of ethics committees. Copyright 2014 The Journal of Clinical Ethics. All rights reserved.

Clinical ethics issues in HIV care in Canada: an institutional ethnographic study.

PubMed

Kaposy, Chris; Greenspan, Nicole R; Marshall, Zack; Allison, Jill; Marshall, Shelley; Kitson, Cynthia

2017-02-06

This is a study involving three HIV clinics in the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Manitoba. We sought to identify ethical issues involving health care providers and clinic clients in these settings, and to gain an understanding of how different ethical issues are managed by these groups. We used an institutional ethnographic method to investigate ethical issues in HIV clinics. Our researcher conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews, compiled participant observation notes, and studied health records in order to document ethical issues in the clinics, and to understand how health care providers and clinic clients manage and resolve these issues. We found that health care providers and clinic clients have developed work processes for managing ethical issues of various types: conflicts between client-autonomy and public health priorities ("treatment as prevention"), difficulties associated with the criminalization of nondisclosure of HIV positive status, challenges with non-adherence to HIV treatment, the protection of confidentiality, barriers to treatment access, and negative social determinants of health and well-being. Some ethical issues resulted from structural disadvantages experienced by clinic clients. The most striking findings in our study were the negative social determinants of health and well-being experienced by some clinic clients - such as experiences of violence and trauma, poverty, racism, colonization, homelessness, and other factors affecting well-being such as problematic substance use. These negative determinants were at the root of other ethical issues, and are themselves of ethical concern.

An Empirical Ethics Agenda for Psychiatric Research Involving Prisoners

PubMed Central

Christopher, Paul P.; Candilis, Philip J.; Rich, Josiah D.; Lidz, Charles W.

2012-01-01

In the past 30 years, the incarcerated population in the United States has more than quadrupled to 2.3 million adults. With an alarmingly high prevalence of mental illness, substance use, and other serious health conditions compounding their curtailed autonomy, prisoners constitute perhaps the nation’s most disadvantaged group. Scientifically rigorous research involving prisoners holds the potential to inform and enlighten correctional policy and to improve their treatment. At the same time, prisoner research presents significant ethical challenges to investigators and institutional review boards (IRBs) alike, by subjecting participants to conditions that potentially undermine the validity of their informed consent. In 2006, the Institute of Medicine Committee on Ethical Considerations for Revisions to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Regulations for Protection of Prisoners Involved in Research recommended both further protections and a more permissive approach to research review that would allow inmates greater access to potentially beneficial research. These recommendations have sparked renewed debate about the ethical trade-offs inherent to prisoner research. In this article, the authors review the major justifications for research with prisoner subjects and the associated ethical concerns, and argue that the field of empirical ethics has much to offer to the debate. They then propose a framework for prioritizing future empirical ethics inquiry on this understudied topic. PMID:25309805

Building research capacity with members of underserved American Indian/Alaskan Native communities: training in research ethics and the protection of human subjects.

PubMed

Jetter, Karen M; Yarborough, Mark; Cassady, Diana L; Styne, Dennis M

2015-05-01

To develop a research ethics training course for American Indian/Alaskan Native health clinic staff and community researchers who would be conducting human subjects research. Community-based participatory research methods were used in facilitated discussions of research ethics centered around topics included in the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative research ethics course. The community-based participatory research approach allowed all partners to jointly develop a research ethics training program that was relevant for American Indian/Alaskan Native communities. All community and clinic partners were able to pass the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative course they were required to pass so that they could be certified to conduct research with human subjects on federally funded projects. In addition, the training sessions provided a foundation for increased community oversight of research. By using a collaborative process to engage community partners in research ethics discussions, rather than either an asynchronous online or a lecture/presentation format, resulted in significant mutual learning about research ethics and community concerns about research. This approach requires university researchers to invest time in learning about the communities in which they will be working prior to the training. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

Institutional Review Board approval and innovation in urology: current practice and safety issues.

PubMed

Sundaram, Varun; Vemana, Goutham; Bhayani, Sam B

2014-02-01

To retrospectively review recent publications describing novel procedures/techniques, and describe the Institutional Review Board (IRB)/ethics approval process and potential ethical dilemmas in their reporting. We searched PubMed for papers about innovative or novel procedures/techniques between 2011 and August 2012. A query of titles/abstracts in the Journal of Urology, Journal of Endourology, European Urology, BJU International, and Urology identified relevant papers. These results were reviewed for human studies that described an innovative technique, procedure, approach, initial series, and/or used new technology. In all, 91 papers met criteria for inclusion; 25 from the Journal of Endourology, 14 from the Journal of Urology, nine from European Urology, 15 from the BJU International and 28 from Urology. IRB/ethics approval was given for an experimental procedure or database in 24% and 22%, respectively. IRB/ethics approval was not mentioned in 52.7% of studies. Published IRB/ethics approvals for innovative techniques are heterogeneous including database, retrospective, and prospective approvals. Given the concept that innovations are likely not in the legal or ethical standard of care, strong consideration should be given to obtaining IRB/ethics approval before the actual procedure, instead of approval to merely report database outcomes. © 2013 The Authors. BJU International © 2013 BJU International.

Knowledge of the Nigerian Code of Health Research Ethics Among Biomedical Researchers in Southern Nigeria.

PubMed

Ogunrin, Olubunmi A; Daniel, Folasade; Ansa, Victor

2016-12-01

Responsibility for protection of research participants from harm and exploitation rests on Research Ethics Committees and principal investigators. The Nigerian National Code of Health Research Ethics defines responsibilities of stakeholders in research so its knowledge among researchers will likely aid ethical conduct of research. The levels of awareness and knowledge of the Code among biomedical researchers in southern Nigerian research institutions was assessed. Four institutions were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. Research participants were selected by purposive sampling and completed a pre-tested structured questionnaire. A total of 102 biomedical researchers completed the questionnaires. Thirty percent of the participants were aware of the National Code though 64% had attended at least one training seminar in research ethics. Twenty-five percent had a fairly acceptable knowledge (scores 50%-74%) and 10% had excellent knowledge of the code (score ≥75%). Ninety-five percent expressed intentions to learn more about the National Code and agreed that it is highly relevant to the ethical conduct of research. Awareness and knowledge of the Code were found to be very limited among biomedical researchers in southern Nigeria. There is need to improve awareness and knowledge through ethics seminars and training. Use of existing Nigeria-specific online training resources is also encouraged.

New trends of short-term humanitarian medical volunteerism: professional and ethical considerations.

PubMed

Asgary, Ramin; Junck, Emily

2013-10-01

Short-term humanitarian medical volunteerism has grown significantly among both clinicians and trainees over the past several years. Increasingly, both volunteers and their respective institutions have faced important challenges in regard to medical ethics and professional codes that should not be overlooked. We explore these potential concerns and their risk factors in three categories: ethical responsibilities in patient care, professional responsibility to communities and populations, and institutional responsibilities towards trainees. We discuss factors increasing the risk of harm to patients and communities, including inadequate preparation, the use of advanced technology and the translation of Western medicine, issues with clinical epidemiology and test utility, difficulties with the principles of justice and clinical justice, the lack of population-based medicine, sociopolitical effects of foreign aid, volunteer stress management, and need for sufficient trainee supervision. We review existing resources and offer suggestions for future skill-based training, organisational responsibilities, and ethical preparation.

Ethics and Higher Education. American Council on Education/Macmillan Series on Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

May, William W., Ed.

The purpose of this book is to provide a basic resource that defines the ethical issues in higher education and to offer a starting point for means of resolution or policy development in regard to them. Part 1 establishes an interpretive framework for the book in the following papers: "Institutional Culture and Ethics" (David Smith and…

Current Practice in Research Ethics: Global Trends and New Opportunities for African Universities. Research and Innovation Policy Series. Number 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Liam

2007-01-01

Research Ethics has emerged as one of the most well-developed policy areas within the sphere of Research and Innovation Management. As such, for African institutions looking to strengthen their policy frameworks, develop increased collaborations, and increase research outputs, a thorough understanding of global trends in Ethics will be vital.…

The Navy’s Current Ethics Strategy and Potential Methods for Improvement

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

Navy offers annual ethics training for its service members. The researchers further examine whether ethics training is differs between its diverse...Institute OCS Officer Candidate School ODS Officer Development School OTC Officer Training Command SASC Senate Armed Services Committee SCT... training strategy. The researchers offer some strengths, weaknesses, and best practices from other organizations which could inspire positive change

Regulations and Ethical Considerations for Astronomy Education Research II: Resources and Worked Examples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brogt, Erik; Dokter, Erin; Antonellis, Jessie; Buxner, Sanlyn

This article discusses the legal and ethical requirements of human subjects research proposals in astronomy education research. We present an overview of the relevant laws, regulations, and guidelines that inform an Institutional Review Board evaluation of proposed research. We also present examples of potential research projects in astronomy education research and discuss their ethical issues.

FuturICT — The road towards ethical ICT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van den Hoven, J.; Helbing, D.; Pedreschi, D.; Domingo-Ferrer, J.; Gianotti, F.; Christen, M.

2012-11-01

The pervasive use of information and communication technology (ICT) in modern societies enables countless opportunities for individuals, institutions, businesses and scientists, but also raises difficult ethical and social problems. In particular, ICT helped to make societies more complex and thus harder to understand, which impedes social and political interventions to avoid harm and to increase the common good. To overcome this obstacle, the large-scale EU flagship proposal FuturICT intends to create a platform for accessing global human knowledge as a public good and instruments to increase our understanding of the information society by making use of ICT-based research. In this contribution, we outline the ethical justification for such an endeavor. We argue that the ethical issues raised by FuturICT research projects overlap substantially with many of the known ethical problems emerging from ICT use in general. By referring to the notion of Value Sensitive Design, we show for the example of privacy how this core value of responsible ICT can be protected in pursuing research in the framework of FuturICT. In addition, we discuss further ethical issues and outline the institutional design of FuturICT allowing to address them.

Westermarck's altruism.

PubMed

Salter, Frank

2008-09-01

The ethologically oriented method of social analysis developed by Edward Westermarck is applied to the subjects of charitable behavior, the welfare ethic, and the link between them. Westermarck dealt with these topics, but not in the depth he accorded the subjects of incest aversion, the incest prohibition, and the connection between them. Westermarck's approach to analyzing incest behavior and regulating institutions is also useful in the case of charitableness and the welfare ethic. Westermarck would have analyzed the welfare ethic as an institution derived from human nature--secundam naturam--in addition to an authoritative discipliner of behavior as proposed by Freud. Evidence is presented that this is the case with the welfare ethic in modern societies. This evidence includes the sensitivity of welfare to ethnic diversity. The latter decreases public altruism, whether expressed as charitableness to beggars, national charities, or public goods. The parochial leaning of charity and the welfare ethic is allowed for by Westermarck's empirically grounded ethics. Despite the passage of nearly a century, Edward Westermarck can still be an instructive guide to the biosociological enterprise. This continuing relevance shows what could have been, and can still be, done with the conceptual tools offered by an evolutionarily informed sociology.

Could the ethics of institutionalized health care be anything but Kantian? Collecting building blocks for a unifying metaethics.

PubMed

Kaldis, Byron

2005-01-01

Is a Health Care Ethics possible? Against sceptical and relativist doubts Kantian deontology may advance a challenging alternative affirming the possibility of such an ethics on the condition that deontology be adopted as a total programme or complete vision. Kantian deontology is enlisted to move us from an ethics of two-person informal care to one of institutions. It justifies this affirmative answer by occupying a commanding meta-ethical stand. Such a total programme comprises, on the one hand, a dual-aspect strategy incorporating the macro- (institutional) and micro- (person-to-person) levels while, on the other, it integrates consistently within moral epistemology a meta-ethics with lower-ground moral theories. The article describes the issues to be dealt with and the problems which have to be solved on the way to a unifying theory of that kind (Sections I-III) and indicates elements of Kantian moral philosophy which may serve as building blocks (Section IV). Among these are not only Kant's ideas concerning the moral acting of persons and his ideas concerning civil society and state but also his ideas concerning morality, schematism and religion.

Navigating Ethics in the Digital Age: Introducing Connected and Open Research Ethics (CORE), a Tool for Researchers and Institutional Review Boards

PubMed Central

Torous, John

2017-01-01

Research studies that leverage emerging technologies, such as passive sensing devices and mobile apps, have demonstrated encouraging potential with respect to favorably influencing the human condition. As a result, the nascent fields of mHealth and digital medicine have gained traction over the past decade as demonstrated in the United States by increased federal funding for research that cuts across a broad spectrum of health conditions. The existence of mHealth and digital medicine also introduced new ethical and regulatory challenges that both institutional review boards (IRBs) and researchers are struggling to navigate. In response, the Connected and Open Research Ethics (CORE) initiative was launched. The CORE initiative has employed a participatory research approach, whereby researchers and IRB affiliates are involved in identifying the priorities and functionality of a shared resource. The overarching goal of CORE is to develop dynamic and relevant ethical practices to guide mHealth and digital medicine research. In this Viewpoint paper, we describe the CORE initiative and call for readers to join the CORE Network and contribute to the bigger conversation on ethics in the digital age. PMID:28179216

Building an ethical organizational culture.

PubMed

Nelson, William A; Taylor, Emily; Walsh, Thom

2014-01-01

The success of a health care institution-as defined by delivering high-quality, high-value care, positive patient outcomes, and financial solvency-is inextricably tied to the culture within that organization. The ability to achieve and sustain alignment between its mission, values, and everyday practices defines a positive organizational culture. An institution that has a diminished organizational culture, reflected in the failure to consistently align management and clinical decisions and practices with its mission and values, will struggle. The presence of misalignment or of ethics gaps affects the quality of care being delivered, the morale of the staff, and the organization's image in the community. Transforming an organizational culture will provide a foundation for success and a framework for daily ethics-grounded operations in any organization. However, building an ethics-grounded organization is a challenging process requiring strong organization leadership and planning. Using a case study, the authors provide a multiyear, continuous step-by-step strategy consisting of identifying ethics culture gaps, establishing an ethics taskforce, clarifying and prioritizing the problems, developing strategy for change, implementing the strategy, and evaluating outcomes. This process will assist organizations in aligning its actions with its mission and values, to find success on all fronts.

What Do Ethical Guidelines for Epidemiology Say About an Ethics Review? A Qualitative Systematic Review.

PubMed

Piasecki, Jan; Waligora, Marcin; Dranseika, Vilius

2017-06-01

Epidemiological research is subject to an ethics review. The aim of this qualitative review is to compare existing ethical guidelines in English for epidemiological research and public health practice in regard to the scope and matter of an ethics review. Authors systematically searched PubMed, Google Scholar and Google Search for ethical guidelines. Qualitative analysis (constant comparative method) was applied to categorize important aspects of the an ethics review process. Eight ethical guidelines in English for epidemiological research were retrieved. Five main categories that are relevant to the review of epidemiological research by Institutional Review Boards/Research Ethics Committees were distinguished. Within the scope of main categories, fifty-nine subcategories were analyzed. There are important differences between the guidelines in terms of the scope and matter of an ethics review. Not all guidelines encompass all identified ethically important issues, and some do not define precisely the scope and matter of an ethics review, leaving much to the ethics of the individual researchers and the discretion of IRBs/RECs.

Ethical challenges within Veterans Administration healthcare facilities: perspectives of managers, clinicians, patients, and ethics committee chairpersons.

PubMed

Foglia, Mary Beth; Pearlman, Robert A; Bottrell, Melissa; Altemose, Jane K; Fox, Ellen

2009-04-01

To promote ethical practices, healthcare managers must understand the ethical challenges encountered by key stakeholders. To characterize ethical challenges in Veterans Administration (VA) facilities from the perspectives of managers, clinicians, patients, and ethics consultants. We conducted focus groups with patients (n = 32) and managers (n = 38); semi-structured interviews with managers (n = 31), clinicians (n = 55), and ethics committee chairpersons (n = 21). Data were analyzed using content analysis. Managers reported that the greatest ethical challenge was fairly distributing resources across programs and services, whereas clinicians identified the effect of resource constraints on patient care. Ethics committee chairpersons identified end-of-life care as the greatest ethical challenge, whereas patients identified obtaining fair, respectful, and caring treatment. Perspectives on ethical challenges varied depending on the respondent's role. Understanding these differences can help managers take practical steps to address these challenges. Further, ethics committees seemingly, are not addressing the range of ethical challenges within their institutions.

[Independent ethics committees for clinical research in Argentina. An evaluation and a system to guarantee their independence].

PubMed

Gonorazky, Sergio E

2008-01-01

The Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos y Tecnología Médica de la República Argentina (ANMAT) requires that an independent ethics committee of sponsors and/or researchers must previously evaluate and approve all the new pharmacological research protocols carried out on human beings. However, due to the lucrative nature of the evaluation, and because the selection of the Independent Ethics Committee is carried out by the sponsors and/or researchers, the assumed autonomy of the former can be reduced to merely a relationship of "service provider-customer". The Institutional Review Board of the Mar del Plata s Community Hospital has evaluated, between 2005 and 2006, thirty three research protocols (with their corresponding information sheets for patients and informed consent forms) previously approved by a non-institutional Independent Ethics Committee. The median number of objections made by the Institutional Review Board, which prompted the previously mentioned protocols to be modified in order to be approved, was of three per protocol. In other words, the accreditation of an Independent Ethics Committee requires a system that guarantees actual independence from the sponsors and/or researchers, as well as management control mechanisms that may lead them into an eventual loss of accreditation. Several measures are proposed in order to correct the deficiencies of the present system.

Nurses' perception of ethical climate at a large academic medical center.

PubMed

Lemmenes, Donna; Valentine, Pamela; Gwizdalski, Patricia; Vincent, Catherine; Liao, Chuanhong

2016-09-07

Nurses are confronted daily with ethical issues while providing patient care. Hospital ethical climates can affect nurses' job satisfaction, organizational commitment, retention, and physician collaboration. At a metropolitan academic medical center, we examined nurses' perceptions of the ethical climate and relationships among ethical climate factors and nurse characteristics. We used a descriptive correlational design and nurses (N = 475) completed Olson's Hospital Ethical Climate Survey. Data were analyzed using STATA. Approvals by the Nursing Research Council and Institutional Review Board were obtained; participants' rights were protected. Nurses reported an ethical climate total mean score of 3.22 ± 0.65 that varied across factors; significant differences were found for ethical climate scores by nurses' age, race, and specialty area. These findings contribute to what is known about ethical climate and nurses' characteristics and provides the foundation to develop strategies to improve the ethical climate in work settings. © The Author(s) 2016.

Preventive Ethics Through Expanding Education.

PubMed

Ho, Anita; MacDonald, Lisa Mei-Hwa; Unger, David

2016-03-01

Healthcare institutions have been making increasing efforts to standardize consultation methodology and to accredit both bioethics training programs and the consultants accordingly. The focus has traditionally been on the ethics consultation as the relevant unit of ethics intervention. Outcome measures are studied in relation to consultations, and the hidden assumption is that consultations are the preferred or best way to address day-to-day ethical dilemmas. Reflecting on the data from an internal quality improvement survey and the literature, we argue that having general ethics education as a key function of ethics services may be more important in meeting the contemporaneous needs of acute care settings. An expanded and varied ethics education, with attention to the time constraints of healthcare workers' schedules, was a key recommendation brought forward by survey respondents. Promoting ethical reflection and creating a culture of ethics may serve to prevent ethical dilemmas or mitigate their effects.

Review paper on research ethics in Ethiopia: experiences and lessons learnt from Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences 2007-2012.

PubMed

Feleke, Yeweyenhareg; Addissie, Adamu; Wamisho, Biruk L; Davey, Gail

2015-01-01

Health research in Ethiopia is increasing both in volume and type, accompanied with expansion of higher education and research since the past few years. This calls for a proportional competence in the governance of medical research ethics in Ethiopia in the respective research and higher learning institutes. The paper highlights the evolution and progress ofthe ethics review at Addis Ababa University - College of Health Sciences (AAU-CHS) in the given context of health research review system in Ethiopia. Reflections are made on the key lessons to be drawnfrom the formative experiences of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and their implications to the Ethiopian health research review system. This article is a review paper based on review of published and un published documents on research ethics in Ethiopia and the AAU-CHS (2007-2012). Thematic summaries of review findings are presented in thematic areas - formation of ethics review and key factors in the evolution of ethics review and implications. The IRB at AAU-CHS has been pivotal in providing review and follow-up for important clinical studies in Ethiopia. It has been one of the first IRBs to get WHO/SIDCER recognition from Africa and Ethiopia. Important factors in the successes of the IRB among others included leadership commitment, its placement in institutional structure, and continued capacity building. Financial challenges and sustainability issues need to be addressed for the sustained gains registered so far. Similar factors are considered important for the new and younger IRBs within the emergent Universities and research centers in the country.

Publication Ethics: A Case Series with Recommendations According to Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

PubMed

Fazly Bazzaz, Bibi Seddigheh; Sadeghi, Ramin

2012-09-01

Ethical misconduct is not a new issue in the history of science and literature. However, ethical misconducts in science have grown considerably in the modern era which is due to emphasis on the scientific proliferation in research institutes and gauging scientists according to their publications. In the current case series, several misconducts occurring over the previous years in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Mashhad, Iran) either for Journals or Faculty members were gathered and specific recommendations were provided to avoid similar events in the future. All recommendations are according to Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The role of ethics in pediatrics.

PubMed

Cooke, Robert E

1975-10-01

Medical ethics has increased in importance in medical education and practice as a consequence of advances in definitive treatment of patients. Most problems in ethics related to medicine have certain common denominators. Medical scientists and practitioners frequently disclaim any ethical absolutes or consider as important only nonmoral consequences rather than ethical principles such as justice, noninjury, truth-telling, etc. Failure to differentiate moral from nonmoral decisions as well as differences in level of moral reasoning also account for substantial differences in analyzing a given clinical problem. Finally, individual moral policy may be rendered ineffective because of institutional policies that result from purely pragmatic considerations.

Animal ethics and welfare education in wet-lab training can foster residents’ ethical values toward life

PubMed Central

Iki, Yuko; Ito, Takuya; Kudo, Katsuyoshi; Noda, Masafumi; Kanehira, Masahiko; Sueta, Teruko; Miyoshi, Ichiro; Kagaya, Yutaka; Okada, Yoshinori; Unno, Michiaki

2017-01-01

Live animals are used in surgical skills training in wet lab, which has undeniable effectiveness for the development of future surgeons. However, where such training is provided, animal welfare is a major consideration. Increasingly, institutions that offer wet-lab training are incorporating animal ethics and welfare-related content into their training courses, but the effectiveness of such animal ethics education has yet to be evaluated quantitatively. We investigated whether the animal ethics content of a training course affected trainees by measuring increase in ethical awareness using visual analog scale questionnaires before and after training. Our results demonstrated a significant and positive increase in awareness of animal ethics (significance level of 5%; 0.0380≤P≤0.0016). PMID:28592716

Animal ethics and welfare education in wet-lab training can foster residents' ethical values toward life.

PubMed

Iki, Yuko; Ito, Takuya; Kudo, Katsuyoshi; Noda, Masafumi; Kanehira, Masahiko; Sueta, Teruko; Miyoshi, Ichiro; Kagaya, Yutaka; Okada, Yoshinori; Unno, Michiaki

2017-10-30

Live animals are used in surgical skills training in wet lab, which has undeniable effectiveness for the development of future surgeons. However, where such training is provided, animal welfare is a major consideration. Increasingly, institutions that offer wet-lab training are incorporating animal ethics and welfare-related content into their training courses, but the effectiveness of such animal ethics education has yet to be evaluated quantitatively. We investigated whether the animal ethics content of a training course affected trainees by measuring increase in ethical awareness using visual analog scale questionnaires before and after training. Our results demonstrated a significant and positive increase in awareness of animal ethics (significance level of 5%; 0.0380≤P≤0.0016).

Ethics consultants and ethics committees.

PubMed

La Puma, J; Toulmin, S E

1989-05-01

To address moral questions in patient care, hospitals and health care systems have enlisted the help of hospital ethicists, ethics committees, and ethics consultation services. Most physicians have not been trained in the concepts, skills, or language of clinical ethics, and few ethicists have been trained in clinical medicine, so neither group can fully identify, analyze, and resolve clinical ethical problems. Some ethics committees have undertaken clinical consultations themselves, but liability concerns and variable standards for membership hinder their efforts. An ethics consultation service comprising both physician-ethicists and nonphysician-ethicists brings complementary viewpoints to the management of particular cases. If they are to be effective consultants, however, nonphysician-ethicists need to be "clinicians": professionals who understand an individual patient's medical condition and personal situation well enough to help in managing the case. Ethics consultants and ethics committees may work together, but they have separate identities and distinct objectives: ethics consultants are responsible for patient care, while ethics committees are administrative bodies whose primary task is to advise in creating institutional policy.

Evaluation of ethics education in obstetrics and gynecology residency programs.

PubMed

Byrne, John; Straub, Heather; DiGiovanni, Laura; Chor, Julie

2015-03-01

The objective of the study was to assess the current status of ethics education in obstetrics-gynecology residency programs. A cross-sectional, web-based survey was designed in conjunction with a professional survey laboratory at the University of Chicago. The survey was piloted with a convenience sample of clinical medical ethics fellows to assess question content and clarity. The survey was deployed by e-mail to all obstetrics-gynecology residency program directors. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze participant responses. The University of Chicago's Institutional Review Board deemed this study exempt from institutional review board formal review. Of 242 eligible obstetrics-gynecology residency program directors, 118 (49%) completed the survey. Most respondents were from university-based programs (n = 78, 66%) that were not religiously affiliated (n = 98, 83%) and trained 4-6 residents per postgraduate year (n = 64, 70%). Although 50% of program directors (n = 60) reported having ethics as part of their core curriculum, most programs teach ethics in an unstructured manner. Fifty-seven percent of respondents (n = 66) stated their program dedicated 5 or fewer hours per year to ethics. The majority of program directors (n = 80, 73%) responded they would like more to a lot more ethics education and believed that ethics education should be required (n = 93, 85%) for residents to complete their training. Respondents identified that crowding in the curriculum was a significant barrier to increased ethics training (n = 50, 45%) and two-thirds (n = 74, 67%) reported a lack of faculty expertise as a moderate barrier to providing ethics education in the residency curriculum. This study found that a lack of structured curricula, inadequate faculty expertise, and limited time were important barriers for ethics education in obstetrics-gynecology programs across the nation. Despite these existing challenges, program directors have a strong interest in increasing ethics education in residency training. Therefore, additional resources are needed to assist program directors in enhancing resident ethics education. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Andre Hellegers and Carroll House: architect and blueprint for the Kennedy Institute of Ethics.

PubMed

Harvey, John Collins

2004-06-01

The Newman programs established at secular colleges and universities provided an opportunity for intellectual, spiritual, and social growth among the Catholic student population. As a young physician and junior medical faculty member, Andre Hellegers took part in the early organization and ongoing work of Carroll House, the Newman Center at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Helleger's experience at Carroll House enabled him to develop a clear blueprint of an academic center of excellence for the scientific, theological, and philosophical exploration of the many problems that he had seen and foresaw in medicine. That center would become Georgetown's Kennedy Institute of Ethics.

Ethics committees, organ transplantation and public policy.

PubMed

Dickens, Bernard M

1992-01-01

It is clear that ethics committees face many dilemmas in developing sound public policy on organ transplantation through their roles in serving their institutions and their communities. With conscientiousnes and good faith, different committees may adopt different approaches to the same issue, and arrive at different solutions when subscribing to the same approach. It is valuable that committee members should be aware of other committees' approaches and disclose the reasons for their own in a frank, non-defensive way. It should also be remembered that a measure of legitimacy can attach to ethics committees' decisions because of the integrity with which their decisions are reached, even when they differ from other committees' decisions. Like courts of law, their decisions carry weight because of how they are reached, not simply because of how they comport with the judgments of others. This is not to say that every or any legally permissible policy is ethically sound, but only that ethics committees can contribute to public satisfaction that institutions are under reliable control through the demonstrable integrity and competence of their processes of policy making.

[Training of managers and politicians in ethics of science and ethics of public health].

PubMed

Beaudry, Nicole

2013-01-01

First of all, I will identify the various possible objectives of training in ethics of science and health. I will then examine the institutional context in which managers and politicians act in the light of what is done in Quebec. This analysis will lead me to defend the thesis that in Quebec at least such training is necessary.

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (83rd, Phoenix, Arizona, August 9-12, 2000). Media Ethics Division.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

The Media Ethics Division section of the proceedings contains the following seven papers: "The Concept of Media Accountability Reconsidered" (Patrick Lee Plaisance); "Of Joint Ventures, Sock Puppets and New Media Synergy: Codes of Ethics and the Emergence of Institutional Conflicts of Interest" (Charles N. Davis and Stephanie…

Health care needs assessment among adolescents in correctional institutions in Zambia: an ethical analysis.

PubMed

Kumwenda, Maureen; Nzala, Selestine; Zulu, Joseph M

2017-08-22

While health care needs assessments have been conducted among juveniles or adolescents by researchers in developed countries, assessments using an ethics framework particularly in developing countries are lacking. We analysed the health care needs among adolescents at the Nakambala Correctional Institution in Zambia, using the Beauchamp and Childress ethics framework. The ethics approach facilitated analysis of moral injustices or dilemmas triggered by health care needs at the individual (adolescent) level. The research team utilized 35 in-depth interviews with juveniles, 6 key informant interviews and 2 focus group discussions to collect data. We analysed the data using thematic analysis. The use of three sources of data facilitated triangulation of data. Common health problems included HIV/AIDS, STIs, flu, diarrhoea, rashes, and malaria. Although there are some health promotion strategies at the Nakambala Approved School, the respondents classified the health care system as inadequate. The unfavourable social context which included clouded rooms and lack of adolescent health friendly services unfairly exposed adolescents to several health risks and behaviours thus undermining the ethics principle of social justice. In addition, the limited prioritisation of adolescent centres by the stakeholders and erratic funding also worsened injustices by weakening the health care system. Whereas the inadequate medical and drug supplies, shortage of health workers in the nearby health facilities and weak referral systems excluded the juveniles from enjoying maximum health benefits thus undermining adolescents' wellbeing or beneficence. Inadequate medical and drug supplies as well as non-availability of adolescent friendly health services at the nearest health facility did not only affect social justice and beneficence ethics principles but also threatened juveniles' privacy, liberty and confidentiality as well as autonomy with regard to health service utilisation. Adequately addressing the health needs in correctional institutions may require adopting an ethics framework in conducting health needs assessment. An ethics approach is important because it facilitates understanding of moral dilemmas that arise due to health needs. Furthermore, strategies for addressing health needs related to one ethics principle may have a positive ripple effect over other health needs as the principles are intertwined thus facilitating a comprehensive response to health needs.

The Development and Assessment of an NIH-Funded Research Ethics Training Program

PubMed Central

DuBois, James M.; Dueker, Jeffrey M.; Anderson, Emily E.; Campbell, Jean

2015-01-01

In an effort to increase the number of researchers with skills “in identifying and addressing the ethical, legal, and social implications of their research,” the National Institutes of Health (NIH) solicited training grant proposals from 1999 to 2004 and subsequently funded approved programs. The authors describe the content, format, and outcomes of one such training program that ran from 2002–2006 and shares key lessons learned about program formats and assessment methods. Jointly developed by the Saint Louis University Center for Health Care Ethics and the Missouri Institute of Mental Health Continuing Education department, the training program focused on mental health research and adopted a train-the-trainer model. It was offered in onsite and distance-learning formats. Key outcomes of the program included educational products (such as 70 case studies posted on the course website, a textbook, and an instructional DVD) and program completion by 40 trainees. Assessment involved pre- and post-testing focused on knowledge of research ethics, ethical problem-solving skills, and levels of confidence in addressing ethical issues in mental health research. The program succeeded in increasing participants’ knowledge of ethical issues and their beliefs that they could identify issues, identify problem-solving resources, and solve ethical problems. However, scores on the case-based problem-solving assessment dropped in post-testing, apparently due to diminished confidence about the right course of action in the specific dilemma presented; the implications of this finding for ethics assessment are discussed. Overall satisfaction was high and dropout rates were low, but 3 times higher for distance-learners than onsite participants. PMID:18520469

The Ethical Crisis in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Warren Bryan

1974-01-01

Colleges and universities are showing signs of being affected by an emerging ethical crisis (misrepresentation of the job market to graduates, term paper companies, misallocations in financial aid); the needed cure seems to be in better conceptual organization of higher education institutions. (Author/PG)

Research ethics on the agenda - the debates preceding the establishment of the ethics committees.

PubMed

Paulsen, Nadia Shad; Lie, Anne Kveim

2016-11-01

BACKGROUND This article examines two factors that helped to trigger and drive forward the debate about research ethics committees (now the Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics) in Norway in the 1970s: the revision of the Declaration of Helsinki by a Scandinavian working group, and the unfolding of the so-called Gro case in the Norwegian national media.METHOD We have used existing literature in the form of books and articles on the history of research ethics from the University Library of the University of Oslo, the National Library of Norway, the History of Science, Technology and Medicine database, and Retriever. We have manually reviewed issues of the Dagbladet daily newspaper from 1974, and relevant volumes of the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association from the 1960s and 1970s. Finally, we have used the archives of the Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions, and the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Oslo.RESULTS The World Medical Association's revision of the Declaration of Helsinki in 1975 stipulated the use of independent ethics committees for the assessment and supervision of research projects. The Gro case, which concerned the testing of behavioural therapeutic treatment on a young girl resident in an institution and the ensuing public debate, led to a demand from the public for closer monitoring and ethical regulation of research activity.INTERPRETATION Both of the events mentioned were used actively in the argumentation and preparatory work for the establishment of research ethics committees.

Outcome of a research ethics training workshop among clinicians and scientists in a Nigerian university.

PubMed

Ajuwon, Ademola J; Kass, Nancy

2008-01-24

In Nigeria, as in other developing countries, access to training in research ethics is limited, due to weak social, economic, and health infrastructure. The project described in this article was designed to develop the capacity of academic staff of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria to conduct ethically acceptable research involving human participants. Three in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion were conducted to assess the training needs of participants. A research ethics training workshop was then conducted with College of Medicine faculty. A 23-item questionnaire that assessed knowledge of research ethics, application of principles of ethics, operations of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and ethics reasoning was developed to be a pre-post test evaluation of the training workshop. Ninety-seven workshop participants completed the questionnaire before and after the workshop; 59 of them completed a second post-test questionnaire one month after the workshop. The trainees came from a multi-disciplinary background including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social science and laboratory science. The mean scores for knowledge of the principles of research ethics rose from 0.67 out of 3 points at pre-test to 2.25 at post-test (p < 0.05). Also, 42% correctly mentioned one international guideline or regulation at pretest, with most of those knowing of the Declaration of Helsinki. Trainees' knowledge of the operations of an IRB increased from 6.05 at pre-test to 6.29 at post test out of 7 points. Overall, participants retained much of the knowledge acquired from the workshop one month after its completion. The training improved participants' knowledge of principles of research ethics, international guidelines and regulations and operations of IRBs. It thus provided an opportunity for research ethics capacity development among academic staff in a developing country institution.

Ethics, patient rights and staff attitudes in Shanghai's psychiatric hospitals

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Adherence to ethical principles in clinical research and practice is becoming topical issue in China, where the prevalence of mental illness is rising, but treatment facilities remain underdeveloped. This paper reports on a study aiming to understand the ethical knowledge and attitudes of Chinese mental health professionals in relation to the process of diagnosis and treatment, informed consent, and privacy protection in clinical trials. Methods A self-administered survey was completed by 1110 medical staff recruited from Shanghai’s 22 psychiatric hospitals. Simple random selection methods were used to identify target individuals from the computerized registry of staff. Results The final sample for analysis consisted 1094 medical staff (including 523 doctors, 542 nurses, 8 pharmacologists and 21 other staff). The majority reported that their medical institutions had not established an Ethics Committee (87.8%) and agreed that Ethics Committees should be set up in their institutions (72.9%). Approximately half (52%) had not received systematic education in ethics, and almost all (89.1%) of the staff thought it was necessary. Nearly all participants (90.0%) knew the Shanghai Mental Health Regulations which was the first local regulations relating to mental health in China, but only 11% and 16.6% respectively knew of the Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki. About half (51.8%) thought that the guardian should make the decision as to whether the patient participated in clinical trials or not. Conclusions The study indicates that most psychiatric hospitals in Shanghai have no Medical Ethics Committee. More than half the medical staff had not received systematic education and training in medical ethics and they have insufficient knowledge of the ethical issues related to clinical practice and trials. Training in ethics is recommended for medical staff during their training and as ongoing professional development. PMID:22595041

Enhancing Research Ethics Capacity in the Middle East: Experience and Challenges of a Fogarty-Sponsored Training Program

PubMed Central

Silverman, Henry; Edwards, Hillary; Shamoo, Adil; Matar, Amal

2014-01-01

we describe the research ethics capacity needs of the countries from the Middle East region. Against this background, we relate the experience of an international training program focused on providing long-term training in research ethics to individuals from low- and middle-income countries in the Middle East area. We describe our pedagogical approach to training, program changes to address challenges faced, and accomplishments of trainees. Many former trainees developed research ethics curricula in their home institutions, established or enhanced their institutions’ research ethics committees, provided leadership to national research ethics systems, and conducted research in research ethics. Based on our analysis, we make recommendations for how trainees can further address current regional research ethics needs in the Middle East and conduct future research. This paper is part of a collection of papers analyzing the Fogarty International Center’s International Research Ethics Education and Curriculum Development program. PMID:24384515

Ethics curriculum for emergency medicine graduate medical education.

PubMed

Marco, Catherine A; Lu, Dave W; Stettner, Edward; Sokolove, Peter E; Ufberg, Jacob W; Noeller, Thomas P

2011-05-01

Ethics education is an essential component of graduate medical education in emergency medicine. A sound understanding of principles of bioethics and a rational approach to ethical decision-making are imperative. This article addresses ethics curriculum content, educational approaches, educational resources, and resident feedback and evaluation. Ethics curriculum content should include elements suggested by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and the Model of the Clinical Practice of Emergency Medicine. Essential ethics content includes ethical principles, the physician-patient relationship, patient autonomy, clinical issues, end-of-life decisions, justice, education in emergency medicine, research ethics, and professionalism. The appropriate curriculum in ethics education in emergency medicine should include some of the content and educational approaches outlined in this article, although the optimal methods for meeting these educational goals may vary by institution. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

5 CFR 4101.105 - Purchase of System institution assets.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION § 4101.105 Purchase of System institution assets. (a) Prohibition on purchasing assets owned by a System institution. No covered employee, or... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Purchase of System institution assets...

Impact of ethical factors on job satisfaction among Korean nurses.

PubMed

Jang, Yujin; Oh, Younjae

2017-01-01

Although numerous studies on job satisfaction among nurses have been conducted, there is a lack of research considering the ethical perspectives of leadership and organizational climate in job satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to clarify the impact of the ethical climate and ethical leadership as perceived by nurses on job satisfaction in South Korea. A descriptive and correlational study was conducted with a convenience sample of 263 nurses from four general hospitals in South Korea. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Institute Review Board of Hallym University before data collection. Job satisfaction was positively correlated with ethical climate and ethical leadership. The ethical climate in relationship with hospitals and people orientation leadership were influential factors in the level of job satisfaction among nurses. Organizations in the nursing environment should pay attention to improving the ethical climate with acceptable ethical norms in the workplace and nurse leaders should respect, support and genuinely care about their nurses in ethical concerns.

Research Ethics Training in Peru: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Lescano, A. Roxana; Blazes, David L.; Montano, Silvia M.; Moran, Zoe; Naquira, Cesar; Ramirez, Edwin; Lie, Reidar; Martin, Gregory J.; Lescano, Andres G.; Zunt, Joseph R.

2008-01-01

With the rapidly increasing number of health care professionals seeking international research experience, comes an urgent need for enhanced capacity of host country institutional review boards (IRB) to review research proposals and ensure research activities are both ethical and relevant to the host country customs and needs. A successful combination of distance learning, interactive courses and expert course instructors has been applied in Peru since 2004 through collaborations between the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center Detachment, the University of Washington and the Department of Clinical Bioethics of the National Institutes of Health to provide training in ethical conduct of research to IRB members and researchers from Peru and other Latin American countries. All training activities were conducted under the auspices of the Peruvian National Institute of Health (INS), Ministry of Health. To date, 927 people from 12 different Latin American countries have participated in several of these training activities. In this article we describe our training model. PMID:18818763

Ethical Behavior for Today?s Workplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danley, Janet V.

2006-01-01

In these troubled times rife with examples of corporate, institutional, and personal misbehavior, it is sometimes difficult to determine just what is an ethical response. With headlines disclosing college and university recruiting violations in athletics, researchers intentionally publishing erroneous or misleading results, presidents and other…

American Exceptionalism: Essential Context for National Security Strategy Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-10

character emerge: a belief in the ethical importance of American elements of national power as means and ends in themselves; a belief in the universal...applicability of liberal values and institutions to mankind; a belief in the ethic of reciprocity as a normative means to achieve positive interactions among...nations ; and a belief in the value of maintaining strategic flexibility in an increasingly complex strategic environment. These ethical and value

Conflicts of interest between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry and special interest groups.

PubMed

Schetky, Diane H

2008-01-01

Health care in the United States is a tangled web of competing interest groups beneath which ethical conflicts of interest flourish. Physicians, professional organizations, and academic medical centers must continually evaluate their relationships with the pharmaceutical industry as they relate to personal, professional, and institutional ethical values. This article explores the relevant pressing ethical issues and proposals for changing course and managing these potentially troublesome relationships.

[Ethical intervention in pragmatic regime].

PubMed

Maesschalck, Marc

2012-01-01

This article analyzes the impact of the neo-pragmatist turn in social sciences from the point of view of the method of ethical intervention. It focuses specifically on the idea of building a "learning community" as the horizon for strengthening participative 'capacitation'. It finally points at the limits of such a perspective, from the point of view of institutional building of new subjectivities through and beyond the practices proposed by ethical interventions.

Navigating Ethics in the Digital Age: Introducing Connected and Open Research Ethics (CORE), a Tool for Researchers and Institutional Review Boards.

PubMed

Torous, John; Nebeker, Camille

2017-02-08

Research studies that leverage emerging technologies, such as passive sensing devices and mobile apps, have demonstrated encouraging potential with respect to favorably influencing the human condition. As a result, the nascent fields of mHealth and digital medicine have gained traction over the past decade as demonstrated in the United States by increased federal funding for research that cuts across a broad spectrum of health conditions. The existence of mHealth and digital medicine also introduced new ethical and regulatory challenges that both institutional review boards (IRBs) and researchers are struggling to navigate. In response, the Connected and Open Research Ethics (CORE) initiative was launched. The CORE initiative has employed a participatory research approach, whereby researchers and IRB affiliates are involved in identifying the priorities and functionality of a shared resource. The overarching goal of CORE is to develop dynamic and relevant ethical practices to guide mHealth and digital medicine research. In this Viewpoint paper, we describe the CORE initiative and call for readers to join the CORE Network and contribute to the bigger conversation on ethics in the digital age. ©John Torous, Camille Nebeker. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 08.02.2017.

Personalized genetic testing as a tool for integrating ethics instruction into biology courses.

PubMed

Zhang, Tenny R; Anderson, Misti Ault

2014-12-01

Personalized genetic testing (PGT) has been used by some educational institutions as a pedagogical tool for teaching human genetics. While work has been done that examines the potential for PGT to improve students' interest and understanding of the science involved in genetic testing, there has been less dialogue about how this method might be useful for integrating ethical and societal issues surrounding genetic testing into classroom discussions. Citing the importance of integrating ethics into the biology classroom, we argue that PGT can be an effective educational tool for integrating ethics and science education, and discuss relevant ethical considerations for instructors using this approach.

Strangers at the Benchside: Research Ethics Consultation

PubMed Central

Cho, Mildred K.; Tobin, Sara L.; Greely, Henry T.; McCormick, Jennifer; Boyce, Angie; Magnus, David

2008-01-01

Institutional ethics consultation services for biomedical scientists have begun to proliferate, especially for clinical researchers. We discuss several models of ethics consultation and describe a team-based approach used at Stanford University in the context of these models. As research ethics consultation services expand, there are many unresolved questions that need to be addressed, including what the scope, composition, and purpose of such services should be, whether core competencies for consultants can and should be defined, and how conflicts of interest should be mitigated. We make preliminary recommendations for the structure and process of research ethics consultation, based on our initial experiences in a pilot program. PMID:18570086

Personalized Genetic Testing as a Tool for Integrating Ethics Instruction into Biology Courses

PubMed Central

Zhang, Tenny R.; Anderson, Misti Ault

2014-01-01

Personalized genetic testing (PGT) has been used by some educational institutions as a pedagogical tool for teaching human genetics. While work has been done that examines the potential for PGT to improve students’ interest and understanding of the science involved in genetic testing, there has been less dialogue about how this method might be useful for integrating ethical and societal issues surrounding genetic testing into classroom discussions. Citing the importance of integrating ethics into the biology classroom, we argue that PGT can be an effective educational tool for integrating ethics and science education, and discuss relevant ethical considerations for instructors using this approach. PMID:25574278

The relationship between medical ethics and the legal system in Italy: food for thought.

PubMed

Petrini, Carlo; Ricciardi, Walter

2016-01-01

Relations between ethics in general - and medical ethics in particular - and legal systems are complex and have been extensively examined in the literature. The topic is important not only for ethicists and jurists, but also for members of the public, who benefit from the services offered by the professions. While the Italian Institute of Health does not claim to propose new avenues for exploration of the relations between ethics and legal systems, it offers some food for thought in the ongoing debate.

Patients come from populations and populations contain patients. A two-stage scientific and ethics review: The next adaptation for single institutional review boards.

PubMed

Knopman, David; Alford, Eli; Tate, Kaitlin; Long, Mark; Khachaturian, Ara S

2017-08-01

For nearly 50 years, institutional review boards (IRB) and independent ethics committees have featured local oversight as a core function of research ethics reviews. However growing complexity in Alzheimer's clinical research suggests current approaches to research volunteer safety is hampering development of new therapeutics. As a partial response to this challenge, the NIH has mandated that all NIH-funded multi-site studies will use a single Institutional Review Board. The perspective describes a joint program to provide a single IRB of record (sIRB) for phases of multi-site studies. The approach follows two steps. One, an expert Scientific Review Committee (SRC) of senior researchers in the field will conduct the review principally of scientific merit, significance, feasibility, and the likelihood of meaningful results. The second step will be the IRB's regulatory and ethics review. The IRB will apply appropriate regulatory criteria for approval including minimization of risks to subjects and risks reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits, equitable subject selection, informed consent, protections for vulnerable populations, and application of local context considerations, among others. There is a steady demand for scientific, ethical and regulatory review of planned Alzheimer's studies. As of January 15, 2017, there are nearly 400 open studies, Phase II and III, industry and NIH sponsored trials on disease indications affecting memory, movement and mood in the US. The effort will initially accept protocols for studies of Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and related disorders effecting memory, movement and mood. Future aims will be to provide scientific review and, where applicable, regulatory and ethical review in an international context outside North America with sites possibly in Asia, Europe and Australia. Copyright © 2017 the Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing Resources for Teaching Ethics in Geoscience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mogk, David W.; Geissman, John W.

2014-11-01

Ethics education is an increasingly important component of the pre-professional training of geoscientists. Geoethics encompasses the values and professional standards required of geoscientists to work responsibly in any geoscience profession and in service to society. Funding agencies (e.g., the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health) require training of graduate students in the responsible conduct of research; employers are increasingly expecting their workers to have basic training in ethics; and the public demands the highest standards of ethical conduct by scientists. However, there is currently no formal course of instruction in ethics in the geoscience curriculum, and few faculty members have the experience, resources, and sometimes willingness required to teach ethics as a component of their geoscience courses.

An ethical framework for nursing service administration.

PubMed

Christensen, P J

1988-04-01

Nurses as administrators are responsible for creating an ethical work environment in which nurses' human welfare is promoted. Bureaucratic organizations can dehumanize people, wherein human welfare suffers in the midst of institutional constraints. Amid these conditions nurses' ethical competence cannot develop nor can nurses maintain a sense of personal integrity. Applying concepts from nursing and general ethics to administrative practice provides a basis for developing an ethical framework for management. The proposed framework involves ethical awareness, principled reasoning, moral commitment to the profession and to one another, and primary consideration for human welfare with strategies to promote it. Use of these components when making decisions in daily practice and on a policy level enhances the well-being of nurses working in organizations.

An Epistemological and Ethical Categorization of Perspectives on Early Childhood Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Ok Seung

2001-01-01

Reviews the literature on contemporary early childhood education, categorizing perspectives on early childhood curriculum according to their core epistemological and ethical views about the mission of institutions of early childhood education. Identifies four perspectives guiding the curricula: idealism, empiricism, developmentalism, and…

The Enclosure of the Academic Commons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bollier, David

2002-01-01

Asserts that although the new proprietary ethic within universities may produce certain useful results (chiefly for a handful of research institutions and their corporate sponsors), this growing market ethic is beginning to eclipse the long-standing presumption that scholarship should be open, collaborative, and public. (EV)

With a Dose of Morality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milesko-Pytel, Diana

1979-01-01

The Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, was established to promote scholarship and the study of values issues in the professions. The article describes present ethics courses on the moral issues in engineering, architecture, business, and law. (MF)

Efficacy of the nurse ethicist in reducing moral distress: what can the NHS learn from the USA? Part 2.

PubMed

Morley, Georgina

In the second of two interrelated articles exploring the concept of moral distress, this article will discuss the efficacy of the nurse ethicist in reducing moral distress. The author will draw on the current literature and on her experiences while in the USA to discuss the ways in which moral distress is being addressed at the team/unit and institutional/organisational levels. It is argued that the nature of moral distress in the UK should be explored further, and that many of the tools used to mitigate moral distress in the USA, such as clinical ethics committees and healthcare ethics consultants, could be adopted more widely in the UK, both to reduce moral distress and to foster more ethical healthcare institutions. The role of the nurse ethicist could be pivotal in bridging the gap between organisational ethics and the individual moral values of bedside nurses. Ultimately, this article argues, the role of the nurse ethicist is worthy of replication in a UK context.

School-based smoking prevention programmes: ethical aspects.

PubMed

Lotrean, Lucia Maria; Trofor, Antigona; Mihălţan, Florin; Santillan, Edna Arillo

2011-01-01

School-based health education has the potential to inform and educate young people, in order to promote healthy behaviours among them, which will help to prevent diseases and social problems. The present study gives an overview of several ethical issues which must be considered in different phases of school-based smoking prevention programs. This will help health educators, public health professionals and researchers in their activity of health education in schools. The ethical issues must be taken into consideration during all the activities and refer to the involvement of officials, schools, parents, young people who participate into the program, authors and persons/institutions responsible with the implementation, evaluation or funding of the programs. The application into practice of these ethical principles, influence the quality of the health education, its acceptability BY the target group and the correctness of results. Also, it prevents possible problems and misunderstandings between persons and institutions involved in the health education and smoking prevention process, which could seriously affect and even destroy implementation of such health education activities.

Research governance: new hope for ethics committees?

PubMed

Frew, Deborah; Martlew, Ainsley

2007-01-01

For many years there has been discussion regarding the problems confronting our current ethics review system. Commentators have identified numerous issues that threaten the sustainability of Australia's voluntary HREC system. Various ad hoc solutions to these problems have been posed, but have not resulted in any significant advances. However, in recent years, discourse regarding research governance has become prominent in the Australian research environment. The application of research governance principles is gaining momentum amongst the regulators of research, including research institutions and their governing bureaucracies. We argue that this is potentially the most significant development in several years towards creating a sustainable HREC system in Australia. The recognition by research institutions and their governing bureaucracies that the responsibility for overall research governance lies with them, rather than solely with their HRECs, is leading to a range of initiatives which should significantly lessen the burden on Australian ethics committees, and improve their ability to undertake their core task of reviewing the ethical aspects of research proposals.

An Inquiry Process for Individual and Institutional Ethics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Patricia L.

2009-01-01

The foundation for a successful college is framed by both institutional values exhibited in its mission, culture, structure, and organization and the way the college implements these values. Thus the college's institutional values must be real and respected. As Schein (1996) would say, these institutional values must be some of the things that…

HIV vaccine research--South Africa's ethical-legal framework and its ability to promote the welfare of trial participants.

PubMed

Strode, Ann; Slack, Catherine; Mushariwa, Muriel

2005-08-01

An effective ethical-legal framework for the conduct of research is critical. We describe five essential components of such a system, review the extent to which these components have been realised in South Africa, present brief implications for the ethical conduct of clinical trials of HIV vaccines in South Africa and make recommendations. The components of an effective ethical-legal system that we propose are the existence of scientific ethical and policy-making structures that regulate research; research ethics committees (RECs) that ethically review research; national ethical guidelines and standards; laws protecting research participants; and mechanisms to enforce and monitor legal rights and ethical standards. We conclude that the ethical-legal framework has, for the most part, the necessary institutions, and certain necessary guidelines but does not have many of the laws needed to protect and promote the rights of persons participating in research, including HIV vaccine trials. Recommendations made include advocacy measures to finalise and implement legislation, development of regulations, analysis and comparison of ethical guidelines, and the development of measures to monitor ethical-legal rights at trial sites.

Controversy and consensus on pediatric donation after cardiac death: ethical issues and institutional process.

PubMed

Harrison, C H; Laussen, P C

2008-05-01

Donation after cardiac death (DCD) remains controversial in some pediatric institutions. An evidence-based, consensus-building approach to setting institutional policy about DCD can address the controversy openly and identify common ground. To resolve an extended internal debate regarding DCD policy at Children's Hospital Boston, a multidisciplinary task force was commissioned to engage in fact finding and deliberations about clinical and ethical issues in pediatric DCD, and attempt to reach consensus regarding the development of a protocol for pediatric DCD. Issues examined included values and attitudes of staff, families, and the public; number of possible candidates for DCD at the hospital; risks and benefits for child donors and their families; and research needs. Consensus was reached on a set of foundational ethical principles for pediatric DCD. With assistance from the local organ procurement organization (OPO), the task force developed a protocol for pediatric kidney DCD which most members believed could meet all the requirements of the foundational ethical principles. Complete consensus on the use of the protocol was not reached; however, almost all members supported initiation of kidney DCD for older pediatric patients who had wished to be organ donors. The hospital has implemented the protocol on this limited basis and established a process for considering proposals to expand the eligible donor population and include other organs.

Teaching medical ethics to meet the realities of a changing health care system.

PubMed

Millstone, Michael

2014-06-01

The changing context of medical practice--bureaucratic, political, or economic--demands that doctors have the knowledge and skills to face these new realities. Such changes impose obstacles on doctors delivering ethical care to vulnerable patient populations. Modern medical ethics education requires a focus upon the knowledge and skills necessary to close the gap between the theory and practice of ethical care. Physicians and doctors-in-training must learn to be morally sensitive to ethical dilemmas on the wards, learn how to make professionally grounded decisions with their patients and other medical providers, and develop the leadership, dedication, and courage to fulfill ethical values in the face of disincentives and bureaucratic challenges. A new core focus of medical ethics education must turn to learning how to put ethics into practice by teaching physicians to realistically negotiate the new institutional maze of 21st-century medicine.

HIV Testing and Treatment with Correctional Populations: People, Not Prisoners

PubMed Central

Seal, David Wyatt; Eldridge, Gloria D.; Zack, Barry; Sosman, James

2014-01-01

Institutional policies, practices, and norms can impede the delivery of ethical standard-of-care treatment for people with HIV in correctional settings. In this commentary, we focus on the fundamental issues that must be addressed to create an ethical environment in which best medical practices can be implemented when working with correctional populations. Thus, we consider ethical issues related to access to services, patient privacy, confidentiality, informed consent for testing and treatment, and issues related to the provision of services in an institutional setting in which maintenance of security is the primary mission. Medical providers must understand and navigate the dehumanization inherent in most correctional settings, competing life demands for incarcerated individuals, power dynamics within the correctional system, and the needs of family and significant others who remain in the community. PMID:20693739

Evaluating care from a care ethical perspective:: A pilot study.

PubMed

Kuis, Esther E; Goossensen, Anne

2017-08-01

Care ethical theories provide an excellent opening for evaluation of healthcare practices since searching for (moments of) good care from a moral perspective is central to care ethics. However, a fruitful way to translate care ethical insights into measurable criteria and how to measure these criteria has as yet been unexplored: this study describes one of the first attempts. To investigate whether the emotional touchpoint method is suitable for evaluating care from a care ethical perspective. An adapted version of the emotional touchpoint interview method was used. Touchpoints represent the key moments to the experience of receiving care, where the patient recalls being touched emotionally or cognitively. Participants and research context: Interviews were conducted at three different care settings: a hospital, mental healthcare institution and care facility for older people. A total of 31 participants (29 patients and 2 relatives) took part in the study. Ethical considerations: The research was found not to be subject to the (Dutch) Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act. A three-step care ethical evaluation model was developed and described using two touchpoints as examples. A focus group meeting showed that the method was considered of great value for partaking institutions in comparison with existing methods. Reflection and discussion: Considering existing methods to evaluate quality of care, the touchpoint method belongs to the category of instruments which evaluate the patient experience. The touchpoint method distinguishes itself because no pre-defined categories are used but the values of patients are followed, which is an essential issue from a care ethical perspective. The method portrays the insider perspective of patients and thereby contributes to humanizing care. The touchpoint method is a valuable instrument for evaluating care; it generates evaluation data about the core care ethical principle of responsiveness.

Operational effectiveness of blended e-learning program for nursing research ethics.

PubMed

Cho, Kap-Chul; Shin, Gisoo

2014-06-01

Since 2006, the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and the National Research Foundation of Korea have taken the lead in developing an institutional guideline for research ethics. The purpose was to identify the effectiveness of the Good Research Practice program, developed on a fund granted by the National Research Foundation of Korea, for nurses and nursing students whose knowledge and perception of research ethics were compared before and after the implementation of the Good Research Practice program. This study was conducted to compare the levels of knowledge and perception of research ethics in the participants before and after the program was implemented. The participants included 45 nurses and 69 nursing students from hospitals, colleges of nursing, and the Korean Nurses Association, located in Seoul, Korea. This study was approved by the Institutional Research Board in Korea. Based on the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation model, the Good Research Practice program was made up of a total of 30 h of the blended learning both online and off-line. The results of this study showed that there were statistically significant differences in both knowledge and perception of research ethics in nursing students and nurses before and after the program had been implemented. The concepts of professional nursing ethics, moral issues, and bioethics were often confused with one another and not clearly defined. Therefore, the concept and scope of bioethics, moral judgment, and overall nursing ethics should be well defined and conceptualized in the future. This study suggested integrating research ethics education in the nursing curriculum as a required course of study for nursing students and as part of the in-service training program for nurses in order to improve research ethics in nursing research in Korea. © The Author(s) 2013.

Practice paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics abstract: ethical and legal issues of feeding and hydration.

PubMed

Schwartz, Denise Baird; Posthauer, Mary Ellen; O'Sullivan Maillet, Julie

2013-07-01

It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that individuals have the right to request or refuse nutrition and hydration as medical treatment. Registered dietitians should work collaboratively as part of an interprofessional team to make recommendations on providing, withdrawing, or withholding nutrition and hydration in individual cases and serve as active members of institutional ethics committees. This practice paper provides a proactive, integrated, systematic process to implement the Academy's position. The position and practice papers should be used together to address the history and supporting information of ethical and legal issues of feeding and hydration identified by the Academy. Elements of collaborative ethical deliberation are provided for pediatrics and adults and in different conditions. The process of ethical deliberation is presented with the roles and responsibilities of the registered dietitian and the dietetic technician, registered. Understanding the importance and applying concepts dealing with cultural values and religious diversity is necessary to integrate clinical ethics into nutrition care. Incorporating screening for quality-of-life goals is essential before implementing the Nutrition Care Process and improving health literacy with individual interactions. Developing institution-specific policies and procedures is necessary to accelerate the practice change with artificial nutrition, clinical ethics, and quality improvement projects to determine best practice. This paper supports the "Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Ethical and Legal Issues of Feeding and Hydration" published in the June 2013 issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Copyright © 2013 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ethics creep or governance creep? Challenges for Australian Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECS).

PubMed

Gorman, Susanna M

2011-09-01

Australian Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) have to contend with ever-increasing workloads and responsibilities which go well beyond questions of mere ethics. In this article, I shall examine how the roles of HRECs have changed, and show how this is reflected in the iterations of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (NS). In particular I suggest that the focus of the National Statement has shifted to concentrate on matters of research governance at the expense of research ethics, compounded by its linkage to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2007) in its most recent iteration. I shall explore some of the challenges this poses for HRECs and institutions and the risks it poses to ensuring that Australian researchers receive clear ethical guidance and review.

Dismembering the ethical physician

PubMed Central

Genuis, S J

2006-01-01

Physicians may experience ethical distress when they are caught in difficult clinical situations that demand ethical decision making, particularly when their preferred action may contravene the expectations of patients and established authorities. When principled and competent doctors succumb to patient wishes or establishment guidelines and participate in actions they perceive to be ethically inappropriate, or agree to refrain from interventions they believe to be in the best interests of patients, individual professional integrity may be diminished, and ethical reliability is potentially compromised. In a climate of ever‐proliferating ethical quandaries, it is essential for the medical community, health institutions, and governing bodies to pursue a judicious tension between the indispensable regulation of physicians necessary to maintain professional standards and preserve public safety, and the support for “freedom of conscience” that principled physicians require to practise medicine in keeping with their personal ethical orientation. PMID:16597808

An Exploration of Ethical Issues in Research in Children’s Health and the Environment

PubMed Central

Paulson, Jerome A.

2006-01-01

The consideration of ethical issues relating to pediatric environmental health is a recent phenomenon. Discussions of biomedical ethics, research on children, and environmental health research have a longer history. In the late 1990s, researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, undertook a study to compare the effectiveness of several methods of reducing lead risk in housing. In a preliminary finding in the case of Grimes v. Kennedy Krieger Institute, Inc., a Maryland court questioned the ethics of performing research on children when there is no prospect of direct benefit to those children and whether parents can consent to such research. This case dramatically raised the profile of ethical issues among the pediatric environmental health research community. To broaden the discussion of these issues and in response to the Kennedy-Krieger case, the Children’s Environmental Health Network held a working meeting on 5 and 6 March 2004 to explore this topic. The articles in this mini-monograph were prepared by the authors as a result of the workshop and represent their opinions. This article is an introduction to the workshop and a summary of the articles to follow. PMID:17035150

Computer ethics education: Impact from societal norms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

White, G.B.

1994-12-31

Discussions have occurred on the best way to implement the horizontal and vertical integration of education on the social, ethical and professional issues relating to computer science. These discussions have not only included debates on the subject matter and what manner to approach it (i.e. integrated among all computer science courses taught, as a separate required course, or a combination of both), but have also involved debates over who is best qualified to address the subject. What has seldom been addressed, however, is how societal impressions of what is ethical have impacted both those who develop software and those whomore » use it. In light of the experience of such institutions as the U.S. Air Force Academy which recently instituted a program called the Center for Character Development (due to a perceived erosion of the core values of its recruits), should academia and industry expect more from computer scientists than from the population as a whole? It is the integration of ethics courses in the computer science curriculum in light of a general erosion of ethical values in society as a whole that is addressed in this paper.« less

Loyalty Conflicts in Teacher Ethics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colnerud, Gunnel

This study analyzes situations where teachers' loyalties to colleagues are in conflict with their loyalty to their students. According to written reports about ethical conflicts from 163 teachers in different, compulsory schools, teachers would have liked to report bad treatment of students by teachers or bad institutional policies towards…

Implementation of Ethical Higher Education Marketing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibbs, Paul; Murphy, Patrick

2009-01-01

With consumerism changing students to customers and teachers to service providers, ever more vulnerable and naive students enroll and, instead of collaboration between institutions, there is competition. There has been a call in the literature to face these challenges through ethical leadership in universities. Specifically, concern has been…

Faculty-Student Dual Relationships: Implications for Counselor Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, James L.

2007-01-01

This article considers dual relationships between faculty and students from an ethical perspective. A review of the literature focuses on the potential impact of dual relationships on students, faculty, academic institutions, and the consumers students will ultimately serve. Models promoting ethical dual relationships are identified and strategies…

Ethics review as a component of institutional approval for a multicentre continuous quality improvement project: the investigator's perspective.

PubMed

Ezzat, Hanna; Ross, Sue; von Dadelszen, Peter; Morris, Tara; Liston, Robert; Magee, Laura A

2010-07-30

For ethical approval of a multicentre study in Canada, investigators must apply separately to individual Research Ethics Boards (REBs). In principle, the protection of human research subjects is of utmost importance. However, in practice, the process of multicentre ethics review can be time consuming and costly, requiring duplication of effort for researchers and REBs. We used our experience with ethical review of The Canadian Perinatal Network (CPN), to gain insight into the Canadian system. The applications forms of 16 different REBs were abstracted for a list of standardized items. The application process across sites was compared. Correspondence between the REB and the investigators was documented in order to construct a timeline to approval, identify the specific issues raised by each board, and describe how they were resolved. Each REB had a different application form. Most (n = 9) had a two or three step application process. Overall, it took a median of 31 days (range 2-174 days) to receive an initial response from the REB. Approval took a median of 42 days (range 4-443 days). Privacy and consent were the two major issues raised. Several additional minor or administrative issues were raised which delayed approval. For CPN, the Canadian REB process of ethical review proved challenging. REBs acted independently and without unified application forms or submission procedures. We call for a critical examination of the ethical, privacy and institutional review processes in Canada, to determine the best way to undertake multicentre review.

How researchers perceive research misconduct in biomedicine and how they would prevent it: A qualitative study in a small scientific community.

PubMed

Buljan, Ivan; Barać, Lana; Marušić, Ana

2018-01-01

The aim of our study has been to use a qualitative approach to explore the potential motivations and drivers for unethical behaviors in biomedicine and determine the role of institutions regarding those issues in a small scientific community setting. Three focus groups were held---two with doctoral students and one with active senior researchers. Purposive sampling was used to reach participants at different stages of their scientific careers. Participants in all three focus groups were asked the same questions regarding the characteristics and behaviors of ethical/unethical scientists, ethical climate, role, and responsibility of institutions; they were also asked to suggest ways to improve research integrity. The data analysis included coding of the transcripts, categorization of the initial codes, and identification of themes and patterns. Three main topics were derived from the focus groups discussions. The first included different forms of unethical behaviors including increasing research "waste," non-publication of negative results, authorship manipulation, data manipulation, and repression of collaborators. The second addressed the factors influencing unethical behavior, both external and internal, to the researchers. Two different definitions of ethics in science emerged; one from the categorical perspective and the other from the dimensional perspective. The third topic involved possible routes for improvement, one from within the institution through the research integrity education, research integrity bodies, and quality control, and the other from outside the institution through external supervision of institutions. Based on the results of our study, research misconduct in a small scientific community is perceived to be the consequence of the interaction of several social and psychological factors, both general and specific, for small research communities. Possible improvements should be systematic, aiming both for improvements in work environment and personal awareness in research ethics, and the implementation of those changes should be institutional responsibility.

5 CFR 4001.107 - Involvement in System institution board member elections.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... CORPORATION SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE FARM CREDIT SYSTEM INSURANCE... able to participate in a System institution board election because of System securities owned by virtue...

5 CFR 4101.107 - Involvement in System institution board member elections.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION § 4101.107... System institution board election because of System securities owned by virtue of retaining a pre...

5 CFR 7701.102 - Prior approval for outside employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... teaching a course which is part of the established curriculum of an accredited institution of higher.... 7701.102 Section 7701.102 Administrative Personnel INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES § 7701...

5 CFR 7701.102 - Prior approval for outside employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... teaching a course which is part of the established curriculum of an accredited institution of higher.... 7701.102 Section 7701.102 Administrative Personnel INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES § 7701...

5 CFR 7701.101 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Administrative Personnel INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES § 7701.101 Purpose. In accordance with 5 CFR 2635.105, the regulations of this part apply to employees of the Institute of Museum and Library Services...

5 CFR 7701.101 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Administrative Personnel INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES § 7701.101 Purpose. In accordance with 5 CFR 2635.105, the regulations of this part apply to employees of the Institute of Museum and Library Services...

5 CFR 7701.101 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Administrative Personnel INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES § 7701.101 Purpose. In accordance with 5 CFR 2635.105, the regulations of this part apply to employees of the Institute of Museum and Library Services...

5 CFR 7701.101 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Administrative Personnel INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES § 7701.101 Purpose. In accordance with 5 CFR 2635.105, the regulations of this part apply to employees of the Institute of Museum and Library Services...

5 CFR 7701.101 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Administrative Personnel INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES § 7701.101 Purpose. In accordance with 5 CFR 2635.105, the regulations of this part apply to employees of the Institute of Museum and Library Services...

An Educational Program of Engineering Ethics and Its Dissemination Activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muramatsu, Ryujiro; Nagashima, Shigeo

Education on ethics for corporate employees, especially for engineers, seems to become increasingly important for most of companies in Japan, because some affairs or scandals caused by ethical problem in many companies were likely to subject them to operational disadvantages. Even in Hitachi, Ltd., we have worked on education of engineering ethics for two years. In this paper, we describe some activities of committees on engineering ethics, an e-learning training course which is usable on our intranet e-learning system, and a short-term in-house training course operated regularly in our training institute. And we also refer to its dissemination activities to employees in each division and some subsidiaries.

The Emergence and Development of Bioethics in the Uk

PubMed Central

Chadwick, Ruth; Wilson, Duncan

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Bioethics emerged in a specific social and historical context. Its relationship to older traditions in medical ethics and to environmental ethics is an ongoing matter of debate. This article analyses the social, institutional, and economic factors that led to the development of bioethics in the UK in the 1980s, and the course it has taken since. We show how phenomena such as globalisation, the focus on ‘ethical legal and social issues’ and the empirical turn have affected the methods employed, and argue that ongoing controversies about the nature and possibility of ethical expertise will affect its future. PMID:29635295

The Emergence and Development of Bioethics in the Uk.

PubMed

Chadwick, Ruth; Wilson, Duncan

2018-05-01

Bioethics emerged in a specific social and historical context. Its relationship to older traditions in medical ethics and to environmental ethics is an ongoing matter of debate. This article analyses the social, institutional, and economic factors that led to the development of bioethics in the UK in the 1980s, and the course it has taken since. We show how phenomena such as globalisation, the focus on 'ethical legal and social issues' and the empirical turn have affected the methods employed, and argue that ongoing controversies about the nature and possibility of ethical expertise will affect its future.

Teaching and Assessing Ethics and Social Responsibility in Undergraduate Science: A Position Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schultz, Madeleine

2014-01-01

Institutional graduate capabilities and discipline threshold learning outcomes require science students to demonstrate ethical conduct and social responsibility. However, the teaching and assessment of these concepts are not straightforward. Australian chemistry academics participated in a workshop in 2013 to discuss and develop teaching and…

Similarities and Dissimilarities of Ethical Issues in Applied Psychology Disciplines.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowman, Rodney L.

Although all practicing psychologists share common ethical concerns, the industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologist has additional concerns which are unique to his discipline. The institutional setting of his practice both isolates him from role models and professional colleagues and threatens his identity as a psychologist. In the organization,…

Using Linguistic Structures as a Framework for Social Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartoonian, H. Michael

Analysis of the relationship between language and ethics can provide insight into social institutions, social discourse, and social action. Further, synthesis of language and social education can aid educators as they develop curriculum which deals with communication and reasoning in social decision making. Ethics is interpreted to include the…

An Ethical Frame for Research with Immigrant Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Jacqueline; Hernández, María G.; Saetermoe, Carrie L.; Suárez-Orozco, Carola

2013-01-01

In this introduction, the editors give an overview of the ways the volume addresses the growing individual and institutional calls for increased clarity and rigor in methodological, ethical, and practical research policies and guidelines for conducting research with immigrant individuals, families, and communities. In addition to summarizing the…

A Character Education Research Perspective for the 21st Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidson, Matthew

2014-01-01

The Institute for Excellence and Ethics (IEE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development and dissemination of research-based tools and strategies for building intentional cultures of excellence and ethics in education, athletics, home, and workplace settings. The following five emphases and recommended actions are offered are…

A Normative Code of Conduct for Admissions Officers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodum, Robert L.

2012-01-01

The increasing competition for the desired quantity and quality of college students, along with the rise of for-profit institutions, has amplified the scrutiny of behavior and ethics among college admissions professionals and has increased the need for meaningful ethical guidelines and codes of conduct. Many other areas of responsibility within…

Ethical Internationalisation in Higher Education: Interfaces with International Development and Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pashby, Karen; de Oliveira Andreotti, Vanessa

2016-01-01

This analysis is situated within a larger project focusing on ethics and internationalisation in higher education. Internationalisation is occurring at a fast pace and encompasses overlapping and contradictory aims largely framed by market imperatives. At the same time, institutions of higher education increasingly promote sustainability. We use a…

A Typology of University Ethical Lapses: Types, Levels of Seriousness, and Originating Location

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley, Patricia C.; Chang, Pepe Lee

2007-01-01

Scandals ranging from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) violations to falsified research results have fueled criticism of America's universities. Sports violations, research manipulation, gender discrimination, and other ethical lapses affect an entire institution as they have a spillover effect on its reputation. The results of…

Communication and Ethics: The Informal and Formal Curricula.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Thomas W.

1987-01-01

Noting that humans are educated more by than about the mass media, this paper argues that modern society has produced an informal (mediated) ethics curriculum which may be more powerful than the formal (institutionally educational) curriculum developed by academics and administrators. It first examines the informal curriculum, listing statistics…

Ethical Reasoning in STEM Disciplines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tekerek, Mehmet; Karakaya, Ferhat; Tekerek, Betül

2016-01-01

In this study, it was aimed to determine ethical reasoning of lecturers in STEM disciplines in terms of several independent variables (gender, working another institution, age, academic title, academic discipline, service period). This study was designed as a survey research. Lecturers in STEM disciplines in Kahramanmaras Sutçuimam University were…

Ethical Practices for College Presidents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Washington, DC.

A policy statement on ethical practices for college presidents developed by the Committee on Governance of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is presented. Presidents of AASCU member institutions recognize the special responsibilities that pertain to them by virtue of the public trust they hold. To fulfill that…

Health Research Ethics: Between Ethics Codes and Culture.

PubMed

Gheondea-Eladi, Alexandra

2017-10-01

This article is meant to describe and analyze some of the ethical difficulties encountered in a pilot research on treatment decisions of patients with chronic viral hepatitis C infection in Romania. It departs from an overview of the main ethics codes, and it shows that social health research on patients falls in between institutional codes of ethics. Furthermore, the article moves on to analyze so-called "important moments" of empirical research, such as the implementation of the ethical protocol, dealing with informal payments and with information on shady actions, as well as requests of information from interviewed patients and deciding when and if to breach confidentiality. In an attempt to evaluate the ad hoc solutions found in the field, the concluding remarks discuss these issues at the threshold of theory and practice.

Ethics and animal issues in US medical education.

PubMed

Wiebers, D O; Barron, R A; Leaning, J; Ascione, F R

1994-11-01

Increasing public and regulatory agency concern about a variety of animal protection issues that affect the field of medicine have made these issues increasingly relevant to medical school curricula. The purpose of this study was to assess the availability and forms of medical school training relating to ethical, conceptual, and societal concerns in the use of animals within the field of medicine and the perceived need for such training. Questionnaire surveys were mailed to the Deans of the 125 accredited US medical schools, and completed by Deans or their designees within the same medical institution. Questionnaire recipients were informed that results would be compiled in a fashion that did not identify specific individuals or institutions. Survey responses were obtained from 84 medical institutions (67% response). Sixty respondents (71%) indicated that their medical school offered or sponsored some type of activity related to ethical and conceptual concerns in the use of animals in medical research and training. Most schools (43) offered informal discussions/seminars relating to these issues, but nine schools offered full formal courses with up to 15 lectures on these topics. Programme content and perceived need for additional instruction varied greatly amongst respondents. The results suggest a wide diversity amongst US medical schools in the availability and perceived importance of medical school training relating to ethical and conceptual concerns in the uses of animals in medicine. It is proposed that instruction in these areas be pursued with more concerted efforts to address the growing body of knowledge about non-human beings and the ethical implications of such knowledge.

Tritherapy (Spinalon)-Elicited Spinal Locomotor Network Activation: Phase I-IIa Clinical Trial in Spinal Cord-Injured Patients

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

regulatory and administrative approvals from the US Department of Defense, the Human Research Protection Offices, and the local ethic board. The...submission of the corresponding documents to Health Canada and McGill University Health Center (MUHC) for Canadian regulatory approval (IND/CTA) and Ethics ...the investigator, Dr. Mohan Radhakrishna, submitted amended protocol and ICF to the Institutional (MUHC) Ethics Review Board. • Task 1i (June 11

Justification and authority in institutional review board decision letters.

PubMed

Clapp, Justin T; Gleason, Katharine A; Joffe, Steven

2017-12-01

While ethnographic study has described the discussions that occur during human subjects research ethics review, investigators have minimal access to the interactions of ethics oversight committees. They instead receive letters stipulating changes to their proposed studies. Ethics committee letters are central to the practice of research ethics: they change the nature of research, alter the knowledge it produces, and in doing so construct what ethical research is and how it is pursued. However, these letters have rarely been objects of analysis. Accordingly, we conducted a qualitative analysis of letters written by American institutional review boards (IRBs) overseeing biomedical and health behavioral research. We sought to clarify how IRBs exercise their authority by assessing the frequency with which they provided reasons for their stipulations as well as the nature of these reasons. We found that IRBs frequently do not justify their stipulations; rather, they often leave ethical or regulatory concerns implicit or frame their comments as boilerplate language replacements, procedural instructions, or demands for missing information. When they do provide justifications, their rationales exhibit substantial variability in explicitness and clarity. These rhetorical tendencies indicate that the authority of IRBs is grounded primarily in their role as bureaucratic gatekeepers. We conclude by suggesting that greater attention to justification could help shift the basis of the IRB-researcher relationship from compliance to mutual accountability. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Institutions' Espoused Values Perceived by Chinese Educational Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pang, Nicholas Sun-Keung; Wang, Ting

2012-01-01

This paper presents some key findings of a quantitative study which assessed a group of Chinese educational leaders' value orientations. A survey instrument "The Institutional Values Inventory" was used to investigate their perspectives on the values espoused by their institutions in terms of traditional Confucian ethics and values of…

5 CFR 4001.105 - Purchase of System institution assets.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Purchase of System institution assets... SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE FARM CREDIT SYSTEM INSURANCE CORPORATION § 4001.105 Purchase of System institution assets. (a) Prohibition on purchasing assets owned by a System...

'He is now like a brother, I can even give him some blood'--relational ethics and material exchanges in a malaria vaccine 'trial community' in The Gambia.

PubMed

Geissler, P Wenzel; Kelly, Ann; Imoukhuede, Babatunde; Pool, Robert

2008-09-01

This paper explores social relations within the 'trial community' (staff and volunteers) of a Malaria Vaccine Trial (MVT), implemented by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in The Gambia between 2001 and 2004. It situates ethical concerns with medical research within the everyday life of scientific fieldwork. Based upon discussions with volunteers and staff, we explore processes of mediation between scientific project and study population, and between formal ethics, local ethical debates and everyday practice. We observe that material contact and substantial transactions, notably of blood and medicine, are central to the construction of the MVT. These transactions are guided by a concrete and relational form of ethics, which contrasts with the abstract and vertical formal ethical principles underwriting the scientific study protocol. The success of the MVT owed much to these kinship-like ethics. One possible conclusion from these observations is that research ethics should be understood, not just as a quasi-legal frame but also as an open, searching movement, much in the same way that kinship is not merely a juridical institution and a prescriptive frame of rules, but a network made through relational work. However, this conclusion raises new problems: by contrasting formal, abstract principles to intimate, immediate relations, and economic justice to personal morality, we accept that the order of medical research is moved further out of the public and political, and into the domains of either quasi-legal claims or of private morality. Irrespective of the undeniable importance of clear-cut rules and of good face-to-face relations, a third essential foundation of medical research ethics is the democratically constituted public sphere, including equitable health services, and transparent institutions to facilitate open debate and regulate particular interests. Ultimately, the ethics of global science can rely neither on principles nor trust but requires citizenship and democratic government.

Nurse middle manager ethical dilemmas and moral distress.

PubMed

Ganz, Freda D; Wagner, Nurit; Toren, Orly

2015-02-01

Nurse managers are placed in a unique position within the healthcare system where they greatly impact upon the nursing work environment. Ethical dilemmas and moral distress have been reported for staff nurses but not for nurse middle managers. To describe ethical dilemmas and moral distress among nurse middle managers arising from situations of ethical conflict. The Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing-Middle Manager Questionnaire and a personal characteristics questionnaire were administered to a convenience sample of middle managers from four hospitals in Israel. Middle managers report low to moderate levels of frequency and intensity of ethical dilemmas and moral distress. Highest scores were for administrative dilemmas. Middle managers experience lower levels of ethical dilemmas and moral distress than staff nurses, which are irrespective of their personal characteristics. Interventions should be developed, studied, and then incorporated into institutional frameworks in order to improve this situation. © The Author(s) 2014.

Virtues and humanitarian ethics.

PubMed

Löfquist, Lars

2017-01-01

This paper analyses the contribution of virtue ethics, the study of good character traits, to the humanitarian context. It argues that a virtue ethics perspective paints a realistic picture of the use of ethical standards in morally complex circumstances. Virtuous relief workers can employ standards in their thinking, but they are also committed to professional excellence that goes beyond any formal code. The concept of virtue ethics places a stress on moral development, which can be facilitated by role models that impart modest and feasible ideals. However, virtue ethics cannot provide simple guidelines on how to resolve difficult situations. It is possible that two virtuous persons can disagree on what should be done in a particular instance. In addition, a virtue ethics perspective emphasises the need for both individuals and organisations to discuss the actual purpose of relief work in order to pinpoint the virtues of a good relief professional. © 2017 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2017.

Medical bribery and the ethics of trust: the Romanian case.

PubMed

Manea, Teodora

2015-02-01

Medical bribery seems to be a global problem from Eastern Europe and the Balkans to China, a diffuse phenomenon, starting with morally acceptable gratitude and ending with institutional bribery. I focus my attention on Romania and analyze similar cases in Eastern European and postcommunist countries. Medical bribery can be regarded as a particular form of human transaction, a kind of primitive contract that occurs when people do not trust institutions or other forms of social contract that are meant to guarantee their rights and protect their interests. Concluding with strategies to fight medical bribery, I will underline better public policies for financing health and social care, and an ethic of trust that may help to restore trustworthiness of institutions and to rebuild interpersonal trust. This should be complemented by an educational program dedicated to understanding the negative consequences and mechanisms of corruption and the importance of ethical behavior. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Ethical analyses of institutional measures to increase health care worker influenza vaccination rates.

PubMed

Zimmerman, Richard K

2013-12-16

Health care worker (HCW) influenza vaccination rates are modest. This paper provides a detailed ethical analysis of the major options to increase HCW vaccination rates, comparing how major ethical theories would address the options. The main categories of interventions to raise rates include education, incentives, easy access, competition with rewards, assessment and feedback, declination, mandates with alternative infection control measures, and mandates with administrative action as consequences. The aforementioned interventions, except mandates, arouse little ethical controversy. However, these efforts are time and work intensive and rarely achieve vaccination rates higher than about 70%. The primary concerns voiced about mandates are loss of autonomy, injustice, lack of due process, and subsuming the individual for institutional ends. Proponents of mandates argue that they are ethical based on beneficence, non-maleficence, and duty. A number of professional associations support mandates. Arguments by analogy can be made by mandates for HCW vaccination against other diseases. The ethical systems used in the analyses include evolutionary ethics, utilitarianism, principalism (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice), Kantism, and altruism. Across these systems, the most commonly preferred options are easy access, assessment and feedback, declinations, and mandates with infection control measures as consequences for non-compliance. Given the ethical imperatives of non-maleficence and beneficence, the limited success of lower intensive interventions, and the need for putting patient safety ahead of HCW convenience, mandates with additional infection control measures as consequences for non-compliance are preferred. For those who opt out of vaccination due to conscience concerns, such mandates provide a means to remain employed but not put patient safety at risk. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Past, Present, and Future of Informed Consent in Pain and Genomics Research: Challenges Facing Global Medical Community.

PubMed

Compagnone, Christian; Schatman, Michael E; Rauck, Richard L; Van Zundert, Jan; Kraus, Monika; Primorac, Dragan; Williams, Frances; Allegri, Massimo; Saccani Jordi, Gloria; Fanelli, Guido

2017-01-01

In recent decades, there has been a revision of the role of institutional review boards with the intention of protecting human subjects from harm and exploitation in research. Informed consent aims to protect the subject by explaining all of the benefits and risks associated with a specific research project. To date, there has not been a review published analyzing issues of informed consent in research in the field of genetic/Omics in subjects with chronic pain, and the current review aims to fill that gap in the ethical aspects of such investigation. Despite the extensive discussion on ethical challenges unique to the field of genetic/Omics, this is the first attempt at addressing ethical challenges regarding Informed Consent Forms for pain research as the primary focus. We see this contribution as an important one, for while ethical issues are too often ignored in pain research in general, the numerous arising ethical issues that are unique to pain genetic/Omics suggest that researchers in the field need to pay even greater attention to the rights of subjects/patients. This article presents the work of the Ethic Committee of the Pain-Omics Group (www.painomics.eu), a consortium of 11 centers that is running the Pain-Omics project funded by the European Community in the 7th Framework Program theme (HEALTH.2013.2.2.1-5-Understanding and controlling pain). The Ethic Committee is composed of 1 member of each group of the consortium as well as key opinion leaders in the field of ethics and pain more generally. © 2016 The Authors. Pain Practice published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of World Institute of Pain.

Ethical issues in health workforce development.

PubMed Central

Cash, Richard

2005-01-01

Increasing the numbers of health workers and improving their skills requires that countries confront a number of ethical dilemmas. The ethical considerations in answering five important questions on enabling health workers to deal appropriately with the circumstances in which they must work are described. These include the problems of the standards of training and practice required in countries with differing levels of socioeconomic development and different priority diseases; how a society can be assured that health practitioners are properly trained; how a health system can support its workers; diversion of health workers and training institutions; and the teaching of ethical principles to student health workers. The ethics of setting standards for the skills and care provided by traditional health-care practitioners are also discussed. PMID:15868019

Ethics in health sciences librarianship.

PubMed Central

Hurych, J M; Glenn, A C

1987-01-01

Against a background of discussion about drafting of an ethical code for librarians and a review of articles confronting ethical issues in librarianship, the authors surveyed the 150 institutional members of the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (HSLI) regarding their perceptions of ethical concerns. Among the issues addressed in the survey are library organization, personnel policies, and professional competency, along with the traditional concerns of professional versus personal values, privacy and confidentiality, access to materials, and materials selection criteria in a health sciences context. Based on a 60% response rate, survey results indicate widespread agreement on some issues and a conspicuous lack of consensus on others. Further research is suggested in order to assess the need for a separate ethical code for health sciences librarians. PMID:3450346

Ethical Issues Affecting Human Participants in Community College Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wurtz, Keith

2011-01-01

The increasing demand of constituents to conduct analyses in order to help inform the decision-making process has led to the need for Institutional Research (IR) guidelines for community college educators. One method of maintaining the quality of research conducted by IR staff is to include professional development about ethics. This article…

Ethical Practice in Learning through Participation: Showcasing and Evaluating the PACE Ethical Practice Module

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Michaela; Beale, Alison; Hammersley, Laura; Lloyd, Kate; Semple, Anne-Louise; White, Karolyn

2013-01-01

In 2008, Macquarie University instituted the Participation and Community Engagement (PACE) initiative. This initiative embeds units in the curriculum that involve learning through participation (LTP) that is mutually beneficial to the student, the University and the organisation or community in which student participation activities take place.…

Canadian Youth Volunteering Abroad: Rethinking Issues of Power and Privilege

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngo, Mai

2013-01-01

This paper discusses the role of institutions in the ethical engagement of Canadian youth volunteers abroad. In recent years, researchers and practitioners in the international field have questioned the ethics of volunteering as part of development, with scrutiny on who actually benefits from volunteering initiatives. Since the 1960s, over 65,000…

Embedding Ethics in Business and Higher Education: From Leadership to Management Imperative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soule, Edward

2005-01-01

Prompted by reports of corporate corruption and unethical conduct on college campuses, and spurred by discussions at Forum meetings, the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) committed to developing ideas and strategies to respond to the question of embedding ethics in our businesses and institutions of higher education. This report was framed…

5 CFR 6801.106 - Prohibition on supervisory employees' seeking credit from institutions involved in work assignments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Personnel BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR... dependent child; (2) A company or business if the employee or the employee's spouse or dependent child owns... conditions available to the public. (d) Waivers. The Board's Designated Agency Ethics Official, after...

Regulations and Ethical Considerations for Astronomy Education Research II: Resources and Worked Examples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brogt, Erik; Dokter, Erin; Antonellis, Jessie; Buxner, Sanlyn

2008-01-01

This article discusses the legal and ethical requirements of human subjects research proposals in astronomy education research. We present an overview of the relevant laws, regulations, and guidelines that inform an Institutional Review Board evaluation of proposed research. We also present examples of potential research projects in astronomy…

Social Learning Theory: A Multicultural Study of Influences on Ethical Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanna, Richard C.; Crittenden, Victoria L.; Crittenden, William F.

2013-01-01

We propose Social Learning Theory as a theoretical foundation for understanding the ethical standards of future business leaders. Using data drawn from students from 115 four-year undergraduate institutions in 36 different countries, the relationships among role models, capitalism, and laws were examined. The data suggest that future business…

Advances in Graduate Marketing Curriculum: Paying Attention to Ethical, Social, and Sustainability Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, James

2013-01-01

This research explores the impact of coercive, mimetic, and normative isomorphic pressures on the coverage and offering of courses addressing ethical, social, and sustainability issues (ESSI) in business schools' graduate marketing curricula. Data from the Aspen Institute's Beyond Grey Pinstripes program are analyzed to detect if significant…

A Hands-On Approach for Teaching Denial of Service Attacks: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trabelsi, Zouheir; Ibrahim, Walid

2013-01-01

Nowadays, many academic institutions are including ethical hacking in their information security and Computer Science programs. Information security students need to experiment common ethical hacking techniques in order to be able to implement the appropriate security solutions. This will allow them to more efficiently protect the confidentiality,…

Learning Analytics and the Academic Library: Professional Ethics Commitments at a Crossroads

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Kyle M. L.; Salo, Dorothea

2018-01-01

In this paper, the authors address learning analytics and the ways academic libraries are beginning to participate in wider institutional learning analytics initiatives. Since there are moral issues associated with learning analytics, the authors consider how data mining practices run counter to ethical principles in the American Library…

University Social Responsibility (USR): Identifying an Ethical Foundation within Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Shu-Hsiang; Nasongkhla, Jaitip; Donaldson, J. Ana

2015-01-01

Social responsibility is a responsibility not a requirement, of an organization for the impact of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, through transparent and ethical behavior that contributes to sustainable development, health and the welfare of society; which takes into account the expectations of stakeholders, is in…

Ethics review as a component of institutional approval for a multicentre continuous quality improvement project: the investigator's perspective

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background For ethical approval of a multicentre study in Canada, investigators must apply separately to individual Research Ethics Boards (REBs). In principle, the protection of human research subjects is of utmost importance. However, in practice, the process of multicentre ethics review can be time consuming and costly, requiring duplication of effort for researchers and REBs. We used our experience with ethical review of The Canadian Perinatal Network (CPN), to gain insight into the Canadian system. Methods The applications forms of 16 different REBs were abstracted for a list of standardized items. The application process across sites was compared. Correspondence between the REB and the investigators was documented in order to construct a timeline to approval, identify the specific issues raised by each board, and describe how they were resolved. Results Each REB had a different application form. Most (n = 9) had a two or three step application process. Overall, it took a median of 31 days (range 2-174 days) to receive an initial response from the REB. Approval took a median of 42 days (range 4-443 days). Privacy and consent were the two major issues raised. Several additional minor or administrative issues were raised which delayed approval. Conclusions For CPN, the Canadian REB process of ethical review proved challenging. REBs acted independently and without unified application forms or submission procedures. We call for a critical examination of the ethical, privacy and institutional review processes in Canada, to determine the best way to undertake multicentre review. PMID:20673343

Collaborative international research: ethical and regulatory issues pertaining to human biological materials at a South African institutional research ethics committee.

PubMed

Sathar, Aslam; Dhai, Amaboo; van der Linde, Stephan

2014-12-01

Human Biological Materials (HBMs) are an invaluable resource in biomedical research. To determine if researchers and a Research Ethics Committee (REC) at a South African institution addressed ethical issues pertaining to HBMs in collaborative research with developed countries. Ethically approved retrospective cross-sectional descriptive audit. Of the 1305 protocols audited, 151 (11.57%) fulfilled the study's inclusion criteria. Compared to other developed countries, a majority of sponsors (90) were from the USA (p = 0.0001). The principle investigators (PIs) in all 151 protocols informed the REC of their intent to store HBMs. Only 132 protocols informed research participants (P < 0.0001). In 148 protocols informed consent (IC) was obtained from research participants, 116 protocols (76.8%) solicited broad consent compared to specific consent (32; 21.2%) [p < 0.0001]. In 105 cases a code was used to maintain confidentiality. HBMs were anonymised in 14 protocols [p < 0.0001]. More protocols informed the REC (90) than the research participants (67) that HBMs would be exported (p = 0.011). Export permits (EPs) and Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) were not available in 109 and 143 protocols, respectively. Researchers and the REC did not adequately address the inter-related ethical and regulatory issues pertaining to HBMs. There was a lack of congruence between the ethical guidelines of developed countries and their actions which are central to the access to HBMs in collaborative research. HBMs may be leaving South Africa without EPs and MTAs during the process of international collaborative research. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Research Ethics Review and Aboriginal Community Values: Can the Two be Reconciled?

PubMed

Glass, Kathleen Cranley; Kaufert, Joseph

2007-06-01

CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH ETHICS REVIEW COMMITTEES (RECs) are heavily influenced by the established academic or health care institutional frameworks in which they operate, sharing a cultural, methodological and ethical perspective on the conduct of research involving humans. The principle of autonomous choice carries great weight in what is a highly individualistic decision-making process in medical practice and research. This assumes that the best protection lies in the ability of patients or research participants to make competent, voluntary, informed choices, evaluating the risks and benefits from a personal perspective. Over the past two decades, North American and international indigenous researchers, policy makers and communities have identified key issues of relevance to them, but ignored by most institutional or university-based RECs. They critique the current research review structure, and propose changes on a variety of levels in an attempt to develop more community sensitive research ethics review processes. In doing so, they have emphasized recognition of collective rights including community consent. Critics see alternative policy guidelines and community-based review bodies as challenging the current system of ethics review. Some view them as reflecting a fundamental difference in values. In this paper, we explore these developments in the context of the political, legal and ethical frameworks that have informed REC review. We examine the process and content of these frameworks and ask how this contrasts with emerging Aboriginal proposals for community-based research ethics review. We follow this with recommendations on how current REC review models might accommodate the requirements of both communities and RECs.

Ethics, culture and nursing practice in Ghana.

PubMed

Donkor, N T; Andrews, L D

2011-03-01

This paper describes how nurses in Ghana approach ethical problems. The International Council of Nurses' (ICN) Code for Nurses (2006) that serves as the model for professional code of ethics worldwide also acknowledges respect for healthy cultural values. Using the ICN's Code and universal ethical principles as a benchmark, a survey was conducted in 2009 to ascertain how nurses in Ghana respond to ethical and cultural issues in their practice. The study was qualitative with 200 participant nurses. Data were obtained through anonymous self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Nurses' approaches to ethical problems in Ghana do not always meet expectations of the ICN Code for Nurses. They are also informed by local ethical practices related to the institutional setting and cultural environment in the country. While some cultural values complemented the ICN's Code and universal ethical principles, others conflicted with them. These data can assist nurses to provide culturally competent solutions to ethical dilemmas in their practice. Dynamic communication between nurses and patients/clients, intentional study of local cultural beliefs, and the development of ethics education will improve the conformity between universal ethical standards and local cultural values. © 2011 The Authors. International Nursing Review © 2011 International Council of Nurses.

Development and communication of written ethics policies on euthanasia in Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium (Flanders).

PubMed

Gastmans, Chris; Lemiengre, Joke; de Casterlé, Bernadette Dierckx

2006-10-01

To describe whether and how Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium (Flanders) have developed written ethics policies on euthanasia and communicated these policies to their employees, patients, and patient's relatives. A cross-sectional mail survey of general directors of Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium (Flanders). Of the 298 targeted institutions, 81% of hospitals and 62% of nursing homes returned complete questionnaires. A high percentage of Catholic hospitals (79%) and a moderate percentage of nursing homes (30%) had written ethics policies on euthanasia. Both caregivers and healthcare administrators were involved in the development and approval of these policies. Physicians and nurses were best informed about the policies. More than half of the nursing homes (57%) took the initiative to inform both residents and relatives about the policies, while only one hospital did so. The high prevalence of written ethics policies on euthanasia in Flemish Catholic hospitals may reflect the concern of healthcare administrators to maintain the quality of care for patients requesting euthanasia. However, the true contribution of these policies to quality end-of-life care and to supporting caregivers remains unknown and needs further research. Legislation and centrally developed guidelines might influence healthcare institutions to develop ethics policies.

Ethics and privacy issues of a practice-based surveillance system: need for a national-level institutional research ethics board and consent standards.

PubMed

Kotecha, Jyoti A; Manca, Donna; Lambert-Lanning, Anita; Keshavjee, Karim; Drummond, Neil; Godwin, Marshall; Greiver, Michelle; Putnam, Wayne; Lussier, Marie-Thérèse; Birtwhistle, Richard

2011-10-01

To describe the challenges the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) experienced with institutional research ethics boards (IREBs) when seeking approvals across jurisdictions and to provide recommendations for overcoming challenges of ethical review for multisite and multijurisdictional surveillance and research. The CPCSSN project collects and validates longitudinal primary care health information (relating to hypertension, diabetes, depression, chronic obstructive lung disease, and osteoarthritis) from electronic medical records across Canada. Privacy and data storage security policies and processes have been developed to protect participants' privacy and confidentiality, and IREB approval is obtained in each participating jurisdiction. Inconsistent interpretation and application of privacy and ethical issues by IREBs delays and impedes research programs that could better inform us about chronic disease. The CPCSSN project's experience with gaining approval from IREBs highlights the difficulty of conducting pan-Canadian health surveillance and multicentre research. Inconsistent IREB approvals to waive explicit individual informed consent produced particular challenges for researchers. The CPCSSN experience highlights the need to develop a better process for researchers to obtain timely and consistent IREB approvals for multicentre surveillance and research. We suggest developing a specialized, national, centralized IREB responsible for approving multisite studies related to population health research.

Teaching Ethics to Pediatric Residents: A Literature Analysis and Synthesis.

PubMed

Martakis, K; Czabanowska, K; Schröder-Bäck, P

2016-09-01

Ethics education rarely exists in pediatric resident curricula, although ethical conflicts are common in the clinical practice. Ethics education can prepare residents to successfully handle these conflicts. We searched for methods in teaching ethics to clinical and especially pediatric residents, and identified recurring barriers to ethics teaching and solutions to overcome them. Literature from 4 electronic databases with peer-reviewed articles was screened in 3 phases and analyzed. The literature included papers referring to applied methods or recommendations to teaching ethics to clinical residents, and on a second level focusing especially on pediatrics. An analysis and critical appraisal was conducted. 3 231 articles were identified. 96 papers were included. The applied learning theory, the reported teaching approaches, the barriers to teaching ethics and the provided solutions were studied and analyzed. We recommend case-based ethics education, including lectures, discussion, individual study; regular teaching sessions in groups, under supervision; affiliation to an ethics department, institutional and departmental support; ethics rounds and consultations not as core teaching activity; recurring problems to teaching ethics, primarily deriving from the complexity of residential duties to be addressed in advance; teaching ethics preferably in the first years of residency. We may be cautious generalizing the implementation of results on populations with different cultural backgrounds. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Responsibilities of ethics committees].

PubMed

von Bergmann, K

1999-01-15

Increasing numbers of clinical research projects are submitted to ethical committees (institutional review boards) for approval. New therapeutic developments have to be evaluated by these committees to protect patients/volunteers. Thus, the responsibility of ethical committees is increasing. The "Nürnberger Kodex" and the "Declaration of Helsinki" are the background for these evaluations. According to the German drug law the physician is obligated by law to submit the protocol to such a committee. In addition, local state physician authorities require such a procedure. Important considerations during the review process besides ethical aspects are the informed consent, which should be written in an understandable form, and the obligations of the insurance.

[Responsibilities of ethics committees].

PubMed

von Bergmann, K

2000-05-01

Increasing numbers of clinical research projects are submitted to ethical committees (institutional review boards) for approval. New therapeutic developments have to be evaluated by these committees to protect patients/volunteers. Thus, the responsibility of ethical committees is increasing. The "Nürnberger Kodex" and the "Declaration of Helsinki" are the background for these evaluations. According to the German drug law the physician is obligated by law to submit the protocol to such a committee. In addition, local state physician authorities require such a procedure. Important considerations during the review process besides ethical aspects are the informed consent, which should be written in an understandable form, and the obligations of the insurance.

The current situation regarding the establishment of national ethical guidelines for biomedical research in Thailand and its neighboring countries.

PubMed

Kojima, Somei; Waikagul, Jitra; Rojekittikhun, Wichit; Keicho, Naoto

2005-05-01

This study discusses the establishment of ethical guidelines for ethical review for biomedical research performed in Thailand, and to some extent, in neighboring countries. There are differences, from country to country, at national and institutional levels regarding guidelines for ethical review committees. Only a handbook issued by Mahidol University describes guidelines for human genetic research and on research dealing with reproductive technology. Both these areas require special consideration to avoid violating human dignity, rights, and confidentiality. This indicates that further efforts should be made to establish research guidelines and/or principles dealing with the human genome.

Environmental health and justice and the right to research: institutional review board denials of community-based chemical biomonitoring of breast milk.

PubMed

Saxton, Dvera I; Brown, Phil; Seguinot-Medina, Samarys; Eckstein, Lorraine; Carpenter, David O; Miller, Pamela; Waghiyi, Vi

2015-11-25

Recently, conflicts and challenges have emerged regarding environmental justice and research ethics for some indigenous communities. Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) responded to community requests for breast milk biomonitoring and conceived the Breast Milk Pilot Study (BMPS). Despite having community support and federal and private funding, the BMPS remains incomplete due to repeated disapprovals by the Alaska Area IRB (Institutional Review Board). In this commentary, we explore the consequences of years of IRB denials, in terms of health inequalities, environmental justice, and research ethics. We highlight the greater significance of this story with respect to research in Alaska Native communities, biomonitoring, and global toxics regulation. We offer suggestions to community-based researchers conducting biomonitoring projects on how to engage with IRBs in order to cultivate reflective, context-based research ethics that better consider the needs and concerns of communities.

Committees for Ethics in Research involving human subjects.

PubMed

Hossne, William Saad; Vieira, Sonia; De Freitas, Corina Bontempo Duca

2008-01-01

In Brazil since October 1996 there have been guidelines for research involving human subjects. Now human subjects know when their treatment is part of research. Deceit is no longer tolerated. But is not enough to say we offer an explanation to the potential subject and we offer a choice before he or she is confronted with an informed consent form. As in all professional activity, scientific investigation needs social controls. In Brazil, the ultimate responsibility of an investigation lies on the investigator, but in every institution where research is carried out there is a Committee for Ethics in Research. All Committees are subordinated to the National Commission of Ethics in Research, which is submitted to the Brazilian Institute of Health. During 2005 around 17,000 protocols involving 700,000 human subjects were revised by 475 Committees distributed all over the country. Approximately 7,000 people are now working in these Committees.

Ethical issues in mental health

PubMed Central

DuBois, James; Bailey-Burch, Brendolyn; Bustillos, Dan; Campbell, Jean; Cottler, Linda; Fisher, Celia; Hadley, Whitney B.; Hoop, Jinger G.; Roberts, Laura; Salter, Erica K.; Sieber, Joan E.; Stevenson, Richard D.

2012-01-01

Purpose of review To describe community engaged research (CEnR) and how it may improve the quality of a research study while addressing ethical concerns that communities may have with mental health and substance abuse research. This article includes a review of the literature as well as recommendations from an expert panel convened with funding from the US National Institute of Mental Health. Recent findings CEnR represents a broad spectrum of practices including representation on institutional ethics committees, attitude research with individuals from the study population, engaging community advisory boards, forming research partnerships with community organizations, and including community members as co-investigators. Summary CEnR poses some challenges; for example, it requires funding and training for researchers and community members. However, it offers many benefits to researchers and communities and some form of CEnR is appropriate and feasible in nearly every study involving human participants. PMID:21460643

Pulmonary hypertensive crisis and its efficient management. A Case report and literature review.

PubMed

Khan, Karima Karam; Khan, Fazal Hameed

2017-06-01

There is a staggering upsurge in the incidence of plagiarism of scientific literature. Literature shows divergent views about the factors that make plagiarism reprehensible. This review explores the causes and remedies for the perennial academic problem of plagiarism. Data sources were searched for full text English language articles published from 2000 to 2015. Data selection was done using medical subject headline (MeSH) terms plagiarism, unethical writing, academic theft, retraction, medical field, and plagiarism detection software. Data extraction was undertaken by selecting titles from retrieved references and data synthesis identified key factors leading to plagiarism such as unawareness of research ethics, poor writing skills and pressure or publish mantra. Plagiarism can be managed by a balance among its prevention, detection by plagiarism detection software, and institutional sanctions against proven plagiarists. Educating researchers about ethical principles of academic writing and institutional support in training writers about academic integrity and ethical publications can curtail plagiarism.

Local research ethics committees of the Mexican Institute of Social Security: results of a national survey.

PubMed

Valdez-Martinez, E; Garduño-Espinosa, J; Martinez-Salgado, H; Porter, J D H

2004-07-01

To identify the structure, composition and work of the local research ethics committees (LRECs) of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in Mexico. A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed that included all LRECs of the IMSS. A total of 335 questionnaires coded in advance were posted to each LREC secretary. The requested information was from January to December 2001. The response rate was 100%. Two hundred and thirty-eight (71%) LRECs were reported as 'active' during the evaluation period. Although almost all LRECs were composed of diverse professionals, physicians dominated the LRECs' membership. The rejection rate for research projects was lower than 1 per 1000, and less than half of the LRECs held meetings to issue a report of projects' evaluation. LRECs need to foster good ethical research; implementation of an audit system to examine their work might help improve LRECs' performance and accountability.

Ethical challenges in social media engagement and research: considerations for code of engagement practices.

PubMed

Gehner, Monika; Oughton, Deborah

2016-06-01

Social media have great potential for effectively communicating about public health risks so people make healthier and safer choices. If used appropriately, social media can strengthen trust between the public and the institution. If used inappropriately, it may also create distrust. This note addresses some of the ethical challenges in using social media for communication and research. It reflects on opportunities in social media risk communication based on experience from the World Health Organization (WHO) and suggests a code of engagement be included in corporate social media policies that contain guidance as to what conduct is or is not appropriate with a view to maintaining public trust in the institution. The note concludes with considerations about the ethical use of social media in research, which is particularly relevant for entities communicating about ionizing radiation, including during emergency situations.

“History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine”: The Last Ten Years. A Survey of Course Content, Methods and Structural Preconditions at Twenty-nine German Medical Faculties

PubMed Central

Schildmann, Jan; Bruns, Florian; Hess, Volker; Vollmann, Jochen

2017-01-01

Objective: “History, Theory, Ethics of Medicine” (German: “Geschichte, Theorie, Ethik der Medizin”, abbreviation: GTE) forms part of the obligatory curriculum for medical students in Germany since the winter semester 2003/2004. This paper presents the results of a national survey on the contents, methods and framework of GTE teaching. Methods: Semi-structured questionnaire dispatched in July 2014 to 38 institutions responsible for GTE teaching. Descriptive analysis of quantitative data and content analysis of free-text answers. Results: It was possible to collect data from 29 institutes responsible for GTE teaching (response: 76%). There is at least one professorial chair for GTE in 19 faculties; two professorial chairs or professorships remained vacant at the time of the survey. The number of students taught per academic year ranges from <100 to >350. Teaching in GTE comprises an average of 2.18 hours per week per semester (min: 1, max: 6). Teaching in GTE is proportionally distributed according to an arithmetic average as follows: history: 35.4%, theory 14.7% and ethics 49.9%. Written learning objectives were formulated for GTE in 24 faculties. The preferred themes of teaching in history, theory or ethics which according to respondents should be taught comprise a broad spectrum and vary. Teaching in ethics (79 from a max. of 81 possible points) is, when compared to history (61/81) and theory (53/81), attributed the most significance for the training of medical doctors. Conclusion: 10 years after the introduction of GTE the number of students and the personnel resources available at the institutions vary considerably. In light of the differences regarding the content elicited in this study the pros and cons of heterogeneity in GTE should be discussed. PMID:28584871

Avian flu pandemic - flight of the healthcare worker?

PubMed

Shabanowitz, Robert B; Reardon, Judith E

2009-12-01

One of the ethical issues identified in response to a possible pandemic is healthcare workers' duty to provide care during a communicable disease outbreak. Healthcare employees may be subject to a variety of work obligations under such conditions. Questions of duty to treat remain controversial, and debate continues as to the ethical articulation of a duty to treat. This study aimed to investigate opinions from healthcare workers themselves on the perceived duty to treat, and how they might respond to a severe avian flu pandemic. Using system-wide e-mail, we surveyed employees at our rural tertiary/quaternary care health system regarding their knowledge of our institution's pandemic planning policy and their willingness to work in the event of a virulent avian pandemic. Results (N=908) show that employees felt a responsibility for"duty to care." Over 60% disagreed that it was ethical to abandon the workplace during a pandemic. However, opinions also stated that employees wanted autonomy to decide whether or not to work (65%). When asked about volunteering, 79% would agree to volunteer, given some incentives and protective options, the most salient being protective equipment (with relative training for use) and infectious disease training. Our research demonstrated that the healthcare workers a tour institution voiced an earnest willingness to work in the event of an avian flu pandemic, if provided with the necessary input, protections and tools, and education. The use of an electronic methodology for dissemination of surveys allowed the low-cost solicitation of information from a vast proportion of the workforce with ease, providing the institutional ethics committee with the empirical data needed to articulate more meaningful,thoughtful, and robust suggestions for ethical pandemic planning.

"History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine": The Last Ten Years. A Survey of Course Content, Methods and Structural Preconditions at Twenty-nine German Medical Faculties.

PubMed

Schildmann, Jan; Bruns, Florian; Hess, Volker; Vollmann, Jochen

2017-01-01

Objective: "History, Theory, Ethics of Medicine" (German: "Geschichte, Theorie, Ethik der Medizin", abbreviation: GTE) forms part of the obligatory curriculum for medical students in Germany since the winter semester 2003/2004. This paper presents the results of a national survey on the contents, methods and framework of GTE teaching. Methods: Semi-structured questionnaire dispatched in July 2014 to 38 institutions responsible for GTE teaching. Descriptive analysis of quantitative data and content analysis of free-text answers. Results: It was possible to collect data from 29 institutes responsible for GTE teaching (response: 76%). There is at least one professorial chair for GTE in 19 faculties; two professorial chairs or professorships remained vacant at the time of the survey. The number of students taught per academic year ranges from <100 to >350. Teaching in GTE comprises an average of 2.18 hours per week per semester (min: 1, max: 6). Teaching in GTE is proportionally distributed according to an arithmetic average as follows: history: 35.4%, theory 14.7% and ethics 49.9%. Written learning objectives were formulated for GTE in 24 faculties. The preferred themes of teaching in history, theory or ethics which according to respondents should be taught comprise a broad spectrum and vary. Teaching in ethics (79 from a max. of 81 possible points) is, when compared to history (61/81) and theory (53/81), attributed the most significance for the training of medical doctors. Conclusion: 10 years after the introduction of GTE the number of students and the personnel resources available at the institutions vary considerably. In light of the differences regarding the content elicited in this study the pros and cons of heterogeneity in GTE should be discussed.

[Ethical foundations of institutional psychotherapy].

PubMed

Cano, N

2006-01-01

The idea behind this work is to have an ethical examination of the institutional psychotherapy movement which has long influenced French public psychiatry and which has progressively, since the 80s, been subject to growing doubts. In the first part, institutional psychotherapy is presented. It is a model for theoretical development and practice in psychiatric care. It came into being just following the end of the Second World War at the same time as modern medical ethics. Its principles come on the one hand, from recognition of asylums' pathogenic effects--which led to the crushing of the patient's being--and on the other, through recognition of the uniqueness of each person and the subjectivity of mental suffering. These elements gave rise to creativity within the world of medicine and, in the sector, generated the science of psychiatry which advocated for continuity in care (both inpatient and outpatient) and preventive work directed at the population. This movement called for the use of the institution in its dynamic aspect which promotes exchanges and allows patients to situate or resituate themselves in historic and symbolic dimensions. It privileges a high level of transversality, maximum communication, favouring speaking out loud and responsibility. It requires a permanent analysis of the institutional counter transference (emotional reactions of the caregivers involved, their interrelations and the social and material organization of the institution) which determines the therapeutic action itself. THEORICAL BASIS: In a second part, its theoretical foundations and its practice shall be investigated in light of the guiding concepts of medical ethics (justice, autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance). Institutional psychotherapy responds to the need for justice by considering the patient as a whole and by conceiving each patient as being like oneself despite the differences (associated with the mode of hospitalization, the social or diagnostic category). The principle of autonomy lies always at care's horizon, made concrete in practice by notions of habitability, orientation to place and time, references, by activities and by meetings. The principle of beneficence was the basis for round-the-clock intakes, the use of an established theoretical model and clinical practice centred on the patient's words. Institutional analysis attempts not to repeat the alienation felt by the patient, alienation being associated with the treatment environment, and draws from the principle of non-malfeasance. It therefore appears that the approach of institutional psychotherapy conforms with ethical requirements, given its major interest in the subject who aspires to find meaning in life. The third part discusses current orientations in care related to the explosion in neuroscience and technology, the promotion of the citizen as an individual, and legal doctrine, budgetary constraints, and new demands made on psychiatry from the social and political domains. The widespread trend towards simplification, swollen with hypotheses from neuroscientific research, is progressively reducing mental illness to target symptoms. The recovery of the notion of citizenship through technological capture and ideological strains in contemporary culture have also affected a suspension of the subject as a thinking and desiring being, and exempted caregivers from considering transferral phenomena, indicated with the appearance of new signifiers: user, stress, plague, network. The new medical-technical jargon of scales, tables, and management participates in the same process of patient objectification and care compartmentalization. In this context, under the cover of science and generally good actions, psychiatry has become biologisized, whilst being diluted from its social aspect, even as it becomes more repressive for patients. This observation leads to the conclusion, in the fourth part, that there is a need for psychiatry, which within its own discipline has a hard time finding sufficient resources, to refocus itself ethically. This enlightenment could come within a multi-disciplinary ethical space, uniting practitioners and psychiatric caregivers, psychoanalysts, philosophers, sociologists, neurobiologists etc. The research should concern the legitimacy of the principles that underlie psychiatric action in its care and preventive aspects.

Cell-based interventions for neurologic conditions: ethical challenges for early human trials.

PubMed

Mathews, D J H; Sugarman, J; Bok, H; Blass, D M; Coyle, J T; Duggan, P; Finkel, J; Greely, H T; Hillis, A; Hoke, A; Johnson, R; Johnston, M; Kahn, J; Kerr, D; Kurtzberg, J; Liao, S M; McDonald, J W; McKhann, G; Nelson, K B; Rao, M; Regenberg, A; Siegel, A W; Smith, K; Solter, D; Song, H; Vescovi, A; Young, W; Gearhart, J D; Faden, R

2008-07-22

Attempts to translate basic stem cell research into treatments for neurologic diseases and injury are well under way. With a clinical trial for one such treatment approved and in progress in the United States, and additional proposals under review, we must begin to address the ethical issues raised by such early forays into human clinical trials for cell-based interventions for neurologic conditions. An interdisciplinary working group composed of experts in neuroscience, cell biology, bioethics, law, and transplantation, along with leading disease researchers, was convened twice over 2 years to identify and deliberate on the scientific and ethical issues raised by the transition from preclinical to clinical research of cell-based interventions for neurologic conditions. While the relevant ethical issues are in many respects standard challenges of human subjects research, they are heightened in complexity by the novelty of the science, the focus on the CNS, and the political climate in which the science is proceeding. Distinctive challenges confronting US scientists, administrators, institutional review boards, stem cell research oversight committees, and others who will need to make decisions about work involving stem cells and their derivatives and evaluate the ethics of early human trials include evaluating the risks, safety, and benefits of these trials, determining and evaluating cell line provenance, and determining inclusion criteria, informed consent, and the ethics of conducting early human trials in the public spotlight. Further study and deliberation by stakeholders is required to move toward professional and institutional policies and practices governing this research.

Resisting the seduction of "ethics creep": using Foucault to surface complexity and contradiction in research ethics review.

PubMed

Guta, Adrian; Nixon, Stephanie A; Wilson, Michael G

2013-12-01

In this paper we examine "ethics creep", a concept developed by Haggerty (2004) to account for the increasing bureaucratization of research ethics boards and institutional review boards (REB/IRBs) and the expanding reach of ethics review. We start with an overview of the recent surge of academic interest in ethics creep and similar arguments about the prohibitive effect of ethics review. We then introduce elements of Michel Foucault's theoretical framework which are used to inform our analysis of empirical data drawn from a multi-phase study exploring the accessibility of community-engaged research within existing ethics review structures in Canada. First, we present how ethics creep emerged both explicitly and implicitly in our data. We then present data that demonstrate how REB/IRBs are experiencing their own form of regulation. Finally, we present data that situate ethics review alongside other trends affecting the academy. Our results show that ethics review is growing in some ways while simultaneously being constrained in others. Drawing on Foucauldian theory we reframe ethics creep as a repressive hypothesis which belies the complexity of the phenomenon it purports to explain. Our discussion complicates ethics creep by proposing an understanding of REB/IRBs that locates them at the intersection of various neoliberal discourses about the role of science, ethics, and knowledge production. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Roles, Duties, and Ethical Responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer. Perspectives…Presenting Thought Leaders' Points of View

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ladd, Lawrence R.

2011-01-01

Released in conjunction with the "Sustaining an Ethical Culture on Campus" webcast, this essay in the "Perspectives" series examines the complexities of the role of the chief financial officer. This white paper focuses on how the financial leader of an institution must balance technical knowledge along with stellar…

An Analysis of the Objectivist Ethics in Educational Leadership through Ayn Rand's "The Virtues of Selfishness" (1964)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Karen Dupre; Kritsonis, William Allan

2007-01-01

Educational leadership is vital to sustain quality educational institutions. It is the role of the school leader to indoctrinate stakeholders with the objectivist ethics-embracing egoism and relinquishing altruistic ideals when it comes to invigorating the system with sustainable change. Ayn Rand's timeless piece of literature "The Virtue of…

Honor Code/Code of Conduct in International Institutions of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alahmad, Ala'

2013-01-01

In today's society, students are faced with many ethical decisions about which they are uncertain. Unfortunately, many of these problems are rooted not only in their academic lives, but also in the workplace. These problems stem from a lack of knowledge concerning decision-making. This problem presents an actual global dilemma. Codifying ethics in…

Animal Research in Higher Education: Engaging the Moral and Ethical Conversation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dolby, Nadine

2017-01-01

Faculty and staff are rightly concerned with the moral and ethical dimensions of human relationships on campus. Yet, they rarely discuss the animals with whom they share their campuses and larger world. In this article, the author reflects on her experience on an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee to raise questions about animals in…

Ethical Use of Information Technologies in Education: Important Issues for America's Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sivin, Jay P.; Bialo, Ellen R.

In response to the rapid growth of computer crime and such illegitimate practices as piracy and fraud, the National Institute of Justice and the Office for Educational Research and Improvement have formed a partnership to promote school programs on the ethical uses of new technologies. This report, the first of the partnership, is designed to…

Relationship Factors Contributing to the Progression of Combat Related PTSD and Suiciality Over Time

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-01

6 Table 1. Hiring and orientation of project staff, purchasing and installing equipment...continues to refine and maintain detailed protocols for data checking and downloading, and ethics training for all study personnel (e.g., general...human subjects certification, documented agreement to specific ethical practices regarding this study). Five University of Colorado Institutional Review

Professional and Institutional Morality: Building Ethics Programmes on the Dual Loyalty of Academic Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nijhof, Andre; Wilderom, Celeste; Oost, Marlies

2012-01-01

Most professionals have the arduous task of managing their own dual loyalty: in one contextual relationship, they are members of a profession while simultaneously they are employed as members of a locally established organisation. This sense of a dual loyalty has to be taken into account when professional bureaucracies develop ethics programmes.…

Legal and Ethical Issues in the Use of Video in Education Research. Working Paper Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arafeh, Sousan; McLaughlin, Mary

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), through the Education Statistics Services Institute, supported the research in this report to help frame future discussions about the use of video research techniques in educational settings. This paper addresses the context of technological, legal, and ethical change facing researchers who use…

Ethical Decision Making for Private Colleges: The Relationship to the Auditor's Opinion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shepard, Nicole G.

2013-01-01

Colleges and other not-for-profit institutions have been experiencing increasing fiscal concerns because of the American economic downturn that began in 2008. As a result, fraudulent activity is becoming more of an issue. This study focused on the annual auditor's report and its relationship to the ethical relativism of financial managers. In…

Researching Transformation at a South African University--Ethical Dilemmas in the Politics of Representation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ismail, Salma

2011-01-01

This article focuses on the complexity of researching institutional culture and the ethical dilemmas posed in representing staff according to race and gender, drawing on three qualitative studies undertaken at a previously white South African university between 2000 and 2007. During the research process, issues of representation became a concern…

Justifiability and Animal Research in Health: Can Democratisation Help Resolve Difficulties?

PubMed

Khoo, Shaun Yon-Seng

2018-02-14

Current animal research ethics frameworks emphasise consequentialist ethics through cost-benefit or harm-benefit analysis. However, these ethical frameworks along with institutional animal ethics approval processes cannot satisfactorily decide when a given potential benefit is outweighed by costs to animals. The consequentialist calculus should, theoretically, provide for situations where research into a disease or disorder is no longer ethical, but this is difficult to determine objectively. Public support for animal research is also falling as demand for healthcare is rising. Democratisation of animal research could help resolve these tensions through facilitating ethical health consumerism or giving the public greater input into deciding the diseases and disorders where animal research is justified. Labelling drugs to disclose animal use and providing a plain-language summary of the role of animals may help promote public understanding and would respect the ethical beliefs of objectors to animal research. National animal ethics committees could weigh the competing ethical, scientific, and public interests to provide a transparent mandate for animal research to occur when it is justifiable and acceptable. Democratic processes can impose ethical limits and provide mandates for acceptable research while facilitating a regulatory and scientific transition towards medical advances that require fewer animals.

Current trends in medical ethics education in Japanese medical schools.

PubMed

Kurosu, Mitsuyasu

2012-09-01

The Japanese medical education program has radically improved during the last 10 years. In 1999, the Task Force Committee on Innovation of Medical Education for the 21st Century proposed a tutorial education system, a core curriculum, and a medical student evaluation system for clinical clerkship. In 2001, the Model Core Curriculum of medical education was instituted, in which medical ethics became part of the core material. Since 2005, a nationwide medical student evaluation system has been applied for entrance to clinical clerkship. Within the Japan Society for Medical Education, the Working Group of Medical Ethics proposed a medical ethics education curriculum in 2001. In line with this, the Japanese Association for Philosophical and Ethical Research in Medicine has begun to address the standardization of the curriculum of medical ethics. A medical philosophy curriculum should also be included in considering illness, health, life, death, the body, and human welfare.

The importance of an ethics curriculum in surgical education.

PubMed

Keune, Jason D; Kodner, Ira J

2014-07-01

The nature of surgical work provides fertile ground in which ethical problems can grow. The concept of what it means to be a "good surgeon" includes the ability to reason and deliberate about how the surgeon's unique technical capabilities integrate with larger society. Ethics education at the resident level is important for several reasons. It can ensure that care is delivered in a socially and ethically responsible manner through global and emergent effects on institutions and traditions. It will prepare residents for leadership positions. It can allow residents to confront issues, such as the scientific underdetermination of surgical practice, the application of new technologies to trusting patients that have been developed by for-profit companies, and a surgical environment that is becoming increasingly institutionalized. Resident ethics education provides the opportunity for a model of collective deliberation to be developed that can be used to make sense of ethical problems as they arise.

Ethical Perceptions of Customers Towards the Services of Foreign Branch Banks in Northern Cyprus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veli Safakli, Okan

Nowadays, the ethical principles, which are institutionalized as generally accepted principles like the human rights, have become very popular in the banking sector like in many other sectors. The implementation of these principles provides public trust and reputation as well as competitive edge to the banks. The branches of the foreign banks, which have their head offices in foreign countries, are expected to be in harmony with the ethical principles more than the local banks. Therefore, ethical perceptions of customers towards the services of the foreign branch banks in Northern Cyprus have been researched in this study. According to this survey, it was found out that the foreign branch banks, generally, respect the ethical principles as expected. However, there is a necessity of institutional and administrative restructuring in the direction of improving the quality of the ethic standards used in these banks.

Lived religion: implications for nursing ethics.

PubMed

Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl

2009-07-01

This article explores how ethics and religion interface in everyday life by drawing on a study examining the negotiation of religious and spiritual plurality in health care. Employing methods of critical ethnography, namely, interviews and participant observation, data were collected from patients, health care providers, administrators and spiritual care providers. The findings revealed the degree to which 'lived religion' was intertwined with 'lived ethics' for many participants; particularly for people from the Sikh faith. For these participants, religion was woven into everyday life, making distinctions between public and private, secular and sacred spaces improbable. Individual interactions, institutional resource allocation, and social discourses are all embedded in social relationships of power that prevent religion from being a solely personal or private matter. Strategies for the reintegration of religion into nursing ethics are: adjusting professional codes and theories of ethics to reflect the influence of religion; and the contribution of critical perspectives, such as postcolonial feminism, to the understanding of lived ethics.

Using Social Media as a Research Recruitment Tool: Ethical Issues and Recommendations.

PubMed

Gelinas, Luke; Pierce, Robin; Winkler, Sabune; Cohen, I Glenn; Lynch, Holly Fernandez; Bierer, Barbara E

2017-03-01

The use of social media as a recruitment tool for research with humans is increasing, and likely to continue to grow. Despite this, to date there has been no specific regulatory guidance and there has been little in the bioethics literature to guide investigators and institutional review boards (IRBs) faced with navigating the ethical issues such use raises. We begin to fill this gap by first defending a nonexceptionalist methodology for assessing social media recruitment; second, examining respect for privacy and investigator transparency as key norms governing social media recruitment; and, finally, analyzing three relatively novel aspects of social media recruitment: (i) the ethical significance of compliance with website "terms of use"; (ii) the ethics of recruiting from the online networks of research participants; and (iii) the ethical implications of online communication from and between participants. Two checklists aimed at guiding investigators and IRBs through the ethical issues are included as appendices.

Agrarian philosophy and ecological ethics.

PubMed

Thompson, Paul B

2008-12-01

Mainstream environmental ethics grew out of an approach to value that was rooted in a particular conception of rationality and rational choice. As weaknesses in this approach have become more evident, environmental philosophers have experimented with both virtue ethics and with pragmatism as alternative starting points for developing a more truly ecological orientation to environmental philosophy. However, it is possible to see both virtue ethics and pragmatism as emerging from older philosophical traditions that are here characterized as "agrarian." Agrarian philosophy stresses the role of nature, soil and climate in the formation of moral character as well as social and political institutions. As such, reaching back to the agrarian tradition may provide a way to move forward with both virtue oriented themes as well as pragmatist themes in developing ecological ethics.

Research Ethics Education for Community-Engaged Research: A Review and Research Agenda

PubMed Central

Anderson, Emily E.; Solomon, Stephanie; Heitman, Elizabeth; DuBois, James M.; Fisher, Celia B.; Kost, Rhonda G.; Lawless, Mary Ellen; Ramsey, Cornelia; Jones, Bonnie; Ammerman, Alice; Ross, Lainie Friedman

2012-01-01

Community engagement is increasingly becoming an integral part of research. “Community-engaged research” (CEnR) introduces new stakeholders as well as unique challenges to the protection of participants and the integrity of the research process. We—a group of representatives of CTSA-funded institutions and others who share expertise in research ethics and CEnR—have identified gaps in the literature regarding (1) ethical issues unique to CEnR; (2) the particular instructional needs of academic investigators, community research partners, and IRB members; and (3) best practices for teaching research ethics. This paper presents what we know, as well as what we still need to learn, in order to develop quality research ethics educational materials tailored to the full range of stakeholder groups in CEnR. PMID:22565579

Evidence-Based Ethics for Neurology and Psychiatry Research

PubMed Central

Kim, Scott Y. H.

2004-01-01

Summary: American bioethics, historically arising out of theology and philosophy, has been dominated by the method of normative analysis. Ethics as policy, however, requires in addition a solid evidence base. This paper discusses the background conditions that make neurotherapeutics research particularly challenging. Three key ethical issues are discussed within an evidence-based ethics framework: the ethical challenges arising from changes in the financial incentive structures for academic researchers and their institutions, the challenges of risk-benefit analysis for neurotherapeutics protocols testing innovative interventions, and the evolving issues surrounding impaired decision-making capacity and surrogate consent for research. For each of these issues, selected empirical data are reviewed, areas for further inquiry are noted, and the need for development of novel methods for bioethics policy research is discussed. PMID:15717040

Professional Ethics for Astronomers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marvel, K. B.

2005-05-01

There is a growing recognition that professional ethics is an important topic for all professional scientists, especially physical scientists. Situations at the National Laboratories have dramatically proven this point. Professional ethics is usually only considered important for the health sciences and the legal and medical professions. However, certain aspects of the day to day work of professional astronomers can be impacted by ethical issues. Examples include refereeing scientific papers, serving on grant panels or telescope allocation committees, submitting grant proposals, providing proper references in publications, proposals or talks and even writing recommendation letters for job candidates or serving on search committees. This session will feature several speakers on a variety of topics and provide time for questions and answers from the audience. Confirmed speakers include: Kate Kirby, Director Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics - Professional Ethics in the Physical Sciences: An Overview Rob Kennicutt, Astrophysical Journal Editor - Ethical Issues for Publishing Astronomers Peggy Fischer, Office of the NSF Inspector General - Professional Ethics from the NSF Inspector General's Point of View

Human Participants in Engineering Research: Notes from a Fledgling Ethics Committee.

PubMed

Koepsell, David; Brinkman, Willem-Paul; Pont, Sylvia

2015-08-01

For the past half-century, issues relating to the ethical conduct of human research have focused largely on the domain of medical, and more recently social-psychological research. The modern regime of applied ethics, emerging as it has from the Nuremberg trials and certain other historical antecedents, applies the key principles of: autonomy, respect for persons, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice to human beings who enter trials of experimental drugs and devices (Martensen in J Hist Med Allied Sci 56(2):168-175, 2001). Institutions such as Institutional Review Boards (in the U.S.) and Ethics Committees (in Europe and elsewhere) oversee most governmentally-funded medical research around the world, in more than a hundred nations that are signers of the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association 2008). Increasingly, research outside of medicine has been recognized to pose potential risks to human subjects of experiments. Ethics committees now operate in the US, Canada, the U.K. and Australia to oversee all governmental-funded research, and in other jurisdictions, the range of research covered by such committees is expanding. Social science, anthropology, and other fields are falling under more clear directives to conduct a formal ethical review for basic research involving human participants (Federman et al. in Responsible research: a systems approach to protecting research participants. National Academies Press, Washington, 2003, p. 36). The legal and institutional response for protecting human subjects in the course of developing non-medical technologies, engineering, and design is currently vague, but some universities are establishing ethics committees to oversee their human subjects research even where the experiments involved are non-medical and not technically covered by the Declaration of Helsinki. In The Netherlands, as in most of Europe, Asia, Latin America, or Africa, no laws mandate an ethical review of non-medical research. Yet, nearly 2 years ago we launched a pilot ethics committee at our technical university and began soliciting our colleagues to submit their studies for review. In the past year, we have become officially recognized as a human subjects ethics committee for our university and we are beginning the process of requiring all studies using human subjects to apply for our approval. In this article, we consider some of the special problems relating to protecting human participants in a technology context, and discuss some of our experiences and insights about reviewing human subjects research at a technical university, concluding: that not less than in medical studies, human participants used in technology research benefit from ethical committees' reviews, practical requirements for publications, grants, and avoiding legal liability are also served by such committees, and ethics committees in such contexts have many similarities to, but certain other special foci than medical ethics committees. We believe that this experience, and these observations, are helpful for those seeking to establish such committees in technology research contexts, and for framing the particular issues that may arise in such contexts for the benefit of researchers, and nascent committees seeking to establish their own procedures.

A proposal for the international regulation of solar radiation management research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrow, D. R.; Kopp, R. E.; Lloyd, I. D.; Oppenheimer, M.

2011-12-01

The most ethically problematic experiments in geoengineering are regional or global trials of solar radiation management (SRM) technologies. Because of their potential wide-spread impacts, if trials are to be conducted, international oversight is necessary to assure they are conducted ethically. The three main questions to ask about any (constellation of) institution(s) that would oversee SRM trials are: (1) Is it conducive to good science? (2) Is it politically effective? (3) Is it politically legitimate? We sketch a proposal for an international body that would regulate SRM trials in such a way as to promote an affirmative answer to all three questions.

Involving citizens in the ethics of biobank research: informing institutional policy through structured public deliberation.

PubMed

O'Doherty, Kieran C; Hawkins, Alice K; Burgess, Michael M

2012-11-01

This paper reports on the design, implementation, and results of a structured public deliberation on human tissue biobanking conducted in Vancouver, Canada, in 2009. This study builds on previous work on the use of deliberative democratic principles and methods to engage publics on the social and ethical implications of human tissue biobanking. In a significant refinement of methods, we focus on providing public input to institutional practice and governance of biobanks using a tailored workbook structure to guide participants' discussion. Our focus is on the local context and practices of a particular institution, the BC BioLibrary. However, elements of both the methodological innovations and the ethical guidance implied by our findings are generalisable for biobanking internationally. Recommendations from the deliberative forum include issues of informed consent, privacy protections, collection of biospecimens, governance of biobanks, and how to manage the process of introduction between biobanks and potential donors. Notable findings include public support for research use of anonymised un-consented tissue samples when these come from archived collections, but lack of support when they are collected prospectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 26.1112 - Review by institution.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Review by institution. 26.1112 Section 26.1112 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS Basic Ethical Requirements for Third-Party Human Research for Pesticides Involving Intentional...

40 CFR 26.1112 - Review by institution.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Review by institution. 26.1112 Section 26.1112 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS Basic Ethical Requirements for Third-Party Human Research for Pesticides Involving Intentional...

40 CFR 26.1112 - Review by institution.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Review by institution. 26.1112 Section 26.1112 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS Basic Ethical Requirements for Third-Party Human Research for Pesticides Involving Intentional...

40 CFR 26.1112 - Review by institution.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Review by institution. 26.1112 Section 26.1112 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS Basic Ethical Requirements for Third-Party Human Research for Pesticides Involving Intentional...

40 CFR 26.1112 - Review by institution.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Review by institution. 26.1112 Section 26.1112 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS Basic Ethical Requirements for Third-Party Human Research for Pesticides Involving Intentional...

Nursing Homes as Teaching Institutions: Legal Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kapp, Marshall B.

1984-01-01

Discusses the trend toward affiliation of nursing homes with educational programs as clinical teaching institutions for medical, nursing, and allied health students. Reviews potential ethical and legal issues for the nursing home administrator, professional staff member, educator, and student, including informed consent, supervisory…

[The ethical reflection approach in decision-making processes in health institutes].

PubMed

Gruat, Renaud

2015-12-01

Except in the specific case of end-of-life care, the law says nothing about the way in which health professionals must carry out ethical reflection regarding the treatment of their patients. A problem-solving methodology called the "ethical reflection approach" performed over several stages can be used. The decision-making process involves the whole team and draws on the ability of each caregiver to put forward a reasoned argument, in the interest of the patient. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Ethical issues in health philanthropy.

PubMed

Reid, Lynette

2017-11-01

Health leaders in Canada face a myriad of challenges with healthcare philanthropy-not just the practical question of how to be successful but also ethical questions. Is fundraising in partnership with companies that are implicated in the so-called lifestyle diseases appropriate? When does appropriate recognition for donors or volunteers cross the line into facilitating preferential access to care? Ethical decision-making in health philanthropy considers appropriate recognition or partnership in donor relations in the context of the public good with which healthcare institutions are entrusted and the fiduciary responsibilities of hospitals and clinicians to patients.

Research Ethics Education in Post-Graduate Medical Curricula in I.R. Iran.

PubMed

Nikravanfard, Nazila; Khorasanizadeh, Faezeh; Zendehdel, Kazem

2017-08-01

Research ethics training during post-graduate education is necessary to improve ethical standards in the design and conduct of biomedical research. We studied quality and quantity of research ethics training in the curricula of post-graduate programs in the medical science in I.R. Iran. We evaluated curricula of 125 post-graduate programs in medical sciences in I.R. Iran. We qualitatively studied the curricula by education level, including the Master and PhD degrees and analyzed the contents and the amount of teaching allocated for ethics training in each curriculum. We found no research ethics training in 72 (58%) of the programs. Among the 53 (42%) programs that considered research ethics training, only 17 programs had specific courses for research ethics and eight of them had detailed topics on their courses. The research ethics training was optional in 25% and mandatory in 76% of the programs. Post-graduate studies that were approved in the more recent years had more attention to the research ethics training. Research ethics training was neglected in most of the medical post-graduate programs. We suggest including sufficient amount of mandatory research ethics training in Master and PhD programs in I.R. Iran. Further research about quality of research ethics training and implementation of curricula in the biomedical institutions is warranted. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Internet research and ethics: transformative issues in nursing education research.

PubMed

Mahon, Pamela Young

2014-01-01

As practice in the educational and clinical settings seeks to be evidence based, faculty are increasingly required to conduct research and publish the results to advance the science of our profession. The purpose of this article is to discuss transformative research ethics because Internet use is an increasing component of current research studies. How nurse educators can engage in research-utilizing methodologies inclusive of technology while adhering to ethical standards developed before the advance of the Internet is reviewed. Recommendations are cited to address the new questions that arise at institutional review board meetings resulting from potential ethical implications of using students or research participants in cyber space. © 2014.

Citizen Science on Your Smartphone: An ELSI Research Agenda.

PubMed

Rothstein, Mark A; Wilbanks, John T; Brothers, Kyle B

2015-01-01

The prospect of newly-emerging, technology-enabled, unregulated citizen science health research poses a substantial challenge for traditional research ethics. Unquestionably, a significant amount of research ethics study is needed to prepare for the inevitable, widespread introduction of citizen science health research. Using the case study of mobile health (mHealth) research, this article provides an ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) research agenda for citizen science health research conducted outside conventional research institutions. The issues for detailed analysis include the role of IRBs, recruitment, inclusion and exclusion criteria, informed consent, confidentiality and security, vulnerable participants, incidental findings, and publication and data sharing. © 2015 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

A code of ethics for evidence-based research with ancient human remains.

PubMed

Kreissl Lonfat, Bettina M; Kaufmann, Ina Maria; Rühli, Frank

2015-06-01

As clinical research constantly advances and the concept of evolution becomes a strong and influential part of basic medical research, the absence of a discourse that deals with the use of ancient human remains in evidence-based research is becoming unbearable. While topics such as exhibition and excavation of human remains are established ethical fields of discourse, when faced with instrumentalization of ancient human remains for research (i.e., ancient DNA extractions for disease marker analyses) the answers from traditional ethics or even more practical fields of bio-ethics or more specific biomedical ethics are rare to non-existent. The Centre for Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich solved their needs for discursive action through the writing of a self-given code of ethics which was written in dialogue with the researchers at the Institute and was published online in Sept. 2011: http://evolutionäremedizin.ch/coe/. The philosophico-ethical basis for this a code of conduct and ethics and the methods are published in this article. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Violation of ethical principles in clinical research. Influences and possible solutions for Latin America.

PubMed

Cornejo Moreno, Borys Alberto; Gómez Arteaga, Gress Marissell

2012-12-16

Even though we are now well into the 21st century and notwithstanding all the abuse to individuals involved in clinical studies that has been documented throughout History, fundamental ethical principles continue to be violated in one way or another. Here are some of the main factors that contribute to the abuse of subjects participating in clinical trials: paternalism, improper use of informed consent, lack of strict ethical supervision, pressure exerted by health institutions to increase the production of scientific material, and the absence of legislation regarding ethics in terms of health care and research. Are researchers ready to respect fundamental ethical principles in light of the ample window of information provided by individual genomes, while defending the rights of the subjects participating in clinical studies as a major priority? As one of the possible solutions to this problem, education regarding fundamental ethical principles is suggested for participants in research studies as an initial method of cognitive training in ethics, together with the promotion of ethical behavior in order to encourage the adoption of reasonable policies in the field of values, attitudes and behavior.

Do Brazilian scientific journals promote the adherence of Chagas disease researchers to international ethical principles?

PubMed

Malafaia, Guilherme; Guilhem, Dirce; Talvani, André

2013-01-01

The ethical aspects of the Brazilian publications about human Chagas disease (CD) developed between 1996 and 2010 and the policy adopted by Brazilian medical journals were analyzed. Articles were selected on the SciELO Brazil data basis, and the evaluation of ethical aspects was based on the normative contents about ethics in research involving human experimentation according to the Brazilian resolution of the National Health Council no. 196/1996. The editorial policies of the section "Instructions to authors" were analyzed. In the period of 1996-2012, 58.9% of articles involving human Chagas disease did not refer to the fulfillment of the ethical aspects concerning research with human beings. In 80% of the journals, the requirements and confirmation of the information about ethical aspects in the studies of human CD were not observed. Although a failure in this type of service is still observed, awareness has been raised in federal agencies, educational institutions/research and publishing groups to standardize the procedures and ethical requirements for the Brazilian journals, reinforcing the fulfillment of the ethical parameters, according to the resolution of NHC no. 196/1996.

Challenges in the Ethical Review of Peer Support Interventions

PubMed Central

Simmons, David; Bunn, Christopher; Nakwagala, Fred; Safford, Monika M.; Ayala, Guadalupe X.; Riddell, Michaela; Graffy, Jonathan; Fisher, Edwin B.

2015-01-01

PURPOSE Ethical review processes have become increasingly complex. We have examined how 8 collaborating diabetes peer-support clinical trials were assessed by ethics committees. METHODS The ethical reviews from the 8 peer-support studies were collated and subjected to a thematic analysis. We mapped the recommendations of local Institutional Review Boards and ethics committees onto the “4+1 ethical framework” (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice, along with concern for their scope of application). RESULTS Ethics committees did not consistently focus on tasks within the 4+1 framework: many conducted reviews of scientific, organizational, and administrative activities. Of the 20 themes identified across the ethical reviews, only 4 fell within the scope of the 4+1 framework. Variation in processes and requirements for ethics committees were particularly evident between study countries. Some of the consent processes mandated by ethical review boards were disproportionate for peer support, increased participant burden, and reduced the practicality of testing an ethical intervention. Across the 8 studies, ethics committees’ reviews included the required elements to ensure participant safety; however, they created a range of hurdles that in some cases delayed the research and required consent processes that could hinder the spontaneity and/or empathy of peer support. CONCLUSION Ethics committees should avoid repeating the work of other trusted agencies and consider the ethical validity of “light touch” consent procedures for peer-support interventions. The investigators propose an ethical framework for research on peer support. PMID:26304976

Framing ethical acceptability: a problem with nuclear waste in Canada.

PubMed

Wilding, Ethan T

2012-06-01

Ethical frameworks are often used in professional fields as a means of providing explicit ethical guidance for individuals and institutions when confronted with ethically important decisions. The notion of an ethical framework has received little critical attention, however, and the concept subsequently lends itself easily to misuse and ambiguous application. This is the case with the 'ethical framework' offered by Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), the crown-corporation which owns and is responsible for the long-term management of Canada's high-level nuclear fuel waste. It makes a very specific claim, namely that it is managing Canada's long-lived radioactive nuclear fuel waste in an ethically responsible manner. According to this organization, what it means to behave in an ethically responsible manner is to act and develop policy in accordance with its ethical framework. What, then, is its ethical framework, and can it be satisfied? In this paper I will show that the NWMO's ethical and social framework is deeply flawed in two respects: (a) it fails to meet the minimum requirements of a code of ethic or ethical framework by offering only questions, and no principles or rules of conduct; and (b) if posed as principles or rules of conduct, some of its questions are unsatisfiable. In particular, I will show that one of its claims, namely that it seek informed consent from individuals exposed to risk of harm from nuclear waste, cannot be satisfied as formulated. The result is that the NWMO's ethical framework is not, at present, ethically acceptable.

[Moral case deliberation: time for ethical reflection in the daily practice of mental health care].

PubMed

Vellinga, A; van Melle-Baaijens, E A H

2016-01-01

Nowadays, reflecting on ethics, which we choose to call moral case deliberation, is occurring more and more frequently in psychiatric institutions. We have personal experience of organising and supervising moral case deliberation in a large psychiatric institute and we can confirm the positive effects of moral case deliberation which have been reported in the literature. To describe a structured method for moral case deliberation which enables care-givers in health care and/or addiction care to reflect on moral dilemmas. We refer to the main findings in relevant literature and describe how we developed a structured method for implementing moral case deliberation. Our studies of the literature indicate that systematic reflection about ethical dilemmas can improve the quality of care and make care-givers more satisfied with their work. This is why we have developed our own method which is applicable particularly to psychiatric and/or addition care and which can be used systematically in discussions of moral dilemmas. Our method for discussing ethical issues works well in clinical practice, particularly when it is embedded in a multidisciplinary context. Of course, to ensure the continuity of the system, deliberation about moral and ethical issues needs to be financially safeguarded and embedded in the organisation. Discussion of moral issues improves the quality of care and increases care-givers' satisfaction with their work.

Toward ethical norms and institutions for climate engineering research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrow, David R.; Kopp, Robert E.; Oppenheimer, Michael

2009-10-01

Climate engineering (CE), the intentional modification of the climate in order to reduce the effects of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, is sometimes touted as a potential response to climate change. Increasing interest in the topic has led to proposals for empirical tests of hypothesized CE techniques, which raise serious ethical concerns. We propose three ethical guidelines for CE researchers, derived from the ethics literature on research with human and animal subjects, applicable in the event that CE research progresses beyond computer modeling. The Principle of Respect requires that the scientific community secure the global public's consent, voiced through their governmental representatives, before beginning any empirical research. The Principle of Beneficence and Justice requires that researchers strive for a favorable risk-benefit ratio and a fair distribution of risks and anticipated benefits, all while protecting the basic rights of affected individuals. Finally, the Minimization Principle requires that researchers minimize the extent and intensity of each experiment by ensuring that no experiments last longer, cover a greater geographical extent, or have a greater impact on the climate, ecosystem, or human welfare than is necessary to test the specific hypotheses in question. Field experiments that might affect humans or ecosystems in significant ways should not proceed until a full discussion of the ethics of CE research occurs and appropriate institutions for regulating such experiments are established.

Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cutter, Mary Ann G.; Drexler, Edward; McCullough, Laurence B.; McInerney, Joseph D.; Murray, Jeffrey C.; Rossiter, Belinda; Zola, John

The human genome project started in 1989 with the collaboration of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This document aims to develop an understanding among students of the human genome project and relevant issues. Topics include the science and technology of the human genome project, and the ethical and…

Towards an Understanding of the Place of Ethics in School-Based Action Research in the United Kingdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brindley, Sue; Bowker, Anne

2013-01-01

As school-based action research has taken a higher profile in UK schools, the place of ethics warrants particular attention. This paper draws on evidence from a taught online Master of Education course collated via chat room discussion where 53 researching teachers were asked to explore policy within their own institution regarding school-based…

Ethics in the Superintendency: The Actions of Malfeasance by a Few Superintendents Undermine the Credibility of Honest, Hard-Working Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pardini, Priscilla

2004-01-01

Experts suggest that moral and ethical lapses are undermining public trust in schools and their leaders--institutions and individuals long held to a higher standard of behavior than their peers in corporate and political arenas. Incidents of financial kickbacks, nepotism and conflicts of interest may grab the news media's attention. Yet…

Ethics and Corruption in Education. Results from the Expert Workshop (Paris, France, November 28-29, 2001). Policy Forum on Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallak, Jacques; Poisson, Muriel

This book summarizes the findings of a research workshop organized by the International Institute for Educational Planning on ethics and corruption in education. It makes a case for addressing the issue of corruption in education based on the experiences of the various participants of the workshop, representatives of various countries and…

Jobs '87: The Moral and Ethical Challenge of Joblessness and Underemployment in the American Economy. A Special Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lillie, John; And Others

The moral and ethical values enunciated by America's leading religious organizations lay much of the groundwork for its major democratic institutions and establish the benchmarks by which U.S. employment conditions and policies should be measured. The public's perception of the economy's relative well-being is based on oversimplified statistical…

HIV vaccines in Canada: legal and ethical issues--an overview.

PubMed

Garmaise, David

2002-07-01

In July 2002 the Legal Network released an overview paper on legal and ethical issues related to an HIV vaccine in Canada. The paper, which is based on a more detailed report prepared in collaboration with the Centre for Bioethics of the Clinical Research Institute of Montréal, calls for the establishment of a Canadian HIV Vaccine Plan.

Bioethical Issues in Providing Financial Incentives to Research Participants

PubMed Central

Resnik, David B.

2015-01-01

Offering research subjects financial incentives for their participation is a common practice that boosts recruitment but also raises ethical concerns, such as undue inducement, exploitation, and biased enrollment. This article reviews the arguments for providing participants with financial incentives, ethical concerns about payment, and approaches to establishing appropriate compensation levels. It also makes recommendations for investigators, institutions, and oversight committees. PMID:26807399

Re-Examining Race-Based Admissions Processes of American Institutions of Higher Education Using Multi-Dimensional Ethical Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutierrez, Kathrine J.; Green, Preston C., III

2004-01-01

The Supreme Court of the USA explains when universities may use race-based admissions policies without violating the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution. These rulings raise important ethical issues for universities that are presently using race as a consideration in their admissions decisions. This paper discusses some of the ethical…

Ethical Oversight of Student Data in Learning Analytics: A Typology Derived from a Cross-Continental, Cross-Institutional Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willis, James E.; Slade, Sharon; Prinsloo, Paul

2016-01-01

The growth of learning analytics as a means to improve student learning outcomes means that student data is being collected, analyzed, and applied in previously unforeseen ways. As the use of this data continues to shape academic and support interventions, there is increasing need for ethical reflection on "operational" approvals for…

Continuing oversight through site monitoring: experiences of an institutional ethics committee in an Indian tertiary-care hospital.

PubMed

Shetty, Yashashri C; Marathe, Padmaja; Kamat, Sandhya; Thatte, Urmila

2012-01-01

WHO-TDR and the Indian Council of Medical Research recommend site visits by institutional ethics committees (IECs) for continued oversight, to ensure the ethical conduct of research. Our IEC conducted seven site visits in 2008-2009 using a standardised format to monitor adherence to protocol and the informed consent process. The study identified issues related to informed consent (6/7), deviation from protocol (5/7), reporting of study progress to the IEC (3/7), recruiting additional participants without IEC approval (2/7), reporting of serious adverse events (1/7), investigator's lack of awareness of protocol and the informed consent document (2/7) and other findings. Investigators were informed about the findings and were asked to submit an explanation. The IEC issued warnings about not repeating such lapses in the future (5/7), restricted enrollment of new participants (2/7), recommended continued good clinical practice training to the study team (4/7), advised the recruitment of additional study coordinators (2/7), and requested the submission of adverse event reports (2/7) or sponsors' audit reports (2/7). Our study showed that the ethical conduct of studies can be ensured by conducting routine site monitoring.

The ethics of advertising for health care services.

PubMed

Schenker, Yael; Arnold, Robert M; London, Alex John

2014-01-01

Advertising by health care institutions has increased steadily in recent years. While direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising is subject to unique oversight by the Federal Drug Administration, advertisements for health care services are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and treated no differently from advertisements for consumer goods. In this article, we argue that decisions about pursuing health care services are distinguished by informational asymmetries, high stakes, and patient vulnerabilities, grounding fiduciary responsibilities on the part of health care providers and health care institutions. Using examples, we illustrate how common advertising techniques may mislead patients and compromise fiduciary relationships, thereby posing ethical risks to patients, providers, health care institutions, and society. We conclude by proposing that these risks justify new standards for advertising when considered as part of the moral obligation of health care institutions and suggest that mechanisms currently in place to regulate advertising for prescription pharmaceuticals should be applied to advertising for health care services more broadly.

Individual and Institutional Liability of Researchers in the Case of Scientific Fraud: Values and Ethics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baier, Eric; Dupraz, Laure

2007-01-01

How have university institutions generally tackled the fight against scientific fraud? We intend to throw light on the very process of public disclosure of scientific fraud, as it has transformed in the last 30 years within the framework of scientific research institutions. By focusing our analysis on the "denunciation process", we intend to refer…

Should Researchers Protect the Good Name and Reputation of Institutions in Which Research Is Done?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uys, L. R.

2008-01-01

The article explores the issue of protecting the good name and reputation of institutions and organisations in which research is being done. It explores current ethical codes in this regard, as well as legal provision for such protection. The issue of balancing the right of the researchers to share information about institutions in which research…

Fostering Nurses' Moral Agency and Moral Identity: The Importance of Moral Community.

PubMed

Liaschenko, Joan; Peter, Elizabeth

2016-09-01

It may be the case that the most challenging moral problem of the twenty-first century will be the relationship between the individual moral agent and the practices and institutions in which the moral agent is embedded. In this paper, we continue the efforts that one of us, Joan Liaschenko, first called for in 1993, that of using feminist ethics as a lens for viewing the relationship between individual nurses as moral agents and the highly complex institutions in which they do the work of nursing. Feminist ethics, with its emphasis on the inextricable relationship between ethics and politics, provides a useful lens to understand the work of nurses in context. Using Margaret Urban Walker's and Hilde Lindemann's concepts of identity, relationships, values, and moral agency, we argue that health care institutions can be moral communities and profoundly affect the work and identity and, therefore, the moral agency of all who work within those structures, including nurses. Nurses are not only shaped by these organizations but also have the power to shape them. Because moral agency is intimately connected to one's identity, moral identity work is essential for nurses to exercise their moral agency and to foster moral community in health care organizations. We first provide a brief history of nursing's morally problematic relationship with institutions and examine the impact institutional master narratives and corporatism exert today on nurses' moral identities and agency. We close by emphasizing the significance of ongoing dialogue in creating and sustaining moral communities, repairing moral identities, and strengthening moral agency. © 2016 The Hastings Center.

Community Partnered Research Ethics Training in Practice: A Collaborative Approach to Certification.

PubMed

Yonas, Michael A; Jaime, Maria Catrina; Barone, Jean; Valenti, Shannon; Documét, Patricia; Ryan, Christopher M; Miller, Elizabeth

2016-04-01

This report describes the development and implementation of a tailored research ethics training for academic investigators and community research partners (CRP). The Community Partnered Research Ethics Training (CPRET) and Certification is a free and publicly available model and resource created by a university and community partnership to ensure that traditional and non-traditional research partners may study, define, and apply principles of human subjects' research. To date, seven academic and 34 CRP teams have used this highly interactive, engaging, educational, and relationship building process to learn human subjects' research and be certified by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board (IRB). This accessible, flexible, and engaging research ethics training process serves as a vehicle to strengthen community and academic partnerships to conduct ethical and culturally sensitive research. © The Author(s) 2016.

A Qualitative Analysis of Power Differentials in Ethical Situations in Academia

PubMed Central

Gibson, Carter; Medeiros, Kelsey E.; Giorgini, Vincent; Mecca, Jensen T.; Devenport, Lynn D.; Connelly, Shane; Mumford, Michael D.

2014-01-01

Power and organizational hierarchies are ubiquitous to social institutions that form the foundation of modern society. Power differentials may act to constrain or enhance people's ability to make good ethical decisions. However, little scholarly work has examined perceptions of this important topic. The present effort seeks to address this issue by interviewing academics about hypothetical ethical problems that involve power differences among those involved. Academics discussed what they would do in these scenarios, often drawing on their own experiences. Using a think-aloud protocol, participants were prompted to discuss their reasoning and thinking behind their ethical decisions. These interview data were content analyzed using a semantic analysis program that identified a number of distinct ways that academics think about power differences and abuses in ethical situations. Implications of these findings are discussed. PMID:25356066

[National ethics committees and representative democracy: is the new German ethics committee more "democratic"?].

PubMed

Dagron, Stéphanie

2007-01-01

The bill passed in April 2007 by the German parliament aims to confer democratic legitimacy on the German Ethics Committee (deutscher Ethikrat) which has replaced the former National Ethics Committee (nationaler Ethikrat) set up in 2001. This law results from a wide debate which began in 2005 within the political parties about the role in democracy of the bodies charged with advising the people's representatives in the areas of biotechnology and modern medicine. In this article, the author explains why it was necessary to confer a certain democratic legitimacy on the new Ethics Committee and analyses the relation that exists between the democratic principle, the work of this type of committee and the national institutional structure retained to stimulate the debate and advise the political decision-makers, and even to prepare legislation concerning bioethics.

Unfinished business: ongoing ethical exceptionalism in the oversight of human pluripotent stem cell research in Canada.

PubMed

Baylis, Françoise; Downie, Jocelyn

2012-01-01

In this article, we critically examine the arguments for and against the exceptional status given human pluripotent stem cell research in Canada (through the latest [December 2010] revision of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans), and conclude that this exceptionalism is unwarranted and ethically unsound. In our view, the three federal research granting agencies should honor their longstanding commitment that researchers, research sponsors, and Research Ethics Boards in Canada have access to "a single reference document for all research involving humans conducted under the auspices of institutions eligible for Agency funding." As well, responsibility for the development, interpretation, and implementation of Canada's research ethics guidelines should be under the authority of a single oversight body that is independent of the federal research granting Agencies.

Ethical dilemmas in community-based participatory research: recommendations for institutional review boards.

PubMed

Flicker, Sarah; Travers, Robb; Guta, Adrian; McDonald, Sean; Meagher, Aileen

2007-07-01

National and international codes of research conduct have been established in most industrialized nations to ensure greater adherence to ethical research practices. Despite these safeguards, however, traditional research approaches often continue to stigmatize marginalized and vulnerable communities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has evolved as an effective new research paradigm that attempts to make research a more inclusive and democratic process by fostering the development of partnerships between communities and academics to address community-relevant research priorities. As such, it attempts to redress ethical concerns that have emerged out of more traditional paradigms. Nevertheless, new and emerging ethical dilemmas are commonly associated with CBPR and are rarely addressed in traditional ethical reviews. We conducted a content analysis of forms and guidelines commonly used by institutional review boards (IRBs) in the USA and research ethics boards (REBs) in Canada. Our intent was to see if the forms used by boards reflected common CBPR experience. We drew our sample from affiliated members of the US-based Association of Schools of Public Health and from Canadian universities that offered graduate public health training. This convenience sample (n = 30) was garnered from programs where application forms were available online for download between July and August, 2004. Results show that ethical review forms and guidelines overwhelmingly operate within a biomedical framework that rarely takes into account common CBPR experience. They are primarily focused on the principle of assessing risk to individuals and not to communities and continue to perpetuate the notion that the domain of "knowledge production" is the sole right of academic researchers. Consequently, IRBs and REBs may be unintentionally placing communities at risk by continuing to use procedures inappropriate or unsuitable for CBPR. IRB/REB procedures require a new framework more suitable for CBPR, and we propose alternative questions and procedures that may be utilized when assessing the ethical appropriateness of CBPR.

Ethical Dilemmas in Community-Based Participatory Research: Recommendations for Institutional Review Boards

PubMed Central

Travers, Robb; Guta, Adrian; McDonald, Sean; Meagher, Aileen

2007-01-01

National and international codes of research conduct have been established in most industrialized nations to ensure greater adherence to ethical research practices. Despite these safeguards, however, traditional research approaches often continue to stigmatize marginalized and vulnerable communities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has evolved as an effective new research paradigm that attempts to make research a more inclusive and democratic process by fostering the development of partnerships between communities and academics to address community-relevant research priorities. As such, it attempts to redress ethical concerns that have emerged out of more traditional paradigms. Nevertheless, new and emerging ethical dilemmas are commonly associated with CBPR and are rarely addressed in traditional ethical reviews. We conducted a content analysis of forms and guidelines commonly used by institutional review boards (IRBs) in the USA and research ethics boards (REBs) in Canada. Our intent was to see if the forms used by boards reflected common CBPR experience. We drew our sample from affiliated members of the US-based Association of Schools of Public Health and from Canadian universities that offered graduate public health training. This convenience sample (n = 30) was garnered from programs where application forms were available online for download between July and August, 2004. Results show that ethical review forms and guidelines overwhelmingly operate within a biomedical framework that rarely takes into account common CBPR experience. They are primarily focused on the principle of assessing risk to individuals and not to communities and continue to perpetuate the notion that the domain of “knowledge production” is the sole right of academic researchers. Consequently, IRBs and REBs may be unintentionally placing communities at risk by continuing to use procedures inappropriate or unsuitable for CBPR. IRB/REB procedures require a new framework more suitable for CBPR, and we propose alternative questions and procedures that may be utilized when assessing the ethical appropriateness of CBPR. PMID:17436114

[Role of Institutional Review Boards for multi-centre studies in national health services research - a cross-sectional study of the effort to obtain secondary ethical approvals for the DACAPO study].

PubMed

Blecha, Sebastian; Thomann-Hackner, Kathrin; Brandstetter, Susanne; Dodoo-Schittko, Frank; Seboek, Philipp; Apfelbacher, Christian; Graf, Bernhard M; Bein, Thomas

2015-09-01

Health services research (HSR) is of fundamental importance for the continuous improvement of preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic measures. The conduct of multi-centre HSR studies requires that ethical approval by Institutional review boards (IRB's) is obtained. We documented the effort, the complexity and the man power necessary to obtain secondary ethical approval for a national HSR in Germany ("Surviving the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome" [DACAPO-study]). Having obtained a primary ethical approval by the IRB of Regensburg University, the time, correspondence, necessity for amendments, corrections, or additional costs by 34 IRB's for 64 participating study centers was documented. The complete obtainment was found to be time consuming and associated with a high workload and man power. A time span of seven month was needed to receive votes from all IRB's. The median time span was 25,5 days (25 %/75 % percentile 13 and 42 days, respectively). Requirements in terms of corrections or amendments were inhomogeneous and frequent changes were necessary. There were additional fees for secondary votes of 4328,40 €. Total costs for the study center Regensburg were 21.193,40 € (2,6 % of the grant volume). Obtaining all ethical approvals for a multi-centre observational HSR study in Germany is complex and time consuming. Various and inhomogeneous formalities may delay the plan and realization of HSR. A Homogenization and simplification of the procedure of ethics votes should be discussed. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Bioethics in medical institutions--new custom or help? The example of clinical ethics consultation at a University Medical Center].

PubMed

Richter, G

2014-08-01

Although ethics committees are well established in the medical sciences for human clinical trials, animal research and scientific integrity, the development of clinical ethics in German hospitals started much later during the first decade of the twenty-first century. Clinical ethics consultation should be pragmatic and problem-centered and can be defined as an ethically qualified and informed conflict management within a given legal framework to deal with and resolve value-driven, normative problems in the care of patients. Clinical ethics consultations enable shared clinical decision-making of all parties (e.g. clinicians, patients, family and surrogates) involved in a particular patient's care. The clinical ethicist does not act as an ethics expert by making independent recommendations or decisions; therefore, the focus is different from other medical consultants. Ethics consultation was first established by healthcare ethics committees (HEC) or clinical ethics consultation (CEC) groups which were called in to respond to an ethically problematic situation. To avoid ethical dilemmas or crises and to act preventively with regard to ethical issues in individual patients, an ethics liaison service is an additional option to ethics case consultations which take place on a regular basis by scheduled ethics rounds during the normal ward rounds. The presence of the ethicist offers some unique advantages: it allows early recognition of even minor ethical problems and accommodates the dynamics of ethical and clinical goal-setting in the course of patient care. Most importantly, regular and non-authoritative participation of the ethicist in normal ward rounds allows continuous ethical education of the staff within the everyday clinical routine. By facilitating clinical ethical decision-making, the ethicist seeks to empower physicians and medical staff to deal appropriately with ethical problems by themselves. Because of this proactive approach, the ethics liaison service can make a significant contribution to preventative ethics in reducing the number of emerging ethical problems to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

5 CFR 7701.102 - Prior approval for outside employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Prior approval for outside employment. 7701.102 Section 7701.102 Administrative Personnel INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES § 7701...

5 CFR 7701.102 - Prior approval for outside employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Prior approval for outside employment. 7701.102 Section 7701.102 Administrative Personnel INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES § 7701...

5 CFR 7701.102 - Prior approval for outside employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Prior approval for outside employment. 7701.102 Section 7701.102 Administrative Personnel INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES § 7701...

Reflecting on the ethical administration of computerized medical records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collmann, Jeff R.

1995-05-01

This presentation examines the ethical issues raised by computerized image management and communication systems (IMAC), the ethical principals that should guide development of policies, procedures and practices for IMACS systems, and who should be involved in developing a hospital's approach to these issues. The ready access of computerized records creates special hazards of which hospitals must beware. Hospitals must maintain confidentiality of patient's records while making records available to authorized users as efficiently as possible. The general conditions of contemporary health care undermine protecting the confidentiality of patient record. Patients may not provide health care institutions with information about themselves under conditions of informed consent. The field of information science must design sophisticated systems of computer security that stratify access, create audit trails on data changes and system use, safeguard patient data from corruption, and protect the databases from outside invasion. Radiology professionals must both work with information science experts in their own hospitals to create institutional safeguards and include the adequacy of security measures as a criterion for evaluating PACS systems. New policies and procedures on maintaining computerized patient records must be developed that obligate all members of the health care staff, not just care givers. Patients must be informed about the existence of computerized medical records, the rules and practices that govern their dissemination and given the opportunity to give or withhold consent for their use. Departmental and hospital policies on confidentiality should be reviewed to determine if revisions are necessary to manage computer-based records. Well developed discussions of the ethical principles and administrative policies on confidentiality and informed consent and of the risks posed by computer-based patient records systems should be included in initial and continuing staff system training. Administration should develop ways to monitor staff compliance with confidentiality policies and should assess diligence in maintaining patient record confidentiality as part of staff annual performance evaluations. Ethical management of IMAC systems is the business of all members of the health care team. Computerized patient records management (including IMAC) should be scrutinized as any other clinical medial ethical issue. If hospitals include these processes in their planning for RIS, IMACS, and HIS systems, they should have time to develop institutional expertise on these questions before and as systems are installed rather than only as ethical dilemmas develop during their use.

Striving for Scientific Integrity and Ethical Practices in Higher Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geissman, J. W.

2017-12-01

The need for the highest levels of scientific integrity and ethical principles in higher education, globally, is obvious. This is the setting where faculty scientists practice and future scientists, as entering science majors, those who change course and switch to science, and graduate students, are nurtured and mentored. Institutions of higher education across the globe are devoting increasing attention to scientific integrity and ethical practices, often as mandated by specific (funding) agencies, and this certainly is a step in the right direction. One approach has involved graduate students, particularly PhD students, in formal classes/seminars on the subjects. Another, more institution-specific, is to require freshman science majors to take one or more classes designed to assist students, in many ways, to succeed in whatever science path they choose. For the past five years I have "taught" such a class, which I like to refer to as "Science is the Rest of Your Life 101". My section is very heavy on scientific integrity and ethical practices; most students have never been exposed to nor have considered such subjects. Their interest level is exceedingly keen. So, steps are being taken, but rectifying existing concerns will take time. Here are some (potential/real) problems. One facing all of higher education is the ever decreasing number, certainly in the United States, of tenured/tenure track faculty in all disciplines together with the generational "gap" or "double gap" (some colleagues of mine are in their 80s) between those who never for all intents and purposes received any "formal" exposure to scientific integrity and ethical practices issues and those fresh in the academy for which these subjects are recently and better engrained. At most institutions, those faculty never involved in such formal training because of, well, their age, are required to pass some form of on-line "certification" class in research ethics among other subjects on an annual or bi-annual basis. Although of noble intent, I seriously doubt if passing such a test changes human behavior. What drives faculty to be lacking in scientific integrity and/or ethical practices is hard to finger, but I can offer some answers. I think that it is easier to explain why too many get away with improper practices, and the answer should not be in print in an AGU abstract!

Research Integrity and Research Ethics in Professional Codes of Ethics: Survey of Terminology Used by Professional Organizations across Research Disciplines.

PubMed

Komić, Dubravka; Marušić, Stjepan Ljudevit; Marušić, Ana

2015-01-01

Professional codes of ethics are social contracts among members of a professional group, which aim to instigate, encourage and nurture ethical behaviour and prevent professional misconduct, including research and publication. Despite the existence of codes of ethics, research misconduct remains a serious problem. A survey of codes of ethics from 795 professional organizations from the Illinois Institute of Technology's Codes of Ethics Collection showed that 182 of them (23%) used research integrity and research ethics terminology in their codes, with differences across disciplines: while the terminology was common in professional organizations in social sciences (82%), mental health (71%), sciences (61%), other organizations had no statements (construction trades, fraternal social organizations, real estate) or a few of them (management, media, engineering). A subsample of 158 professional organizations we judged to be directly involved in research significantly more often had statements on research integrity/ethics terminology than the whole sample: an average of 10.4% of organizations with a statement (95% CI = 10.4-23-5%) on any of the 27 research integrity/ethics terms compared to 3.3% (95% CI = 2.1-4.6%), respectively (P<0.001). Overall, 62% of all statements addressing research integrity/ethics concepts used prescriptive language in describing the standard of practice. Professional organizations should define research integrity and research ethics issues in their ethics codes and collaborate within and across disciplines to adequately address responsible conduct of research and meet contemporary needs of their communities.

The Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute: reflections on an ongoing experiment.

PubMed

McEwen, Jean E; Boyer, Joy T; Sun, Kathie Y; Rothenberg, Karen H; Lockhart, Nicole C; Guyer, Mark S

2014-01-01

For more than 20 years, the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute has supported empirical and conceptual research to anticipate and address the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics. As a component of the agency that funds much of the underlying science, the program has always been an experiment. The ever-expanding number of issues the program addresses and the relatively low level of commitment on the part of other funding agencies to support such research make setting priorities especially challenging. Program-supported studies have had a significant impact on the conduct of genomics research, the implementation of genomic medicine, and broader public policies. The program's influence is likely to grow as ELSI research, genomics research, and policy development activities become increasingly integrated. Achieving the benefits of increased integration while preserving the autonomy, objectivity, and intellectual independence of ELSI investigators presents ongoing challenges and new opportunities.

Empathy, social media, and directed altruistic living organ donation.

PubMed

Moorlock, Greg; Draper, Heather

2018-06-01

In this article we explore some of the ethical dimensions of using social media to increase the number of living kidney donors. Social media provides a platform for changing non-identifiable 'statistical victims' into 'real people' with whom we can identify and feel empathy: the so-called 'identifiable victim effect', which prompts charitable action. We examine three approaches to promoting kidney donation using social media which could take advantages of the identifiable victim effect: (a) institutionally organized campaigns based on historical cases aimed at promoting non-directed altruistic donation; (b) personal case-based campaigns organized by individuals aimed at promoting themselves/or someone with whom they are in a relationship as a recipient of directed donation; (c) institutionally organized personal case-based campaigns aimed at promoting specific recipients for directed donation. We will highlight the key ethical issues raised by these approaches, and will argue that the third option, despite raising ethical concerns, is preferable to the other two. © 2018 The Authors Bioethics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Software Piracy in Research: A Moral Analysis.

PubMed

Santillanes, Gary; Felder, Ryan Marshall

2015-08-01

Researchers in virtually every discipline rely on sophisticated proprietary software for their work. However, some researchers are unable to afford the licenses and instead procure the software illegally. We discuss the prohibition of software piracy by intellectual property laws, and argue that the moral basis for the copyright law offers the possibility of cases where software piracy may be morally justified. The ethics codes that scientific institutions abide by are informed by a rule-consequentialist logic: by preserving personal rights to authored works, people able to do so will be incentivized to create. By showing that the law has this rule-consequentialist grounding, we suggest that scientists who blindly adopt their institutional ethics codes will commit themselves to accepting that software piracy could be morally justified, in some cases. We hope that this conclusion will spark debate over important tensions between ethics codes, copyright law, and the underlying moral basis for these regulations. We conclude by offering practical solutions (other than piracy) for researchers.

The confounding factors leading to plagiarism in academic writing and some suggested remedies: A systematic review.

PubMed

Guraya, Salman Yousuf; Guraya, Shaista Salman

2017-05-01

There is a staggering upsurge in the incidence of plagiarism of scientific literature. Literature shows divergent views about the factors that make plagiarism reprehensible. This review explores the causes and remedies for the perennial academic problem of plagiarism. Data sources were searched for full text English language articles published from 2000 to 2015. Data selection was done using medical subject headline (MeSH) terms plagiarism, unethical writing, academic theft, retraction, medical field, and plagiarism detection software. Data extraction was undertaken by selecting titles from retrieved references and data synthesis identified key factors leading to plagiarism such as unawareness of research ethics, poor writing skills and pressure or publish mantra. Plagiarism can be managed by a balance among its prevention, detection by plagiarism detection software, and institutional sanctions against proven plagiarists. Educating researchers about ethical principles of academic writing and institutional support in training writers about academic integrity and ethical publications can curtail plagiarism.

Management System for Engineering Ethics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yashiro, Tomonari

In the context of independent profession based societies, ethics charter/codes of professional bodies have significant influence on the conduct of engineers. Contrarily in Japan, most of active engineers are in-house and feel immediate identity as the member of firm or institution, rather than professional bodies. Therefore, establishment and operation of engineering ethics management system (E2ms) is essential for incentive to make innovative and ethical decision with confidence. The paper introduces the outline of the educational kit for E2ms developed by the author. The kit aims to enhance ability of management relevant to E2ms. The kit also involves ten cases for case method teaching. The test use of the kit indicates the potential to create satisfactory educational achievement.

Ethics Review for a Multi-Site Project Involving Tribal Nations in the Northern Plains.

PubMed

Angal, Jyoti; Petersen, Julie M; Tobacco, Deborah; Elliott, Amy J

2016-04-01

Increasingly, Tribal Nations are forming ethics review panels, which function separately from institutional review boards (IRBs). The emergence of strong community representation coincides with a widespread effort supported by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and other federal agencies to establish a single IRB for all multi-site research. This article underscores the value of a tribal ethics review board and describes the tribal oversight for the Safe Passage Study-a multi-site, community-based project in the Northern Plains. Our experience demonstrates the benefits of tribal ethics review and makes a strong argument for including tribal oversight in future regulatory guidance for multi-site, community-based research. © The Author(s) 2016.

The ethics of sin taxes.

PubMed

Green, Rebecca

2011-01-01

ABSTRACT The current global economic crisis is forcing governments to consider a variety of methods to generate funds for infrastructure. In the United States, smoking-related illness and an obesity epidemic are forcing public health institutions to consider a variety of methods to influence health behaviors of entire target groups. In this paper, the author uses a public health nursing model, the Public Health Code of Ethics (Public Health Leadership Society, 2002), the American Nurses' Association (ANA) Code of Ethics (2001), and other relevant ethical theory to weigh and balance the arguments for and against the use of sin taxes. A position advocating the limited use of sin taxes is supported as a reasonable stance for the public health professional. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Ethics-Redirecting the Army’s Moral Compass

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-04-24

also risk damaging international efforts to establish a foothold for peace. The value of integrity tells the captain to "do what’s right -- legally...Work ................................ 18 The Army Values Program Gaps in Army Leadership Doctrine Chapter 3 Ethics Education - The Cornerstone to...linked between training institutions. Finally, the Army Values Program and Army doctrine are inadequate for guiding soldiers through the process of

Can Virtue Be Learned? An Exploration of Student Learning Experiences in Ethics Courses and Their Implications for Influencing Moral Character

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agnew Cochran, Elizabeth; Fozard Weaver, Darlene

2017-01-01

What does it mean to teach virtue, or to learn it? We consider this question through an institutional review board (IRB) supported research study attending to student learning experiences in undergraduate ethics courses at a Catholic university with an explicit commitment to social justice. This essay draws on and interprets qualitative data…

The protection of laboratory animals: a response to Stephenson.

PubMed

Parker, J

1994-08-01

This paper clarifies certain issues raised by Wendell Stephenson (The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 18: 375-388, 1993) about research programs and animal care practices at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center. It also responds to Stephenson's critique of the National Institute of Health's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. It identifies utilitarianism as the ethical theory underlying Stephenson's critique. Arguing that such an ethical theory is unworkable in addressing concerns about biomedical research and the use of animals, the paper defends the Guide's reliance on a wider tradition of ethical theories.

Medical ethics in pediatric critical care.

PubMed

Orioles, Alberto; Morrison, Wynne E

2013-04-01

Ethically charged situations are common in pediatric critical care. Most situations can be managed with minimal controversy within the medical team or between the team and patients/families. Familiarity with institutional resources, such as hospital ethics committees, and national guidelines, such as publications from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, or Society of Critical Care Medicine, are an essential part of the toolkit of any intensivist. Open discussion with colleagues and within the multidisciplinary team can also ensure that when difficult situations arise, they are addressed in a proactive, evidence-based, and collegial manner. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Differentiating between rights-based and relational ethical approaches.

PubMed

Trobec, Irena; Herbst, Majda; Zvanut, Bostjan

2009-05-01

When forced treatment in mental health care is under consideration, two approaches guide clinicians in their actions: the dominant rights-based approach and the relational ethical approach. We hypothesized that nurses with bachelor's degrees differentiate better between the two approaches than nurses without a degree. To test this hypothesis a survey was performed in major Slovenian health institutions. We found that nurses emphasize the importance of ethics and personal values, but 55.4% of all the nurse participants confused the two approaches. The results confirmed our hypothesis and indicate the importance of nurses' formal education, especially when caring for patients with mental illness.

One size doesn't fit all: ethics of international nurse recruitment from the conceptual framework of stakeholder interests.

PubMed

Xu, Yu; Zhang, Jianhui

2005-11-01

This theoretical study examines the ethics of international nurse recruitment from the conceptual framework of stakeholder interests. It argues that there are stakeholders at individual, institutional, national and international levels, with overlapping but, more often, different or even conflicting interests. Depending on the interests of given stakeholders, different conclusions regarding the ethics of international nurse recruitment may be reached. There is no right or wrong with these varying ethical positions because they reflect different beliefs and philosophies that are not amenable to value judgment. To illustrate and support this line of argument, this article analyzes the underpinnings of two ethical standards published by the International Council of Nurses and the UK Department of Health. In addition, a case study on China augments the argument by demonstrating limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach to the issue. The most important question in understanding and evaluating the ethical standards of international nurse recruitment is to know whose interests they are designed to represent and protect.

Moral Conflicts and Religious Convictions: What Role for Clinical Ethics Consultants?

PubMed

Moskop, John C

2018-05-03

Moral conflicts over medical treatment that are the result of differences in fundamental moral commitments of the stakeholders, including religiously grounded commitments, can present difficult challenges for clinical ethics consultants. This article begins with a case example that poses such a conflict, then examines how consultants might use different approaches to clinical ethics consultation in an effort to facilitate the resolution of conflicts of this kind. Among the approaches considered are the authoritarian approach, the pure consensus approach, and the ethics facilitation approach described in the Core Competencies for Healthcare Ethics Consultation report of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, as well as a patient advocate approach, a clinician advocate approach, and an institutional advocate approach. The article identifies clear limitations to each of these approaches. An analysis of the introductory case illustrates those limitations, and the article concludes that deep-seated conflicts of this kind may reveal inescapable limits of current approaches to clinical ethics consultation.

[Disability, inability and vulnerability: on ableism or the pre-eminence of ableist and biomedical approaches of the Human Subjects Ethics Committee of UFSC].

PubMed

Mello, Anahi Guedes de

2016-10-01

Anthropology has increasingly questioned the hegemony of biomedical knowledge in ethical review processes of social research projects prevailing in Brazil, which was governed until 2012 by the Human Research Ethics Committee of each institution under the auspices of the National Research Ethics Commission (CONEP). This was mandated through Resolution No. 196/1996 prevailing in 2012 when this field research was conducted. The scope of this study is to recount and reflect upon the barriers to obtaining approval in 2012 for my master's research project from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (CEP/UFSC) in Florianopolis. In this ethnographic experience, in the light of Crip theory, I observed how the "disability," "vulnerability" and "inability" categories are articulated to reveal the ableism and the primacy of the biomedical model in the case of an ethics review at UFSC regarding the participation and legal capacity of persons with disabilities as subjects of research.

REASONS AND CONSEQUENCES OF APPLIED LEADERSHIP STYLES IN ETHICAL DILEMMAS WHEN NURSE MANAGERS MAKE DECISIONS.

PubMed

Zydziunaite, V; Suominen, T

2014-09-21

Abstract Background: Understanding the reasons and consequences of leadership styles in ethical dilemmas is fundamental to exploring nurse managers' abilities to influence outcomes for patients and nursing personnel. Purpose: To explain the associations between different leadership styles, reasons for their application and its consequences when nurse managers make decisions in ethical dilemmas. Methods: The data were collected between 15 October 2011 and 30 April 2012 by statistically validated questionnaire. The respondents (n=278) were nurse managers. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0, calculating Spearman's correlations, the Stepwise Regression and ANOVA. Results: The reasons for applying different leadership styles in ethical dilemmas include personal characteristics, years in work position, institutional factors, and the professional authority of nurse managers. The applied leadership styles in ethical dilemmas are associated with the consequences regarding the satisfaction of patients', relatives' and nurse managers' needs. Conclusions: Nurse managers exhibited leadership styles oriented to maintenance, focusing more on the "doing the job" than on managing the decision-making in ethical dilemmas.

Leadership styles of nurse managers in ethical dilemmas: Reasons and consequences.

PubMed

Zydziunaite, Vilma; Suominen, Tarja

2014-01-01

Abstract Background: Understanding the reasons and consequences of leadership styles in ethical dilemmas is fundamental to exploring nurse managers' abilities to influence outcomes for patients and nursing personnel. To explain the associations between different leadership styles, reasons for their application and its consequences when nurse managers make decisions in ethical dilemmas. The data were collected between 15 October 2011 and 30 April 2012 by statistically validated questionnaire. The respondents (N = 278) were nurse managers. The data were analysed using SPSS 20.0, calculating Spearman's correlations, the Stepwise Regression and ANOVA. The reasons for applying different leadership styles in ethical dilemmas include personal characteristics, years in work position, institutional factors, and the professional authority of nurse managers. The applied leadership styles in ethical dilemmas are associated with the consequences regarding the satisfaction of patients,' relatives' and nurse managers' needs. Nurse managers exhibited leadership styles oriented to maintenance, focussing more on the 'doing the job' than on managing the decision-making in ethical dilemmas.

How Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine challenges the ethics of physician migration.

PubMed

Huish, Robert

2009-08-01

This paper demonstrates a working alternative to the accepted ethics of physician migration. A dominant cosmopolitan ethics encourages upward mobility of physicians in a globalized labour force, and this ultimately advances the position of individuals rather than improving public health-care service for vulnerable communities in the global South. Cuba's Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina (ELAM) challenges this trend as its institutional ethics furnishes graduates with appropriate skills, knowledge and service ethics to deliver quality care in marginalized areas. This paper provides an analysis of how ELAM trains physicians in community-oriented service for marginalized areas in the global South. The principle finding of this analysis is that ELAM exhibits a working alternative to the accepted ethics of physician migration, as it encourages graduates to practice in marginalized communities rather than feed the migration pipeline into the North. Arguably, ELAM serves as an important case study in how a medical school's ethics can work to bring graduates closer to the communities that are in desperate need of their skills and of their compassion.

Making Longevity in an Aging Society

PubMed Central

Kaufman, Sharon R.

2011-01-01

Life-extending interventions for older persons are changing medical knowledge and societal expectations about longevity. Today’s consciousness about growing older is partly shaped by a new form of ethics, constituted by and enabled through the routines and institutions that comprise ordinary clinical care. Unlike bioethics, whose emphasis is on clinical decision-making in individual situations, this new form of ethics is exceptionally diffuse and can be characterized as an ethical field. It is located in and shaped by health-care policies, standard technologies, and clinical evidence, and it emerges in what patients and families come to need and want. Three developments illustrate this ethical field at work: the changing nature of disease, especially the ascent of risk awareness and risk-based strategies for life extension; the role of technology in reshaping the ends of medicine; and the role of Medicare policy in creating need and ethical necessity. Medicare’s expanding criteria for payment coverage of liver transplantation and implantable cardiac devices illustrate the pervasive logic of this new form of ethics. The powerful connection between the technological imperative and its ethical necessity is rarely mentioned in Medicare reform debates. PMID:20639608

A Theory of Motivation and Ontological Enhancement: The Role of Disability Policy in Student Empowerment and Institutional Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundie, David

2009-01-01

As debate continues around the nature and values of education, it is important to ask the question of what factors motivate a student to engage with the ends of an educational institution. In this paper, a broad, holistic view of learner motivation, derived from Aristotelian ethics, is used to provide a model to drive institutional change.…

The Kindness of Strangers: Philanthropy and Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliott, Deni

2005-01-01

In this book, Deni Elliott examines ethically questionable situations that have arisen in response to institutional dependency on external benefactors. Major concerns analyzed include: The increased professionalism of fund raising and of donating, an increased willingness of institutions to cater to the demands of donors, creation of dual roles…

Combating Ethical Issues in University Admissions Using Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Micael S., Jr.; Soares, Caio V.; Gilbert, Juan E.

2009-01-01

Obtaining diversity among admitted applicants is often a challenging task for most post secondary institutions. As a proposed solution to this challenge, Applications Quest (AQ) was created. AQ addresses the dilemma of how to achieve diversity while still upholding institutional academic standards and objectives while adhering to the law. A steady…

Blackballing: Professional and Ethical Aspects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joint Publications Research Service, Washington, DC.

Commentaries concerning the objective selection of scientists by their peers for membership in professional organizations and institutes are presented in this article published in the USSR. The case of negative balloting on L. S. Salyamon at the Learned Council of the Soviet Scientific Research Institute of Oncology is the main concern. An…

76 FR 31620 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-01

... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory... Health Sciences Special Emphasis Panel, Research on Ethics and Integrity of Human and or Animal Subjects..., DVM, Chief, Scientific Review Branch, Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute...

Mandatory influenza vaccination for all healthcare personnel: a review on justification, implementation and effectiveness.

PubMed

Wang, Tiffany L; Jing, Ling; Bocchini, Joseph A

2017-10-01

As healthcare-associated influenza is a serious public health concern, this review examines legal and ethical arguments supporting mandatory influenza vaccination policies for healthcare personnel, implementation issues and evidence of effectiveness. Spread of influenza from healthcare personnel to patients can result in severe harm or death. Although most healthcare personnel believe that they should be vaccinated against seasonal influenza, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that only 79% of personnel were vaccinated during the 2015-2016 season. Vaccination rates were as low as 44.9% in institutions that did not promote or offer the vaccine, compared with rates of more than 90% in institutions with mandatory vaccination policies. Policies that mandate influenza vaccination for healthcare personnel have legal and ethical justifications. Implementing such policies require multipronged approaches that include education efforts, easy access to vaccines, vaccine promotion, leadership support and consistent communication emphasizing patient safety. Mandatory influenza vaccination for healthcare personnel is a necessary step in protecting patients. Patients who interact with healthcare personnel are often at an elevated risk of complications from influenza. Vaccination is the best available strategy for protecting against influenza and evidence shows that institutional policies and state laws can effectively increase healthcare personnel vaccination rates, decreasing the risk of transmission in healthcare settings. There are legal and ethical precedents for institutional mandatory influenza policies and state laws, although successful implementation requires addressing both administrative and attitudinal barriers.

Methods of legitimation: how ethics committees decide which reasons count in public policy decision-making.

PubMed

Edwards, Kyle T

2014-07-01

In recent years, liberal democratic societies have struggled with the question of how best to balance expertise and democratic participation in the regulation of emerging technologies. This study aims to explain how national deliberative ethics committees handle the practical tension between scientific expertise, ethical expertise, expert patient input, and lay public input by explaining two institutions' processes for determining the legitimacy or illegitimacy of reasons in public policy decision-making: that of the United Kingdom's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the United States' American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). The articulation of these 'methods of legitimation' draws on 13 in-depth interviews with HFEA and ASRM members and staff conducted in January and February 2012 in London and over Skype, as well as observation of an HFEA deliberation. This study finds that these two institutions employ different methods in rendering certain arguments legitimate and others illegitimate: while the HFEA attempts to 'balance' competing reasons but ultimately legitimizes arguments based on health and welfare concerns, the ASRM seeks to 'filter' out arguments that challenge reproductive autonomy. The notably different structures and missions of each institution may explain these divergent approaches, as may what Sheila Jasanoff (2005) terms the distinctive 'civic epistemologies' of the US and the UK. Significantly for policy makers designing such deliberative committees, each method differs substantially from that explicitly or implicitly endorsed by the institution. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Ethical issue in animal experimentation].

PubMed

Parodi, André-Laurent

2009-11-01

In the 1970s, under pressure from certain sections of society and thanks to initiatives by several scientific research teams, committees charged with improving the conditions of laboratory animals started to be created, first in the United States and subsequently in Europe. This led to the development of an ethical approach to animal experimentation, taking into account new scientific advances. In addition to the legislation designed to provide a legal framework for animal experimentation and to avoid abuses, this ethical approach, based on the concept that animals are sentient beings, encourages greater respect of laboratory animals and the implementation of measures designed to reduce their suffering. Now, all animal experiments must first receive ethical approval--from in-house committees in the private sector and from regional committees for public institutions. Very recently, under the impetus of the French ministries of research and agriculture, the National committee for ethical animal experimentation published a national ethical charter on animal experimentation, setting the basis for responsible use of animals for scientific research and providing guidelines for the composition and functioning of ethics committees. Inspired by the scientific community itself this ethical standardization should help to assuage--but not eliminate--the reticence and hostility expressed by several sections of society.

Towards an ethics safe harbor for global biomedical research

PubMed Central

Dove, Edward S.; Knoppers, Bartha M.; Zawati, Ma'n H.

2014-01-01

Although increasingly global, data-driven genomics and other ‘omics’-focused research hold great promise for health discoveries, current research ethics review systems around the world challenge potential improvements in human health from such research. To overcome this challenge, we propose a ‘Safe Harbor Framework for International Ethics Equivalency’ that facilitates the harmonization of ethics review of specific types of data-driven international research projects while respecting globally transposable research ethics norms and principles. The Safe Harbor would consist in part of an agency supporting an International Federation for Ethics Review (IFER), formed by a voluntary compact among countries, granting agencies, philanthropies, institutions, and healthcare, patient advocacy, and research organizations. IFER would be both a central ethics review body, and also a forum for review and follow-up of policies concerning ethics norms for international research projects. It would be built on five principle elements: (1) registration, (2) compliance review, (3) recognition, (4) monitoring and enforcement, and (5) public participation. The Safe Harbor would create many benefits for researchers, countries, and the general public, and may eventually have application beyond (gen)omics to other areas of biomedical research that increasingly engage in secondary use of data and present only negligible risks. PMID:27774154

Ethical evaluation of research proposals by ethics panels advising the European Commission.

PubMed

Kolar, Roman

2004-06-01

Ethical principles with regard to animal experimentation are referred to in European Union (EU) legislation and other official documents. Therefore, applications for funding of research under the EU's research programme may undergo an ethical review that is carried out by so-called ethics panels, consisting of experts chosen by the European Commission. The work of these panels differs substantially from that of other ethical committees, as they exist on the institutional, local, regional or national level. Their main purpose is not to decide whether a proposed research can be regarded legal, and therefore should be endorsed or licensed; instead, it is to help the Commission in prioritising its funding. The panels may examine other ethical aspects than those of animal experimentation or animal welfare alone, such as the use of human volunteers. This is reflected by the composition of the panels. Their decisions are normally based on consensus. Even though these decisions may refer to EU legislation, the criteria applied are not restricted to those provided by this legislation. Nevertheless, the various aspects of the Commission's ethical evaluation system (e.g. formal and practical basic conditions, information content of applications, type of decisions taken, lacking of any quality control) offers opportunities for improvement.

Transplant Ethics: Let's Begin the Conversation Anew : A Critical Look at One Institute's Experience with Transplant Related Ethical Issues.

PubMed

Shafran, David; Smith, Martin L; Daly, Barbara J; Goldfarb, David

2016-06-01

Standardizing consultation processes is increasingly important as clinical ethics consultation (CEC) becomes more utilized in and vital to medical practice. Solid organ transplant represents a relatively nascent field replete with complex ethical issues that, while explored, have not been systematically classified. In this paper, we offer a proposed taxonomy that divides issues of resource allocation from viable solutions to the issue of organ shortage in transplant and then further distinguishes between policy and bedside level issues. We then identify all transplant related ethics consults performed at the Cleveland Clinic (CC) between 2008 and 2013 in order to identify how consultants conceptually framed their consultations by the domains they ascribe to the case. We code the CC domains to those in the Core Competencies for Healthcare Consultation Ethics in order to initiate a broader conversation regarding best practices in these highly complex cases. A discussion of the ethical issues underlying living donor and recipient related consults ensues. Finally, we suggest that the ethical domains prescribed in the Core Competencies provide a strong starting ground for a common intra-disciplinary language in the realm of formal CEC.

Science and ethics: Some issues for education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrew, Jennifer; Robottom, Ian

2001-11-01

Ethical issues concerning pain and suffering of animals are necessarily a consideration when it comes to killing pest or feral species in Australia. Within a continent where there are no large predators, many introduced animal species such as rabbits, foxes, horses, donkeys, camels, goats, and mice have been able to thrive, competing with the interests of farmers and graziers, and livestock and food production. These species, thus, gain the label of pest. Many methods now exist to kill these species and, consequently, ethical issues arise concerning the possible pain and suffering caused as a direct result of these methods. Yet within government and scientific communities, ethical issues are reduced to a secondary consideration without serious debate or contention. Ethical issues appear to be at odds with scientific agendas. How can environmental ethics be incorporated as part of science-based decision making that appeals to objectivity and scientific evidence? Within educational institutions as well, the same dilemma exists: How can ethical issues be addressed within the science curriculum and in the classroom? A greater understanding of various perspectives on the subject of environmental ethics and the value positions advocated by proponents of these perspectives may help teachers consider ways of handling such issues in the science classroom.

Making longevity in an aging society: linking Medicare policy and the new ethical field.

PubMed

Kaufman, Sharon R

2010-01-01

Life-extending interventions for older persons are changing medical knowledge and societal expectations about longevity. Today's consciousness about growing older is partly shaped by a new form of ethics, constituted by and enabled through the routines and institutions that comprise ordinary clinical care. Unlike bioethics, whose emphasis is on clinical decision-making in individual situations, this new form of ethics is exceptionally diffuse and can be characterized as an ethical field. It is located in and shaped by health-care policies, standard technologies, and clinical evidence, and it emerges in what patients and families come to need and want. Three developments illustrate this ethical field at work: the changing nature of disease, especially the ascent of risk awareness and risk-based strategies for life extension; the role of technology in reshaping the ends of medicine; and the role of Medicare policy in creating need and ethical necessity. Medicare's expanding criteria for payment coverage of liver transplantation and implantable cardiac devices illustrate the pervasive logic of this new form of ethics. The powerful connection between the technological imperative and its ethical necessity is rarely mentioned in Medicare reform debates.

Ethical and Moral Courage is Distress among Professional Nurses: A Workplace Issue.

PubMed

Brown, Geraldine

2015-01-01

Ethics and moral issues do impact the manner in which professional nurses perform their major duties. Moral distress often conflict with an ethical appropriate course of action that is known, but cannot be implemented. This distress has been associated with job dissatisfaction, burnout, early retirement, withdrawal from the moral dimensions of direct patient care, and others just leaving the profession altogether. In the workplace, institutions must make an assertive effort in providing resources and addressing situations that cause personal anxiety and depression that adversely affects total patient care. The American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) has addressed ethical issues and moral distress in practices that support nurses with moral courage, when encountering ethical conflicts. Ask, Affirm, Assess and Act are the 4 A's that AACN believes should be a part of an organization's strategic plan to create a healthy workplace environment.

Ethics in American Health 2: An Ethical Framework for Health System Reform

PubMed Central

2008-01-01

I argue that an ethical vision resting on explicitly articulated values and norms is critical to ensuring comprehensive health reform. Reform requires a consensus on the public good transcending self-interest and narrow agendas and underpinning collective action for universal coverage. In what I call shared health governance, individuals, providers, and institutions all have essential roles in achieving health goals and work together to create a positive environment for health. This ethical paradigm provides (1) reasoned consensus through a joint scientific and deliberative approach to judge the value of a health care intervention; (2) a method for achieving consensus that differs from aggregate tools such as a strict majority vote; (3) combined technical and ethical rationality for collective choice; (4) a joint clinical and economic approach combining efficiency with equity, but with economic solutions following and complementing clinical progress; and (5) protection for disabled individuals from discrimination. PMID:18703448

Ethics in American health 2: an ethical framework for health system reform.

PubMed

Ruger, Jennifer Prah

2008-10-01

I argue that an ethical vision resting on explicitly articulated values and norms is critical to ensuring comprehensive health reform. Reform requires a consensus on the public good transcending self-interest and narrow agendas and underpinning collective action for universal coverage. In what I call shared health governance, individuals, providers, and institutions all have essential roles in achieving health goals and work together to create a positive environment for health. This ethical paradigm provides (1) reasoned consensus through a joint scientific and deliberative approach to judge the value of a health care intervention; (2) a method for achieving consensus that differs from aggregate tools such as a strict majority vote; (3) combined technical and ethical rationality for collective choice; (4) a joint clinical and economic approach combining efficiency with equity, but with economic solutions following and complementing clinical progress; and (5) protection for disabled individuals from discrimination.

Ethical dilemmas concerning decision-making within health care leadership: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Zydziūnaite, Vilma; Suominen, Tarja; Astedt-Kurki, Päivi; Lepaite, Daiva

2010-01-01

The objective was to describe the research methods and research focuses on ethical dilemmas concerning decision-making within health care leadership. The search was conducted on Medline and PubMed databases (1998-2008). The systematic review included 21 selected articles. The ethical dilemmas concerning decision-making within health care leadership are related to three levels: institutional (particular organization), political and local interface (local governmental structure), and national (professional expertise and system). The terms that are used as adequate to the term of "ethical dilemma" are the following: "continuous balancing," "result of resource allocation," "gap between professional obligations and possibilities," "ethically controversial situation," "concern about interactions," "ethical difficulty," "outcome of medical choices," "concern about society access to health care resources," "ethically difficult/challenging situation," "(the consequence of) ethical concern/ethical issue." In qualitative studies, a semi-structured interview and qualitative content analysis are the most commonly applied methods; in quantitative studies, questionnaire surveys are employed. In the research literature, there is a lack of specification according to professional qualification of health care professionals concerning ethical dilemmas by decision-making within health care management/administration. The research on ethical dilemmas in health care leadership, management, and administration should integrate data about levels at which ethical dilemmas occur and investigate ethical dilemmas as complex phenomena because those are attached to decision-making and specific nuances of health care management/administration. In this article, the presented scientific problem requires extensive scientific discussions and research on ethical dilemmas concerning decision-making within health care leadership at various levels.

When clinical trials compete: prioritising study recruitment.

PubMed

Gelinas, Luke; Lynch, Holly Fernandez; Bierer, Barbara E; Cohen, I Glenn

2017-12-01

It is not uncommon for multiple clinical trials at the same institution to recruit concurrently from the same patient population. When the relevant pool of patients is limited, as it often is, trials essentially compete for participants. There is evidence that such a competition is a predictor of low study accrual, with increased competition tied to increased recruitment shortfalls. But there is no consensus on what steps, if any, institutions should take to approach this issue. In this article, we argue that an institutional policy that prioritises some trials for recruitment ahead of others is ethically permissible and indeed prima facie preferable to alternative means of addressing recruitment competition. We motivate this view by appeal to the ethical importance of minimising the number of studies that begin but do not complete, thereby exposing their participants to unnecessary risks and burdens in the process. We then argue that a policy of prioritisation can be fair to relevant stakeholders, including participants, investigators and funders. Finally, by way of encouraging and helping to frame future debate, we propose some questions that would need to be addressed when identifying substantive ethical criteria for prioritising between studies. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Chinese nurses' perceived barriers and facilitators of ethical sensitivity.

PubMed

Huang, Fei Fei; Yang, Qing; Zhang, Jie; Khoshnood, Kaveh; Zhang, Jing Ping

2016-08-01

An overview of ethical sensitivity among Chinese registered nurses is needed to develop and optimize the education programs and interventions to cultivate and improve ethical sensitivity. The study was conducted to explore the barriers to and facilitators of ethical sensitivity among Chinese registered nurses working in hospital settings. A convergent parallel mixed-methods research design was adopted. In the cross-sectional quantitative study, the Chinese Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire-revised version was used to assess the levels of ethical sensitivity among registered nurses, and the scores were correlated with key demographics, training experiences in ethics, and workplace cultural environments (n = 306). In the qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were used to elicit the nurses' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators in nurturing ethical sensitivity (n = 15). The data were collected from February to June 2014. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Yale University and Central South University. Despite moderately high overall Chinese Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire-revised version scores, the ethical sensitivity among Chinese nurses lags in practice. Barriers to ethical sensitivity include the lack of knowledge related to ethics, lack of working experience as a nurse, the hierarchical organizational climate, and the conformist working attitude. The positive workplace cultural environments and application of ethical knowledge in practice were considered potential facilitators of ethical sensitivity. The findings of this study were compared with studies from other countries to examine the barriers and facilitators of ethical sensitivity in Chinese nurses. This mixed-methods study showed that even though the Chinese nurses have moderately high sensitivity to the ethical issues encountered in hospitals, there is still room for improvement. The barriers to and facilitators of ethical sensitivity identified here offer new and important strategies to support and enhance the nurses' sensitivity to ethical issues. © The Author(s) 2015.

The Norwegian national project for ethics support in community health and care services.

PubMed

Magelssen, Morten; Gjerberg, Elisabeth; Pedersen, Reidar; Førde, Reidun; Lillemoen, Lillian

2016-11-08

Internationally, clinical ethics support has yet to be implemented systematically in community health and care services. A large-scale Norwegian project (2007-2015) attempted to increase ethical competence in community services through facilitating the implementation of ethics support activities in 241 Norwegian municipalities. The article describes the ethics project and the ethics activities that ensued. The article first gives an account of the Norwegian ethics project. Then the results of two online questionnaires are reported, characterizing the scope, activities and organization of the ethics activities in the Norwegian municipalities and the ethical topics addressed. One hundred and thirty-seven municipal contact persons answered the first survey (55 % response rate), whereas 217 ethics facilitators from 48 municipalities responded to the second (33 % response rate). The Norwegian ethics project is vast in scope, yet has focused on some institutions and professions (e.g., nursing homes, home-based care; nurses, nurses' aides, unskilled workers) whilst seldom reaching others (e.g., child and adolescent health care; physicians). Patients and next of kin were very seldom involved. Through the ethics project employees discussed many important ethical challenges, in particular related to patient autonomy, competence to consent, and cooperation with next of kin. The "ethics reflection group" was the most common venue for ethics deliberation. The Norwegian project is the first of its kind and scope, and other countries may learn from the Norwegian experiences. Professionals have discussed central ethical dilemmas, the handling of which arguably makes a difference for patients/users and service quality. The study indicates that large (national) scale implementation of CES structures for the municipal health and care services is complex, yet feasible.

Ethics in exercise science research.

PubMed

Shephard, Roy J

2002-01-01

Ethical evaluation is a vital but sometimes neglected component of research policy in the exercise sciences. This article reviews some issues in human research, with particular reference to studies undertaken by the exercise scientist. The typical composition and functions of the research review committee are examined in the context of individual and institutional ethical norms. In multicentre trials, there are often problems in coordinating ethical approval between institutions. On-going monitoring of research may have value in the detection of fraud. A reduction in the secrecy of committee proceedings would allow a closer auditing of the research review process. Authors need to give more thought to developing appropriate research questions. Scarce resources may be wasted because of inappropriate study design or an inadequate statistical analysis of the results. The costs of any proposed investigation must be weighed carefully against possible benefits. Confidentiality is particularly important when collecting data at the worksite or over the internet. Informed consent should be based on a full disclosure of risks; the participant should be competent to understand the nature and magnitude of these risks, and undue pressure to participate in an experiment must be avoided. The opposition to placebo trials expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki requires careful consideration of the use of control groups, since regular exercise is known to benefit health. If research is conducted in under-developed societies, the standards of treatment of the participants should match those expected in developed societies. The publication of findings must be fair and well balanced; examples of fraud and misconduct continue to be reported. Some journals apparently still publish papers, even if they have not received an initial institutional review. Editors should restore meaning to the word 'author', avoid the bias to a publication of 'positive' results, limit the impact of commercial sponsorship on reporting and curtail the current trend to redundant presentations and publications. Development of academic courses in research ethics may help to avoid some of these abuses.

Ethics Literacy and "Ethics University": Two Intertwined Models for Public Involvement and Empowerment in Bioethics.

PubMed

Strech, Daniel; Hirschberg, Irene; Meyer, Antje; Baum, Annika; Hainz, Tobias; Neitzke, Gerald; Seidel, Gabriele; Dierks, Marie-Luise

2015-01-01

Informing lay citizens about complex health-related issues and their related ethical, legal, and social aspects (ELSA) is one important component of democratic health care/research governance. Public information activities may be especially valuable when they are used in multi-staged processes that also include elements of information and deliberation. This paper presents a new model for a public involvement activity on ELSA (Ethics University) and evaluation data for a pilot event. The Ethics University is structurally based on the "patient university," an already established institution in some German medical schools, and the newly developed concept of "ethics literacy." The concept of "ethics literacy" consists of three levels: information, interaction, and reflection. The pilot project consisted of two series of events (lasting 4 days each). The thematic focus of the Ethics University pilot was ELSA of regenerative medicine. In this pilot, the concept of "ethics literacy" could be validated as its components were clearly visible in discussions with participants at the end of the event. The participants reacted favorably to the Ethics University by stating that they felt more educated with regard to the ELSA of regenerative medicine and with regard to their own abilities in normative reasoning on this topic. The Ethics University is an innovative model for public involvement and empowerment activities on ELSA theoretically underpinned by a concept for "ethics literacy." This model deserves further refinement, testing in other ELSA topics and evaluation in outcome research.

Ethical review and informed consent in cardiovascular research reports in Argentina.

PubMed

Borracci, Raúl A; Calderón, Gustavo; Seoane, Martín R; Perez, Analía C; Doval, Hernán C

2008-05-01

Requirements for Institutional Review Board approval and informed consent for research involving human subjects have existed for more than 2 decades. However, evidence of fulfillment of these requirements is sometimes lacking in cardiovascular research reports in Argentina. Since ethical standards vary between committees, there may be some confusion among researchers regarding the need for an ethical review when conducting low risk research. To examine the frequency of obtaining an ethical review and informed consent in cardiovascular research in Argentina. Through a questionnaire, we contacted authors of 100 reports submitted to our annual scientific meeting during 2006. Thirty six per cent of questionnaires were resubmitted with confirmation of ethical review, 34% responded that ethical review was not obtained, 23% reported as being exempt and 7% were never resubmitted. Most articles obtaining ethical review were pharmacological trials or research involving assessment of new devices. On the other hand, most articles reporting lack of or exemption from ethical review come from epidemiological research or studies evaluating non-invasive methods. Sixty percent of phase IV pharmacological trials, research on cellular implantation or assessment of new devices met federal regulations requirements. The rate of ethical review and use of informed consent in cardiovascular reports in Argentina vary among articles. Most research involving prospective observational studies and nearly 50% of protocols including intervention or invasive procedures do not report ethical review. This high proportion of articles lacking ethical review suggests the presence of legal and ethical flaws which should be discussed and overcome.

Integrating ethics, health policy and health systems in low- and middle-income countries: case studies from Malaysia and Pakistan.

PubMed

Hyder, Adnan A; Merritt, Maria; Ali, Joseph; Tran, Nhan T; Subramaniam, Kulanthayan; Akhtar, Tasleem

2008-08-01

Scientific progress is a significant basis for change in public-health policy and practice, but the field also invests in value-laden concepts and responds daily to sociopolitical, cultural and evaluative concerns. The concepts that drive much of public-health practice are shaped by the collective and individual mores that define social systems. This paper seeks to describe the ethics processes in play when public-health mechanisms are established in low- and middle-income countries, by focusing on two cases where ethics played a crucial role in producing positive institutional change in public-health policy. First, we introduce an overview of the relationship between ethics and public health; second, we provide a conceptual framework for the ethical analysis of health system events, noting how this approach might enhance the power of existing frameworks; and third, we demonstrate the interplay of these frameworks through the analysis of a programme to enhance road safety in Malaysia and an initiative to establish a national ethics committee in Pakistan. We conclude that, while ethics are gradually being integrated into public-health policy decisions in many developing health systems, ethical analysis is often implicit and undervalued. This paper highlights the need to analyse public-health decision-making from an ethical perspective.

A qualitative analysis of student-written law and ethics cases: A snapshot of PY2 student experience.

PubMed

Karwaki, Tanya E; Hazlet, Thomas K

2017-05-01

This study was designed to better understand pharmacy students' experiences and recognition of legal and ethical tensions existing in pharmacy practice as demonstrated in student-written law and ethics cases. A qualitative analysis of 132 student-written cases representing the team efforts of 1053 students over a 12-year time period was conducted. Student-written cases were coded and analyzed thematically. Our results demonstrate the types of ethical and legal issues our students have experienced in pharmacy practice during the first five quarters of their professional education. Our data highlight three themes: 1) ethical dilemmas presented when the law is misapplied; 2) ethical dilemmas presented when an institutional policy or law was viewed as insufficient; and 3) ethical dilemmas presented as provider distress. The third theme was further subdivided into five subthemes. The themes that emerged from this study represent some of the ethical dilemmas that second professional year students have encountered and how these dilemmas may intersect with legal boundaries. Educators can use cases demonstrating these themes to reinforce law and ethics education in the curriculum, thus helping prepare students for pharmacy practice. This article recommends how and when to use case examples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Evolution of American Hospital Ethics Committees: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Courtwright, Andrew; Jurchak, Martha

2016-01-01

During the 1970s and 1980s, legal precedent, governmental recommendations, and professional society guidelines drove the formation of hospital ethics committees (HECs). The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organization's requirements in the early 1990s solidified the role of HECs as the primary mechanism to address ethical issues in patient care. Because external factors drove the rapid growth of HECs on an institution-by-institution basis, however, no initial consensus formed around the structure and function of these committees. There are now almost 40 years of empirical studies on the composition, administration, and activities of HECs in the United States. We conducted a systematic review of the available empirical literature on HECs to describe their evolution. As HECs changed over time, they increased their total number of members and percentage of members from nursing and the community. Although physicians increasingly chaired these committees, their presence as a percentage of overall members declined. The percentage of administrative members remained steady, although committees became increasingly likely to have at least one administrative member. HECs were also increasingly likely to report to an administrative body or to the board of trustees or directors rather than to the medical staff. Finally, consultation volume increased steadily over time. There has not, however, been a national survey of the composition of ethics committees, their administration, or volume of consultation in more than 10 years, despite increasing calls for professional standards and quality improvement assessments among HECs. Copyright 2016 The Journal of Clinical Ethics. All rights reserved.

Age discrimination in healthcare institutions perceived by seniors and students.

PubMed

Dobrowolska, Beata; Jędrzejkiewicz, Bernadeta; Pilewska-Kozak, Anna; Zarzycka, Danuta; Ślusarska, Barbara; Deluga, Alina; Kościołek, Aneta; Palese, Alvisa

2017-01-01

Old age-based discrimination is observed as the most tolerated prejudice in society and has also been witnessed in healthcare institutions. The aim of this study is to explore age-based discrimination in healthcare institutions as perceived by seniors and students of Medicine and Nursing. A multi-method study design, by involving a triangulation design. Participants and research context: A purposeful sample of individuals aged 65+ (n = 80) and medical and nursing students (n = 100) in the eastern region of Poland. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval of the research protocol was received from the Ethics Committee at the Medical University of Lublin. 'Old age' was perceived by groups of participants based on three themes: (a) positive, (b) negative and (c) neutral connotations. The negative connotations predominated. The beginning of old age was defined by the metric of age and described by showing the complexity of the ageing process involving subjective, objective and societal aspects. Experience of age discrimination in healthcare institutions was reported by 24 (30%) seniors and witnessed by 47 (47%) students surveyed and for both groups occurred mainly at the hospital level and by physicians. Only 48 students (48%) declared a willingness to work with the older people in the future, and barriers were reported at the personal and professional levels, and also in some visions of older people. The conceptualization of old age as reported by seniors and students mainly carried negative connotations, reflecting the profoundly based stereotypes within society regarding the older people. Seniors have reported being exposed to ageism and have witnessed ageism episodes in HCIs; also, students have faced ageism episodes during their clinical education. There is a need for ethical education within medical and nursing courses to shape positive attitudes towards the older people. A positive vision of ageing should be promoted not only among young people but also among adults and older people to avoid self-stereotyping of older people and seeing old age from negative perspective.

Medical versus fiscal gatekeeping: navigating professional contingencies at the pharmacy counter.

PubMed

Chiarello, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

This paper theorizes that care provision depends on the set of "contingencies," or organizational and institutional structures, rules, narratives, and routines, surrounding professional work. Drawing on 95 interviews with U.S. pharmacists, I demonstrate how pharmacists prioritize specific contingencies and reveal how ethical decision-making depends on both organizational positioning and locus in inter-professional hierarchies. © 2014 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

INSERM sets up forum.

PubMed

Walgate, R

Considerable public controversy is expected over the composition and role of a new ethics advisory committee set up in association with France's medical research council, INSERM. French president Mitterrand has tried to represent all possible conflicting groups on the committee, which includes 15 scientists nominated by research institutions, 15 persons knowledgeable about ethical issues nominated by various legislative and judicial bodies, and five representatives of the "principal philosophical families": Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, and Communism.

Ethical and regulatory issues of pragmatic cluster randomized trials in contemporary health systems

PubMed Central

Anderson, Monique L; Califf, Robert M; Sugarman, Jeremy

2015-01-01

Cluster randomized trials (CRTs) randomly assign groups of individuals to examine research questions or test interventions and measure their effects on individuals. Recent emphasis on quality improvement, comparative effectiveness, and learning health systems has prompted expanded use of pragmatic CRTs in routine healthcare settings, which in turn poses practical and ethical challenges that current oversight frameworks may not adequately address. The 2012 Ottawa Statement provides a basis for considering many issues related to pragmatic CRTs but challenges remain, including some arising from the current U.S. research and healthcare regulations. In order to examine the ethical, regulatory, and practical questions facing pragmatic CRTs in healthcare settings, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory convened a workshop in Bethesda, Maryland in July of 2013. Attendees included experts in clinical trials, patient advocacy, research ethics, and research regulations from academia, industry, the NIH, and other federal agencies. Workshop participants identified substantial barriers to implementing these types of CRTs, including issues related to research design, gatekeepers and governance in health systems, consent, institutional review boards, data monitoring, privacy, and special populations. We describe these barriers and suggest means for understanding and overcoming them to facilitate pragmatic CRTs in healthcare settings. PMID:25733677

Reuse of samples: ethical issues encountered by two institutional ethics review committees in Kenya.

PubMed

Langat, Simon K

2005-10-01

There is growing concern about the reuse and exploitation of biological materials (human tissues) for use in research worldwide. Most discussions about samples have taken place in developed countries, where genetic manipulation techniques have greatly advanced in recent years. There is very little discussion in developing countries, although collaborative research with institutions from developed countries is on the increase. The study sought to identify and describe ethical issues arising in the storage, reuse and exportation of samples in a developing country. Research protocols presented to two Ethics Review Committees in Kenya during a period of two years were reviewed. A record was made of the protocol title, sample collected, request for storage, reuse or exportation and whether or not subject consent was sought. The findings indicated that about 25% out of the 388 protocols sought permission for reuse and only half of those actually informed subjects of the contemplated re-use. Less than 20% requested storage and again, about half of them sought consent from subjects. There is an indication that investigators do not see the need to seek consent for storage, reuse and exportation of samples. It is proposed that these issues should be addressed through policy interventions at both the national and global levels.

Human rights from the Nuremberg Doctors Trial to the Geneva Declaration. Persons and institutions in medical ethics and history.

PubMed

Frewer, Andreas

2010-08-01

The "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" and the "Geneva Declaration" by the World Medical Association, both in 1948, were preceded by the foundation of the United Nations in New York (1945), the World Medical Association in London (1946) and the World Health Organization in Geneva (1948). After the end of World War II the community of nations strove to achieve and sustain their primary goals of peace and security, as well as their basic premise, namely the health of human beings. All these associations were well aware of the crimes by medicine, in particular by the accused Nazi physicians at the Nuremberg Doctors Trial (1946/47, sentence: August 1947). During the first conference of the World Medical Association (September 1947) issues of medical ethics played a major role: and a new document was drafted concerning the values of the medical profession. After the catastrophe of the War and the criminal activities of scientists, the late 1940s saw increased scrutiny paid to fundamental questions of human rights and medical ethics, which are still highly relevant for today's medicine and morality. The article focuses on the development of medical ethics and human rights reflected in the statement of important persons, codes and institutions in the field.

Research Integrity and Research Ethics in Professional Codes of Ethics: Survey of Terminology Used by Professional Organizations across Research Disciplines

PubMed Central

Komić, Dubravka; Marušić, Stjepan Ljudevit; Marušić, Ana

2015-01-01

Professional codes of ethics are social contracts among members of a professional group, which aim to instigate, encourage and nurture ethical behaviour and prevent professional misconduct, including research and publication. Despite the existence of codes of ethics, research misconduct remains a serious problem. A survey of codes of ethics from 795 professional organizations from the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Codes of Ethics Collection showed that 182 of them (23%) used research integrity and research ethics terminology in their codes, with differences across disciplines: while the terminology was common in professional organizations in social sciences (82%), mental health (71%), sciences (61%), other organizations had no statements (construction trades, fraternal social organizations, real estate) or a few of them (management, media, engineering). A subsample of 158 professional organizations we judged to be directly involved in research significantly more often had statements on research integrity/ethics terminology than the whole sample: an average of 10.4% of organizations with a statement (95% CI = 10.4-23-5%) on any of the 27 research integrity/ethics terms compared to 3.3% (95% CI = 2.1–4.6%), respectively (P<0.001). Overall, 62% of all statements addressing research integrity/ethics concepts used prescriptive language in describing the standard of practice. Professional organizations should define research integrity and research ethics issues in their ethics codes and collaborate within and across disciplines to adequately address responsible conduct of research and meet contemporary needs of their communities. PMID:26192805

Ethics expertise for health technology assessment: a Canadian national survey.

PubMed

Bond, Kenneth; Oremus, Mark; Duthie, Katherine M; Griener, Glenn G

2014-04-01

The aim of this study was to identify individuals with expertise in ethics analysis in Canada, who might contribute to health technology assessment (HTA); to gauge these individuals' familiarity with, and experience participating in, the production of HTA. A contact list was developed using the Canadian Bioethics Society membership list and faculty listings of Canadian universities, bioethics centers, and health agencies. An eighteen-question email survey was distributed to potential respondents to collect data on demographic information, education and work experience in applied ethics, and involvement in HTA. The survey response rate was 52.8 percent (350/663). Respondents worked primarily in academic institutions (50.4 percent) or hospitals (15.4 percent). Many respondents (83.1 percent) had education, formal training, or work-related experience in practical ethics related to health care, with many having a doctorate (34.5 percent) or master's degree (19.0 percent). One quarter (24.5 percent; n = 87) of respondents indicated they had been involved in an analysis of ethical issues for HTA. Almost two-thirds (65.4 percent; n = 165) of those who had not previously participated in ethics analysis believed they might usefully contribute to an analysis of ethical issues in HTA. Experts who have conducted ethics analysis in HTA had more than twice the odds of having education and training in ethics and a PhD than those who might contribute to ethics analysis. Many people have contributed to ethics analysis in HTA in Canada, and more are willing to do so. Given the absence of a reliable credential for ethics expertise, HTA producers should exercise caution when enlisting ethics experts.

Ethics and regulation in organ procurement research.

PubMed

Ackerman, Terrence F; Winsett, Rebecca P

2002-12-01

This article explores the role of ethics and regulation in human research conducted by organ procurement agencies; basic ethical principles for human research are outlined. Organ procurement agencies are not required to observe federal regulations; however, voluntary adherence will ensure that procurement research is conducted according to current standards of ethical practice. Although most organ procurement research will qualify for exempt status, this determination should be made by an institutional review board. Even if studies qualify for exempt status, there is a moral presumption that informed consent should be sought, unless certain narrow conditions for waiver of consent are satisfied. Finally, when future research utilizing organ procurement records is anticipated, procurement coordinators should provide sufficiently detailed information to families about such plans to permit their advance informed consent to research activities.

Should Society Allow Research Ethics Boards to Be Run As For-Profit Enterprises?

PubMed Central

Emanuel, Ezekiel J; Lemmens, Trudo; Elliot, Carl

2006-01-01

Background to the debate: An important mechanism for protecting human research participants is the prior approval of a clinical study by a research ethics board, known in the United States as an institutional review board (IRB). Traditionally, IRBs have been run by volunteer committees of scientists and clinicians working in the academic medical centers where the studies they review are being carried out. However, for-profit organizations are increasingly being hired to conduct ethics reviews. Proponents of for-profit IRBs argue that these IRBs are just as capable as academic IRBs at providing high-quality ethics reviews. Critics argue that for-profit IRBs have a conflict of interest because they generate their income from clients who have a direct financial interest in obtaining approval. PMID:16848618

Making Choices: Ethical Decisions in a Global Context.

PubMed

Bonde, Sheila; Briant, Clyde; Firenze, Paul; Hanavan, Julianne; Huang, Amy; Li, Min; Narayanan, N C; Parthasarathy, D; Zhao, Hongqin

2016-04-01

The changing milieu of research--increasingly global, interdisciplinary and collaborative--prompts greater emphasis on cultural context and upon partnership with international scholars and diverse community groups. Ethics training, however, tends to ignore the cross-cultural challenges of making ethical choices. This paper confronts those challenges by presenting a new curricular model developed by an international team. It examines ethics across a very broad range of situations, using case studies and employing the perspectives of social science, humanities and the sciences. The course has been developed and taught in a highly collaborative way, involving researchers and students at Zhejiang University, the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and Brown University. The article presents the curricular modules of the course, learning outcomes, an assessment framework developed for the project, and a discussion of evaluation findings.

Ethics in Science.

PubMed

Sharma, Om P

2015-09-01

Ethics are a set of moral principles and values a civilized society follows. Doing science with principles of ethics is the bedrock of scientific activity. The society trusts that the results and the projected outcome of any scientific activity is based on an honest and conscientious attempt by the scientific community. However, during the last few decades, there has been an explosion of knowledge and the advent of digital age. We can access the publications of competitors with just a "click". The evaluation parameters have evolved a lot and are based on impact factors, h-index and citations. There is a general feeling that the scientific community is under a lot of pressure for fulfilling the criteria for upward growth and even retention of the positions held. The noble profession of scientific research and academics has been marred by the temptation to falsify and fabricate data, plagiarism and other unethical practices. Broadly speaking, the breach of ethics involves: plagiarism, falsification of data, redundant (duplicate) publication, drawing far-fetched conclusions without hard data, for early publicity, gift authorship (receiving as well as giving), not giving sufficient attention and consideration to scholars and post-docs as per the norms, self promotion at the cost of team-members, treating colleagues (overall all juniors) in a feudal way and Machiavellianism (cunningness and duplicity in general conduct and push to positions of power and pelf). Misconduct in Indian academics and science is also under a lot of focus. It is important and urgent that science, engineering, and health departments and institutions in our country have in place systems for education and training in pursuit of science with ethics by sound and professional courses in Responsible Conduct of Research. All research and academic institution must have the Office of Ethics for information, guidelines, training and professional oversight of conduct of research with the ethos and ethics of research.

Is Your Ethics Committee Efficient? Using “IRB Metrics” as a Self-Assessment Tool for Continuous Improvement at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Thailand

PubMed Central

Adams, Pornpimon; Kaewkungwal, Jaranit; Limphattharacharoen, Chanthima; Prakobtham, Sukanya; Pengsaa, Krisana; Khusmith, Srisin

2014-01-01

Tensions between researchers and ethics committees have been reported in several institutions. Some reports suggest researchers lack confidence in the quality of institutional review board (IRB) reviews, and that emphasis on strict procedural compliance and ethical issues raised by the IRB might unintentionally lead to delays in correspondence between researchers and ethics committees, and/or even encourage prevarication/equivocation, if researchers perceive committee concerns and criticisms unjust. This study systematically analyzed the efficiency of different IRB functions, and the relationship between efficiency and perceived quality of the decision-making process. The major purposes of this study were thus (1) to use the IRB Metrics developed by the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Thailand (FTM-EC) to assess the operational efficiency and perceived effectiveness of its ethics committees, and (2) to determine ethical issues that may cause the duration of approval process to be above the target limit of 60 days. Based on a literature review of definitions and methods used and proposed for use, in assessing aspects of IRB quality, an “IRB Metrics” was developed to assess IRB processes using a structure-process-outcome measurement model. To observe trends in the indicators evaluated, data related to all protocols submitted to the two panels of the FTM-EC (clinical and non-clinical), between January 2010–September 2013, were extracted and analyzed. Quantitative information based on IRB Metrics structure-process-outcome illuminates different areas for internal-process improvement. Ethical issues raised with researchers by the IRB, which were associated with the duration of the approval process in protocol review, could be considered root causes of tensions between the parties. The assessment of IRB structure-process-outcome thus provides a valuable opportunity to strengthen relationships and reduce conflicts between IRBs and researchers, with positive outcomes for all parties involved in the conduct of human-subject research. PMID:25406085

Servant Leadership: Robert K. Greenleaf's Legacy and the Community College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shugart, Sanford

The term "servant leadership" involves putting people and ethical considerations intentionally ahead of short term institutional or personal self-interest. In the 1960s, Robert K. Greenleaf wrote the first of several books on servant leadership, arguing that institutions were both the glory and bane of modern society because they…

Cyberbullying Presence, Extent, & Forms in a Midwestern Post-Secondary Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, J. A.; Yoon, J.

2013-01-01

This research study was an investigative inquiry as to the forms and characteristics of cyberbullying present in a midwestern post-secondary educational institution during the 2011-2012 academic year. Cyberbullying incidents have increased in educational situations bringing new ethical and legal issues to light; however, most of the research has…

Racism in Organizations: The Case of a County Public Health Department

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffith, Derek M.; Childs, Erica L.; Eng, Eugenia; Jeffries, Vanessa

2007-01-01

Racism is part of the foundation of U.S. society and institutions, yet few studies in community psychology or organizational studies have examined how racism affects organizations. This paper proposes a conceptual framework of institutional racism, which describes how, in spite of professional standards and ethics, racism functions within…

Ethical Leadership in Higher Education Admission: Equality vs. Equity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caldwell, Corrinne; Shapiro, Joan Poliner; Gross, Steven Jay

2007-01-01

There is no shortage of places in higher education--most noncompetitive colleges could admit more students, but institutions often struggle to get the class that they want. Professionals consider the admission process successful when they are able to configure a class that meets the institution's many missions and notions, rather than just…

An Ethic of Service in Composition and Rhetoric

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adler-Kassner, Linda; Roen, Duane

2012-01-01

Research, teaching, and service--the traditional tripartite division of academic work. The kind of institution and the nature of institutional priorities have some bearing on the arrangement of the first two parts, but service always comes last. From the authors' shared perspective as faculty members and administrators in writing studies, though,…

Conflicts of interest, institutional corruption, and pharma: an agenda for reform.

PubMed

Rodwin, Marc A

2012-01-01

When physicians' conflicts of interest arise from ties with drug firms, we should shift our focus to the pharmaceutical industry and improper dependencies that cause institutional corruption. This article analyzes eight forms of improper dependencies on pharma and proposes reforms. © 2012 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

The Ethics of Using Learning Analytics to Categorize Students on Risk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scholes, Vanessa

2016-01-01

There are good reasons for higher education institutions to use learning analytics to risk-screen students. Institutions can use learning analytics to better predict which students are at greater risk of dropping out or failing, and use the statistics to treat "risky" students differently. This paper analyses this practice using…

Early Childhood Institutions as Loci of Ethical and Political Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Peter

2006-01-01

The historical process of the institutionalisation of childhood is in a period of intensification, as children enter institutions at ever earlier ages and remain in them for longer periods. This intensification presents great opportunities but also involves many risks since everything is dangerous. A particular set of risks are produced from the…

A Practical Definition of Ethics for Truly Strategic Planning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, Roger

2008-01-01

In this article, the author discusses his researched framework that has been used in government organizations, the military (including international militaries), large corporations around the globe, and educational institutions such as the Sonora Institute for Technology in Sonora, Mexico. This framework is termed an "Ideal Vision" that expresses…

Health research ethics review and needs of institutional ethics committees in Tanzania.

PubMed

Ikingura, J K B; Kruger, M; Zeleke, W

2007-09-01

This study was undertaken to describe the performance of health research ethics review procedures of six research centres in Tanzania. Data collection was done through a self-administered questionnaire and personal interviews. The results showed that there were on average 11 members (range = 8-14) in each Research Ethic Committee. However, female representation in the committees was low (15.2%). The largest proportion of the committee members was biomedical scientists (51.5%). Others included medical doctors (19.7%), social scientists (7.6%), laboratory technologists (10.6%), religious leaders (4.5%), statisticians (3.0%), teachers (1.5%) and lawyers (1.5). Committee members had different capacities to carry out review of research proposals (no capacity = 2%; limited capacity = 15%; moderate capacity = 20%; good capacity = 48%, excellent capacity = 13%). Only half of the respondents had prior ethics review training. Although the majority deemed that ethical guidelines were very important (66%), there were challenges in the use of ethical guidelines which included lack of awareness on the national accreditation mechanisms for ethics committee (59%). Adherence to ethical principles and regulations was influenced by being a scientist (OR = 42.47), being an employee of a professional organization (OR = 15.25), and having an interests in the use of ethical guidelines (OR = 10.85) These findings indicate the need for capacity strengthening (through training and resource support), inclusion of more female representation and other mandatory professions to the research ethics committees.

Antecedents of ethical decision-making: intercollegiate sporting environments as clinical education and practice settings.

PubMed

Caswell, Shane V; Ambegaonkar, Jatin P; Caswell, Amanda M; Gould, Trenton E

2009-01-01

Unique among allied health care professions, athletic training is predominately practiced amid competitive intercollegiate sports. Competitive sporting environments have been suggested to adversely impact morality, ethical decision-making (EDM), and behavior. The purposes of this study were to (1) investigate the effect of institutional National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) participation level on preferred ethical ideologies and EDM, (2) determine the relationship between professional status (athletic training student [ATS] or certified athletic trainer [ATC]) and ethical ideology preferences and EDM, and (3) examine whether preferred ethical ideology is related to differences in EDM. A nationally representative sample of 610 ATSs and ATCs from 30 athletic training education programs, stratified by NCAA division level, participated in the study. All participants completed a demographic survey, the Ethics Position Questionnaire, and the Dilemmas in Athletic Training Questionnaire. No significant relationships were noted between NCAA participation level and respondents' ethical ideology preferences. However, ATSs and ATCs demonstrated significant preferences for specific ethical ideologies, with students adopting the subjectivist ideology more than expected and the exceptionist ideology less than expected and ATCs adopting the exceptionist ideology more than expected and the situationist ideology less than expected. In contrast to some previous research, our results suggest that competitive sporting environments do not affect ATSs' and ATCs' ethical ideology and EDM abilities at the collegiate level. These findings serve as a baseline for future research examining the ethical ideologies and ethical decision-making levels of athletic training practitioners and other allied health professionals across clinical settings.

Business ethics of private general practitioners in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal

PubMed Central

Morris, Gary

2010-01-01

ABSTRACT Background Private general practitioners (GPs) have been criticised by the lay press citing unethical practice and the acceptance of kickbacks. In 2003, the Ethics Institute of South Africa conducted a national study of all doctors and also accused private GPs of unethical practice. In countries such as South Africa, with a practice of fee-for-service payments, there may be a temptation to put material interests above the best interests of patients. Private GPs, on the other hand, are of the opinion that the press and the Ethics Institute publication have unfairly singled them out. Objective To detect whether private GPs in KwaDukuza perceive their colleagues to be practising ethically. Method The study entailed a cross-sectional descriptive study design, in which all 30 private GPs based in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal, were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire during 2003. The survey was done on a voluntary basis and anonymity and confidentiality was maintained. Results Twenty-five doctors returned completed questionnaires (an 83.3% response rate). Seventy per cent perceived their peers to be practicing ethically, while 48% (12/25) reported that they did not observe any medical misconduct by their colleagues. The majority of the respondents (76%) reported that they did not know of any colleague who supplemented his or her income through the over-servicing of patients. The majority of the respondents (84%) also reported that their colleagues never accepted cash payments that were not declared for income tax purposes. Medically unnecessary tests are a form of unethical behaviour pertaining to over-servicing, and 64% of the respondents reported that medically unnecessary tests to satisfy patient requests were not an important reason for performing these tests. The doctors expressed high stress levels from multiple stressors in their occupation. Conclusion GPs in KwaDukuza indicated that they were under stress, but still practised ethically. The GPs emphasised the need for more training in medical ethics at all levels of the medical career. The majority of GPs of KwaDukuza perceive their colleagues to be practising ethically.

An Exploratory Assessment of the United States Naval Academy Ethical Decision Making Instrument

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-09-01

diversity in the way institutions approach the problem of teaching ethics to undergraduate engineering students . Some schools require students to take...Rest’s Theory of Moral Development Rest, a first generation student of Kohlberg, also confirmed the validity of developmental, self-constructed...justice. This came about during a study when Carol Gilligan, a student of Kohlberg, questioned the validity of Kohlberg’s claim that his conception of

Pain Assessment: Subjectivity, Objectivity, and the Use of Neurotechnology Part One: Practical and Ethical Issues

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-08

assessment, neurotechnology, biotechnology, neuroethics , medicine Pain Physician 2010; 13:305-315 Ethics Pain Assessment: Subjectivity, Objectivity...Studies, Arlington, VA, USA; Wellcome Centre for Neuroethics , University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; 2Institute for BioTechnology Futures, New York, NY, USA...which to guide care. a role for technology? PossIbIlItIes, Problems, and the neuroethIcs of PaIn care Can biotechnology provide the means and tools

Finding The Right Way: Toward an Army Institutional Ethic

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

viewed as a collective American failure, rather than the failure of just Cap- tain Ernest Medina, Lieutenant William Calley, and the platoon.46 In the past...This is largely true. How- ever, William Deresiewicz noted that only Abu Ghraib was widely discussed, and he asked the question, “How many more of...and dispersed throughout the manual. In 2002, USAWC students Lieutenant Colonels Mark Patterson and Janet Phipps found the doctrine ethically

Lifting the veil: a typological survey of the methodological features of Islamic ethical reasoning on biomedical issues.

PubMed

Abdur-Rashid, Khalil; Furber, Steven Woodward; Abdul-Basser, Taha

2013-04-01

We survey the meta-ethical tools and institutional processes that traditional Islamic ethicists apply when deliberating on bioethical issues. We present a typology of these methodological elements, giving particular attention to the meta-ethical techniques and devices that traditional Islamic ethicists employ in the absence of decisive or univocal authoritative texts or in the absence of established transmitted cases. In describing how traditional Islamic ethicists work, we demonstrate that these experts possess a variety of discursive tools. We find that the ethical responsa-i.e., the products of the application of the tools that we describe-are generally characterized by internal consistency. We also conclude that Islamic ethical reasoning on bioethical issues, while clearly scripture-based, is also characterized by strong consequentialist elements and possesses clear principles-based characteristics. The paper contributes to the study of bioethics by familiarizing non-specialists in Islamic ethics with the role, scope, and applicability of key Islamic ethical concepts, such as "aims" (maqāṣid), "universals" (kulliyyāt), "interest" (maṣlaḥa), "maxims" (qawā`id), "controls" (ḍawābit), "differentiators" (furūq), "preponderization" (tarjīḥ), and "extension" (tafrī`).

Ethical dilemmas facing chief nurses in Japan: A Pilot study.

PubMed

Ito, Chiharu; Natsume, Mikiko

2016-06-01

Chief nurses are most likely to take the lead in discussing and working to resolve ethical dilemmas, creating an ethical culture within their organization that results in effective ethics training. As the first step in this process, there is a need to define the kinds of ethical dilemmas that chief nurses grapple with on a regular basis as a target for future study. Anonymous written questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. All research procedures were approved by the Chubu University Ethics Review Board, the research institution to which the authors belong (authorization no. 250016). Responses from four chief nurses indicated that ethical dilemmas could be categorized as either those related to patient dignity or those related to management (unique to their roles as administrators). It was also learned that chief nurses struggle with the fact that although they consult with their superiors and others, these efforts do not lead to resolution. The expectation is that going forward, chief nurses will play a central role in acting as coordinators with physicians to promote better communication as well as lead group discussions aimed at providing care that respects patient dignity. © The Author(s) 2015.

Ethics Guidelines in Environmental Epidemiology: Their Development and Challenges We Face.

PubMed

Kramer, Shira; Soskolne, Colin L

2017-06-01

This review integrates historical developments and key events in bringing ethics into epidemiology in general and into environmental epidemiology in particular. The goal is to provide context for and discern among the various approaches and motivations that drive the need for ethical conduct in support of the public interest. The need for ethics guidelines in epidemiology is different from developments in other biomedical-related fields by virtue of its focus on populations rather than on individuals. The need for ethics guidelines in environmental epidemiology as a subspecialty of epidemiology stems from the larger scale of its mission than that of epidemiology per se. Ethics guidelines in the field of environmental epidemiology have been established. They articulate not only the profession's core values and mission, but more specifically, they address the environmental epidemiologist's obligations to the participants in research, to colleagues, and to employers. They are the product of consensus, scholarship, and diligent stewardship over several decades. The next challenge is ensuring their value and impact. The forces that support professional and institutional success, and the power of special interests, are the major threats to achieving the goals of ethical conduct and research for the public good. In environmental epidemiology, these threats have global implications.

Teaching ethics in the clinic. The theory and practice of moral case deliberation.

PubMed

Molewijk, A C; Abma, T; Stolper, M; Widdershoven, G

2008-02-01

A traditional approach to teaching medical ethics aims to provide knowledge about ethics. This is in line with an epistemological view on ethics in which moral expertise is assumed to be located in theoretical knowledge and not in the moral experience of healthcare professionals. The aim of this paper is to present an alternative, contextual approach to teaching ethics, which is grounded in a pragmatic-hermeneutical and dialogical ethics. This approach is called moral case deliberation. Within moral case deliberation, healthcare professionals bring in their actual moral questions during a structured dialogue. The ethicist facilitates the learning process by using various conversation methods in order to find answers to the case and to develop moral competencies. The case deliberations are not unique events, but are a structural part of the professional training on the work floor within healthcare institutions. This article presents the underlying theory on (teaching) ethics and illustrates this approach with an example of a moral case deliberation project in a Dutch psychiatric hospital. The project was evaluated using the method of responsive evaluation. This method provided us with rich information about the implementation process and effects the research process itself also lent support to the process of implementation.

The Ethical Imperative to Move to a Seven-Day Care Model.

PubMed

Bell, Anthony; McDonald, Fiona; Hobson, Tania

2016-06-01

Whilst the nature of human illness is not determined by time of day or day of week, we currently structure health service delivery around a five-day delivery model. At least one country is endeavouring to develop a systems-based approach to planning a transition from five- to seven-day healthcare delivery models, and some services are independently instituting program reorganization to achieve these ends as research, amongst other things, highlights increased mortality and morbidity for weekend and after-hours admissions to hospitals. In this article, we argue that this issue does not merely raise instrumental concerns but also opens up a normative ethical dimension, recognizing that clinical ethical dilemmas are impacted on and created by systems of care. Using health policy ethics, we critically examine whether our health services, as currently structured, are at odds with ethical obligations for patient care and broader collective goals associated with the provision of publicly funded health services. We conclude by arguing that a critical health policy ethics perspective applying relevant ethical values and principles needs to be included when considering whether and how to transition from five-day to seven-day models for health delivery.

Nursing's Code of Ethics, Social Ethics, and Social Policy.

PubMed

Fowler, Marsha D

2016-09-01

Modern American nursing arose during the Civil War and subsequently adopted the Nightingale educational model in the 1870s. By 1889, the journal Trained Nurse and Hospital Review had been established. It published a six-part series on ethics in nursing. With the establishment of the American Nurses Association in 1893, the articles of incorporation gave the organization its first charge: "to establish and maintain a code of ethics." While the rich and enduring tradition of nursing's ethics has been concerned about individual patients and their relational nexus, nursing ethics has from the beginning been a social ethics, intimately concerned both for the shape of society and for social change. This concern has been for health, conceived broadly and not focused specifically on disease and its treatment, but including the social causes of disease. Nightingale herself was an ardent social reformer, instituting a wide range of types of army sanitation reform, sanitation reform in India, and hospital and nursing reform. Despite her gender, her wealth and privilege granted her access to men in power who furthered her policy and reform agenda. From the start, then, modern nursing was imbued with a social reformist bias. © 2016 The Hastings Center.

Real-time Responsiveness for Ethics Oversight During Disaster Research.

PubMed

Eckenwiler, Lisa; Pringle, John; Boulanger, Renaud; Hunt, Matthew

2015-11-01

Disaster research has grown in scope and frequency. Research in the wake of disasters and during humanitarian crises--particularly in resource-poor settings--is likely to raise profound and unique ethical challenges for local communities, crisis responders, researchers, and research ethics committees (RECs). Given the ethical challenges, many have questioned how best to provide research ethics review and oversight. We contribute to the conversation concerning how best to ensure appropriate ethical oversight in disaster research and argue that ethical disaster research requires of researchers and RECs a particular sort of ongoing, critical engagement which may not be warranted in less exceptional research. We present two cases that typify the concerns disaster researchers and RECs may confront, and elaborate upon what this ongoing engagement might look like--how it might be conceptualized and utilized--using the concept of real-time responsiveness (RTR). The central aim of RTR, understood here as both an ethical ideal and practice, is to lessen the potential for research conducted in the wake of disasters to create, perpetuate, or exacerbate vulnerabilities and contribute to injustices suffered by disaster-affected populations. Well cultivated and deployed, we believe that RTR may enhance the moral capacities of researchers and REC members, and RECs as institutions where moral agency is nurtured and sustained. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Supplementing research ethics training in psychiatry residents: A five-tier approach.

PubMed

Viswanath, Biju; Jayarajan, Rajan Nishanth; Chandra, Prabha S; Chaturvedi, Santosh K

2018-04-01

Ethics training is a key step in the research supervision of psychiatry trainees and there is need for a structured educational module. We developed a new research ethics training module for psychiatry residents - The Five-Tier Approach. Twenty-five first year psychiatry residents of an academic psychiatric training centre in India participated in this multi-session workshop. Module 1 included the completion of NIH online certification course for research ethics training. Module 2 was a one-hour interactive group discussion on ethical principles in research. Module 3 was a two-hour session consisting of case-based group discussion of nine selected research vignettes. Module 4 involved preparation of an informed consent form. Module 5 was a mock ethics committee role-played by seven students while the larger group observed using a Fish Bowl technique and provided feedback. Assessments were done during the third and final modules. During the third module, understanding regarding certain areas - autonomy, benefits and justice was found to be inadequate. In the final step, all ethical aspects were covered by the students. This five-tier approach seems like a superior tool for research ethics training in academic institutions, especially in Southeast Asia, where the student-teacher ratios are generally very high. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Climate Change and Professional Responsibility: A Declaration of Helsinki for Engineers.

PubMed

Lawlor, Rob; Morley, Helen

2017-10-01

In this paper, we argue that the professional engineering institutions ought to develop a Declaration of Climate Action. Climate change is a serious global problem, and the majority of greenhouse gas emissions come from industries that are enabled by engineers and represented by the engineering professional institutions. If the professional institutions take seriously the claim that a profession should be self-regulating, with codes of ethics that go beyond mere obedience to the law, and if they take their own ethical codes seriously, recognising their responsibility to the public and to future generations (and also recognising a duty of "responsible leadership"), the professional institutions ought to develop a declaration for engineers, addressing climate change. Our argument here is largely inspired by the history of the Declaration of Helsinki. The Declaration of Helsinki was created by the medical profession for the profession, and it held physicians to a higher standard of ethical conduct than was found in the legal framework of individual countries. Although it was not originally a legal document, the influence of the Declaration can be seen in the fact that it is now enshrined in law in a number of different countries. Thus, we argue that the engineering profession could, and should, play a significant role in the abatement of climate change by making changes within the profession. If the engineering profession sets strict standards for professional engineers, with sanctions for those who refuse to comply, this could have a significant impact in relation to our efforts to develop a coordinated response to climate change.

Ethics in clinical drug trial research in private practice.

PubMed

Beran, R G; Beran, M E

2006-09-01

Private clinics and clinicians have been involved in clinical drug trials for approximately two decades. This paper reviews the ethical consideration inherent in this process. Involvement of a single community based, private, Australian neurological clinic in the conduct of trials was audited. Changes in ethical considerations were analysed. The clinic previously audited its clinical trial involvement, starting with pharmaceutical company orchestrated trials. These were vetted by hospital based ethics committees (ECs) which then refused to review private research. A private EC accommodating NH & MRC standards was formed to assess private research. Indemnity concerns forced return to institutional ECs with government guaranteed indemnification. Trials evolved to investigator initiated, company sponsored studies thence a company asking the clinic to devise, sponsor and manage a trial. The latter relegated trial co-ordination to the clinic which would control publication thereby creating new ethical standards. Private practice trial involvement evolved from reluctant inclusion to a pivotal role in privately sponsored studies. Access to ECs is government endorsed and publication is independent for investigator-sponsored trials. There has been modification of standard operating procedures and enhanced ethical standards.

41 CFR 101-29.218 - Voluntary standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Regulations System FEDERAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS SUPPLY AND PROCUREMENT 29-FEDERAL PRODUCT... standards,” but does not include professional standards of personal conduct, institutional codes of ethics...

Impact of the new european paediatric regulatory framework on ethics committees: overview and perspectives.

PubMed

Altavilla, A; Manfredi, C; Baiardi, P; Dehlinger-Kremer, M; Galletti, P; Pozuelo, A Alemany; Chaplin, J; Ceci, A

2012-01-01

To evaluate the impact of the new European paediatric regulatory framework on the activities of Ethics Committees operating in Europe and to assess their involvement and interest in paediatric research. Task-force in Europe for Drug Development for the Young Network of Excellence and Relating Expectations and Needs to the Participation and Empowerment of Children in Clinical Trials project set up an inventory of Ethics Committees existing in Europe and conducted a survey on their approach to paediatric trials. Ethics Committees operating in 22 European Countries participated in this survey. Results showed a high lack of knowledge, understanding and awareness of the current European paediatric regulatory framework and a lack of involvement of Ethics Committees in paediatric research, especially in terms of training and education, demonstrated also by the decreasing number of Ethics Committees answering exhaustively to the whole questionnaire. The majority of participating Ethics Committees expressed interest in future initiatives related to paediatric research. Despite a limited knowledge and understanding of the current paediatric regulatory framework, a significant number of Ethics Committees operating in Europe show interest in initiatives related to paediatric research. Networking may be an essential tool to be used to enhance Ethics Committees role in supporting paediatric research. Any initiative should be undertaken at European level in collaboration with European Union Institutions. © 2011 The Author(s)/Acta Paediatrica © 2011 Foundation Acta Paediatrica.

Factors that impact on emergency nurses' ethical decision-making ability.

PubMed

Alba, Barbara

2016-11-10

Reliance on moral principles and professional codes has given nurses direction for ethical decision-making. However, rational models do not capture the emotion and reality of human choice. Intuitive response must be considered. Supporting intuition as an important ethical decision-making tool for nurses, the aim of this study was to determine relationships between intuition, years of worked nursing experience, and perceived ethical decision-making ability. A secondary aim explored the relationships between rational thought to years of worked nursing experience and perceived ethical decision-making ability. A non-experimental, correlational research design was used. The Rational Experiential Inventory measured intuition and rational thought. The Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Scale measured perceived ethical decision-making ability. Pearson's r was the statistical method used to analyze three primary and two secondary research questions. A sample of 182 emergency nurses was recruited electronically through the Emergency Nurses Association. Participants were self-selected. Approval to conduct this study was obtained by the Adelphi University Institutional Review Board. A relationship between intuition and perceived ethical decision-making ability (r = .252, p = .001) was a significant finding in this study. This study is one of the first of this nature to make a connection between intuition and nurses' ethical decision-making ability. This investigation contributes to a broader understanding of the different thought processes used by emergency nurses to make ethical decisions. © The Author(s) 2016.

Assessment of knowledge of nurses regarding bioethics.

PubMed

Saini, Radha; Saini, Parvesh; Alagh, Preety

2014-01-01

Nurses involved in research, whether as a principal investigator, a study coordinator, clinical trials nurse, or as a staff nurse caring for patients who are research subjects have a responsibility to promote the ethical conduct of clinical research. Will a registered nurse be ever able to challenge and infact unearth the unscrupulous medical practices which make poor patients guinea pigs in pharmaceutical company-sponsored clinical trials? Keeping this in view an exploratory study was carried out to assess the knowledge of bioethics among MSc Nursing students studying in recognised Nursing Colleges of North India. 92 percent of MSc nursing students scored below average knowledge regarding bioethics even after studying ethics in MSc (N) 1st year and B.Sc. Nursing degree programme. This research study strongly recommends the Indian Nursing Council-the statutory licensing body of nurses in India to ensure strict compliance of all researches (at masters as well as bachelors level) in nursing education with all the principles and components of bioethics. Need of the hour is to include at least one clinical nurse in the Institutional Ethics Committee in every medical and research institution.

Tightening conflict-of-interest policies: the impact of 2005 ethics rules at the NIH.

PubMed

Zinner, Darren E; DesRoches, Catherine M; Bristol, Steffanie J; Clarridge, Brian; Campbell, Eric G

2010-11-01

To determine both the intended and unintended effects of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 2005 ethics rules by examining changes in publishing rates and the frequency of external relationships among NIH scientists. After identifying eligible intramural scientists and administrators from institutes' Web pages and central directories, a mailed survey was administered to 900 NIH research faculty between October 2008 and January 2009 (response rate 70.1%). Eighty percent of respondents believed the NIH ethics rules were too restrictive. Whereas 45% of respondents believed the rules positively impacted the public's trust in the NIH, 77% believed the rules hindered the NIH's ability to complete its mission. Implementation of the ethics rules significantly decreased self-reported government-industry relationships among NIH faculty (from 51.8% to 33.2%, P < .01), including significant drops in consulting (33.1% to 7.8%, P < .01) and scientific advisory board membership (31.5% to 16.0%, P < .01), both of which may be allowed under the new regulations in restricted situations with increased oversight. The policy had limited impact on NIH faculty participation in nonindustrial professional service roles and had no detectable change in publishing behavior (5.29 articles per researcher per year from 2002-2005 versus 5.26 from 2005-2008, P = .88). The NIH ethics rules accomplished much of what they were intended to do, limiting relationships with industry while maintaining NIH researchers' association with external scientific and professional organizations. However, the rules negatively affected personnel morale and the perceived progress of research.

[Clinical everyday ethics-support in handling moral distress? : Evaluation of an ethical decision-making model for interprofessional clinical teams].

PubMed

Tanner, S; Albisser Schleger, H; Meyer-Zehnder, B; Schnurrer, V; Reiter-Theil, S; Pargger, H

2014-06-01

High-tech medicine and cost rationing provoke moral distress up to burnout syndromes. The consequences are severe, not only for those directly involved but also for the quality of patient care and the institutions. The multimodal model METAP (Modular, Ethical, Treatment, Allocation, Process) was developed as clinical everyday ethics to support the interprofessional ethical decision-making process. The distinctive feature of the model lays in education concerning ethics competence in dealing with difficult treatment decisions. METAP has been evaluated for quality testing. The research question of interest was whether METAP supports the handling of moral distress. The evaluation included 3 intensive care units and 3 geriatric units. In all, 33 single and 9 group interviews were held with 24 physicians, 44 nurses, and 9 persons from other disciplines. An additional questionnaire was completed by 122 persons (return rate 57%). Two-thirds of the interview answers and 55% of the questionnaire findings show that clinical everyday ethics supports the handling of moral distress, especially for interdisciplinary communication and collaboration and for the explanation and evaluation of treatment goals. METAP does not provide support for persons who are rarely confronted with ethical problems or have not applied the model long enough yet. To a certain degree, moral distress is unavoidable and must be addressed as an interprofessional problem. Herein, clinical everyday ethics may provide targeted support for ethical decision-making competence.

Ethical Considerations in the Practical Application of the Unisa Socio-Critical Model of Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fynn, Angelo

2016-01-01

The prediction and classification of student performance has always been a central concern within higher education institutions. It is therefore natural for higher education institutions to harvest and analyse student data to inform decisions on education provision in resource constrained South African environments. One of the drivers for the use…