Assessing the ethics of medical research in emergency settings: how do international regulations work in practice?

Science and Engineering Ethics
Ritva Halila

Abstract

Different ethical principles conflict in research conducted in emergency research. Clinical care and its development should be based on research. Patients in critical clinical condition are in the greatest need of better medicines. The critical condition of the patient and the absence of a patient representative at the critical time period make it difficult and sometimes impossible to request an informed consent before the beginning of the trial. In an emergency, care decisions must be made in a short period of time, and the more time is wasted, the more the risk of death or severe tissue damage and incapacity increases. Consent requests take time, and so the time period before treatment might put the patient's life in jeopardy. Not requesting consent before a trial is also contradictory. A person should not be forced to participate in a trial against his or her will. Due to the dark history of medical research previously, international declarations and conventions have set up ethical principles for medical research. They emphasize the autonomy of the research participant--or his or her legal representative--to give a free and informed consent prior to the initiation of research. In the case of a critical emergency, the unconsc...Continue Reading

Citations

Oct 26, 2012·The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy·T M Wilkinson
Nov 26, 2015·Science and Engineering Ethics·Ayman El-MenyarHassan Al-Thani
Sep 12, 2015·BMC Medical Ethics·Brenda M MorrowSharon Kling
Dec 3, 2014·Air Medical Journal·Andrew P Reimer, Barbara J Daly
Apr 10, 2012·The Journal of Pediatrics·Nestor Eduardo Vain, Keith J Barrington
Nov 28, 2017·Accountability in Research·Linus Broström, Mats Johansson
Jul 13, 2019·Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics : CQ : the International Journal of Healthcare Ethics Committees·Tuija Takala, Matti Häyry

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