Ethical Aspects Of Research Research Articles

Current status and influencing factors of nurses’ knowledge and attitudes towards clinical research ethical in China: a province-wide cross-sectional survey

BackgroundNurses’ competence in clinical research is a key element in promoting high quality in the discipline of nursing, and the ethical aspects of research are of paramount importance. Therefore, nurses need to have a comprehensive understanding of the ethics associated with clinical research, which is an integral part of safeguarding the safety of subjects, ensuring the quality of nursing clinical research, and improving the ethical standardization of clinical research.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted on 304 nurses in a province of China between April 2023 and September 2023, utilizing convenience sampling. The survey questionnaire comprised two sections: a general information form and a questionnaire focusing on nurses’ knowledge and attitudes towards clinical research ethics. Data analysis encompassed descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression.ResultsA total of 320 questionnaires were distributed, of which 304 were valid. The ethical attitude of nurses in clinical research was better (91.17 ± 15.96), while the cognitive score was lower (63.08 ± 12.30). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that degree, grade of hospital (I, II or III), technical title, number of clinical projects chaired in one year and whether the respondent has ever participated in an ethics training were the five factors influencing the knowledge of clinical research ethics (F = 9.341, P < 0.001, R2 = 18.0%); degree, grade of hospital (I, II or III), technical title, number of clinical research projects chaired in one year, whether the hospital has an ethics committee and whether the respondent has ever participated in an ethics training were the six factors affecting ethical attitudes towards clinical research (F = 8.919, P < 0.001, R2 = 17.3%).ConclusionsNurses in a Chinese province scored low on the cognitive dimension of clinical research ethics, but their attitudes were at a relative high level, with many influencing factors. Degree, technical title, and grade of hospital, all affect cognitive and attitude scores. It is also worth noting that whether the hospital has an ethics committee affects the attitude scores, but has no effect on the cognitive scores.Nursing administrators and educators should consider providing effective and targeted strategies (e.g., ongoing training, scholarly seminars, and scholarly exchanges) to enhance nurses’ knowledge and competence in clinical research ethics to protect subject rights as well as to ensure the quality of clinical research.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Research Ethics among Researchers in Nepal.

The universal health research ethical principles must be adhered to ensure a balance between science and safeguarding participants' rights, safety and dignity. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of research ethics among researchers in Nepal. The study was carried out among 449 researchers who submitted proposals for ethical review and approval from the Ethical Review Board of the Nepal Health Research Council between January 2017 to August 2021. Simple random sampling was done ensuring a proportional representation of researchers from all areas of health research. A structured questionnaire was administered online for data collection. The participants aged between 23-80 years old consented to complete the survey questionnaire. The median age of the respondents was 35 (23-80) years. Among all the respondents, 52 (11.58%) were unaware about the National Ethical Guideline for Health Research. Similarly, 110 (24.50%) respondents strongly agreed that the ethical review process impairs research and makes it harder for researchers to conduct research; 372 (82.85%) respondents had pursued research activity only after obtaining ethical approval. Half of the respondents had knowledge on different aspects of research ethics.

Aspects of Research Ethics in Studies Involving Women Who Are Victims of Domestic Violence

Even if research on women who experience acts of aggression within their home is mostly conducted similarly to other research involving human participants, a type of research that implies both respect for individual autonomy and other particular rights (like informed consent, or the protection of personal data, while avoiding to do unnecessary physical, patrimonial or psychological harm to those who take part in the research), the ones who fall victims acts of abuse in their household present a series of particularities that represent as many specific aspects of the research. The purpose of this paper is to identify these specific aspects and analyze the way to make sure that those particularities are the manner in which they must be taken into account in order to carry out ethical research.

Perceived impact of a one-week journalology training course on scientific reporting competencies: prospective survey

INTRODUCTION: The debate on scientific research and reporting integrity issues in Brazil is incipient. Literature suggests that a journalology training course could help to improve the competencies of the participants. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the immediate impact of a journalology training course on perceived academic competencies, comprised of knowledge, attitudes, and skills. METHODS: The course was taught in 5 consecutive days to an online audience of individuals from the health sciences. A self-applied questionnaire was employed before and immediately after the course, which included initial and acquired perceived knowledge, attitudes, skills. The Wilcoxon non-parametric test for paired samples was used for analysis. RESULTS: A total of 45 individuals participated in the course, with a 53% response rate before and after. The number of participants in each course session ranged between 32 and 45. There was an improvement in perceived knowledge of: (1) writing review articles; (2) ethical aspects of research; (3) scientific authorship; (4) predatory practices; (5) publication bias and spin, and (6) researcher evaluation. There was no improvement in self-reported attitudes towards any item. There was an improvement in the perception of skills relating to: (1) writing a response letter and (2) writing an opinion as a reviewer. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, attendees who participated in the survey reported perceived improved knowledge and skills in some items but not in their attitudes. Therefore, the course appears to have been unable to modify perceived scientific reporting competencies.

Informed Consent in COVID-19-Research: An Ethical Analysis of Clinical Studies Performed during the Pandemic.

Health crises such as the current COVID-19 pandemic pose challenges to the conduct of clinical studies. Aspects of research ethics, such as obtaining informed consent (IC), can be complicated. We are concerned with whether or not the proper IC procedures were followed in the context of clinical studies at Ulm University in the years 2020 to 2022. We identified all protocols of clinical studies dealing with COVID-19 that the Research Ethics Committee of Ulm University has reviewed and voted on in the years 2020 to 2022. We then performed a thematic analysis regarding the following aspects: study type, handling of IC, type of patient information, means of communication, applied security precautions, and the approach to participants from vulnerable groups. We identified n = 98 studies that dealt with COVID-19. In n = 25 (25.51%), IC was obtained traditionally in written form, in n = 26 (26.53%) IC was waived, in n = 11 (11.22%) IC was obtained delayed, and in n = 19 (19.39%) IC was obtained by proxy. No study protocol was accepted that waived IC in case IC would have been required in times outside of pandemics. It is possible to obtain IC even in times of severe health crises. In the future, it is necessary to address in greater detail and with legal certainty which alternative methods of obtaining IC are possible and under which circumstances IC can be waived.

Is bureaucracy being busted in research ethics and governance for health services research in the UK? Experiences and perspectives reported by stakeholders through an online survey

BackgroundIt has long been noted that the chain from identification of need (research gap) to impact in the real world is both long and tortuous. This study aimed to contribute evidence about research ethics and governance arrangements and processes in the UK with a focus on: what works well; problems; impacts on delivery; and potential improvements.MethodsOnline questionnaire widely distributed 20th May 2021, with request to forward to other interested parties. The survey closed on 18th June 2021. Questionnaire included closed and open questions related to demographics, role, study objectives.ResultsResponses were received from 252 respondents, 68% based in universities 25% in the NHS. Research methods used by respondents included interviews/focus groups (64%); surveys/questionnaires (63%); and experimental/quasi experimental (57%). Respondents reported that participants in the research they conducted most commonly included: patients (91%); NHS staff (64%) and public (50%). Aspects of research ethics and governance reported to work well were: online centralised systems; confidence in rigorous, respected systems; and helpful staff. Problems with workload, frustration and delays were reported, related to overly bureaucratic, unclear, repetitive, inflexible and inconsistent processes. Disproportionality of requirements for low-risk studies was raised across all areas, with systems reported to be risk averse, defensive and taking little account of the risks associated with delaying or deterring research. Some requirements were reported to have unintended effects on inclusion and diversity, particularly impacting Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and engagement processes. Existing processes and requirements were reported to cause stress and demoralisation, particularly as many researchers are employed on fixed term contracts. High negative impacts on research delivery were reported, in terms of timescales for completing studies, discouraging research particularly for clinicians and students, quality of outputs and costs. Suggested improvements related to system level changes / overall approach and specific refinements to existing processes.ConclusionsConsultation with those involved in Health Services Research in the UK revealed a picture of overwhelming and increasing bureaucracy, delays, costs and demoralisation related to gaining the approvals necessary to conduct research in the NHS. Suggestions for improvement across all three areas focused on reducing duplication and unnecessary paperwork/form filling and reaching a better balance between risks of harm through research and harms which occur because research to inform practice is delayed or deterred.

Ethical research practice in health and disasters

Research on health and disasters within the social sciences and public health is produced from a wide range of methodological and disciplinary perspectives. Major disaster events continue to highlight the need for health and disaster researchers to further reflect on the procedural and practical aspects of research ethics. We conduct a scoping review and qualitative frame analysis of 76 empirical articles from 2000 onwards, with the aim of uncovering the dominant framings of ‘ethical practice’ within health and disaster literature. The review demonstrates that the literature presents competing framings of risk – namely, a more individualist and biomedical understanding of trauma, and a focus on community-level and contextual aspects of risk, respectively. These competing frames of risk determine how different parts of the field negotiate ethical processes and practices. Additional points of tension are found in the way in which disaster-affected people and places are characterised as (or as not) particularly vulnerable, and the role of formal ethical review committees. This review synthesises proposed solutions from literature to improve both procedural and practical ethics and finds there are continued disagreements surrounding even the most frequently called-for changes. The contrasting framings of ethics problems and solutions within this field indicate the need for consensus around the practical ethics of health and disaster research. Further reflection is warranted for more coherent engagement between this research field and disaster-affected communities.

A step toward revamping MD pharmacology curriculum by National Medical Commission: An envisioned transition from bench-side training to bedside training

With a vision to meet the changing trends and recent developments in the field of pharmacology and therapeutics, the postgraduate medical education board of the national medical commission has put forth amendments to the existing guidelines for the MD pharmacology course. Major changes include introducing a district residency-based program for 3 months apart from the clinical postings and more focus is given to the areas of rational prescribing, pharmacovigilance, and ethical aspects of research. These amendments come as a new ray of hope in developing the postgraduate student as a complete professional equipped to meet the increasing standards in the workplace be it a hospital or a research arena. Including the simulation-based approaches for training as a lesson learned from the pandemic and adopting patient-oriented learning during the course are some of the key changes in the new guidelines. This review focuses on highlighting these amendments and correlating the same with the current scenario and discusses the future areas that can be improved for comprehensive development in the pharmacology curriculum.

Mining the literature for ethics statements: A step towards standardizing research ethics

Ethical aspects of research continue to gain attention, be that in the process of proposing and planning research or performing, documenting or publishing it. One of the ways in which this trend manifests itself is the increasingly common addition of ethics statements to publications in fields like biomedicine, psychology or ethnography. Such ethics statements in publications provide the reader with a window into some of the practical yet typically hidden aspects of research ethics. As more and more publications are becoming available in full text and in machine readable formats through repositories like Europe PubMed Central, we propose to mine the literature for ethics statements and to extract information about the various aspects of research ethics that they address. The more standardized these statements are, the better the mined materials can be converted into structured and queryable information that can in turn be used to inform efforts towards higher levels of standardization in research ethics. This paper sketches out the motivation for such mining and outlines some methodological approaches that could be leveraged towards this end.

Clinical Research in Ghana: Accuracy and Reliability of Laboratory Results

The rising cost of clinical research is driving the current trend of outsourcing to developing countries1. Many developing countries, such as Ghana, conduct research but face many challenges in ensuring that the trial conduct and results conform to internationalstandards2. Such challenges include staff recruitment and retention3 and the reliability of laboratory results. Ethical aspects of research are governed by international regulations but policing and enforcing such regulations are less well documented. There arechallenges to overcome, including reliability of laboratory results and inadequate resources, with overreliance on those that are adequate. Thus there is a need to develop a research infrastructure that can cope with these challenges.

Methodological and ethical aspects of research on COVID-19

This article presents a brief analysis of the methodological problems and violations of ethics associated with the COVID-19 era and the transformation of science. The focus is on the transformation of the principle of open science from a local to mass phenomenon. The public exposure of the research has highlighted some methodological problems having unfavorable impact on the healthcare service. The author discusses ethical problems, macro- and microethics, adherence to universal values and personal interests.

Reshaping the review of consent so we might improve participant choice

Consent is one necessary foundation for ethical research and it’s one of the research ethics committee’s major roles to ensure that the consent process meets acceptable standards. Although on Oxford ‘A’ REC (an NHS Research Ethics Committee based in the UK) we’ve been impressed by the thought and work put into this aspect of research ethics, we’ve continued to have concerns about the suitability and effectiveness of consent processes in supporting decision making, particularly for clinical trials. There’s poor understanding of what people want to help them decide; current processes don’t provide the best grounding for informed consent and there’s inadequate public involvement. We’ve also found a lack of proportionality with researchers failing to adapt consent procedures in proportion to the burdens and consequences of the study. As a result, people are often not best helped to make an informed choice when asked to join a research study. To address these concerns, we considered how we might improve this aspect of research ethics review. Recognising the central importance of the dialogue between the volunteer and researcher, we’ve drawn up a model or flowchart of what we deem good consent practice, proposing consent should be built around four simple steps: Step 1: Introducing the study and the choices: helping the potential participants get an overview of the proposal and introducing the key issues. Step 2: Explaining all the details of the study using the detailed Participant Information Sheet. Step 3: After a gap, if necessary, reviewing and checking understanding. Step 4: Reaching agreement and recording consent. These steps, we believe, could help all involved and this article lays out ways we might improve participant choice while complying with accepted principles and current regulations.

Reflections on ethical aspects of research in human and social sciences in Brazil

Comites de avaliacao etica nas pesquisas em ciencias humanas e sociais estao cada vez mais cautelosos quanto a aprovacao e autorizacao dos projetos. O objetivo deste artigo e tecer uma discussao teorica sobre aspectos eticos das pesquisas em ciencias humanas e sociais no Brasil, tendo como referencia as prerrogativas das resolucoes no 466/2012 e n° 510/2016 do CONEP/CNS/MS, utilizando a pesquisa bibliografica como procedimento metodologico. Mesmo consideradas aplicaveis a qualquer area do conhecimento, as normativas nao contemplam as demandas metodologicas especificas das ciencias humanas e sociais. Assim, prevalece a ideia sobre a necessidade de revisao dos criterios da etica na pesquisa, considerando as especificidades das diferentes areas do saber; bem como a revisao dos criterios de composicao dos comites de etica, que devem ser formados por pares das areas afins, preferencialmente na perspectiva democratica e interdisciplinar. O desafio e ampliar e democratizar o debate, envolvendo instituicoes de ensino e pesquisa e orgaos governamentais reguladores, sem perder de vista a etica como orientadora do fazer cientifico.

Medical research: state and problems

Keywords: medical research, ethical aspects of research, patient rights, as the objectof research, informed consent&#x0D; In the article, the author conducted a study of medical research with human participation, analyzed the legislation of Ukraine and international documents and found that there is no unified conceptof «medical research», but uses different terms, such as biomedical experiment, clinicaltrial, clinical trials, etc. The legal acts of Ukraine provide for a variety of terms, but dothey all mean the same concept. It would be appropriate to enshrine at the level of thelaw the concept of broad meaning «medical research», which would include such types as:«medical and biological experiments», «clinical trials» and so on. Referring to internationalinstruments on the search for the concept of «medical research» also revealed differencesin the conceptual understanding of the concept of «medical research». Instead, itwas found that all the legal acts analyzed in the article stipulate that medical examinationswith human participation, as the object of research, begin only after the person hasgiven voluntary informed consent to conduct research on him.The procedure for conducting medical examinations with the participation of a personas an object of study in all legal documents referred to in the article provides for themandatory voluntary consent of the person who is the object of research. Article 10, paragraph2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of Biologyand Medicine: The Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine guarantees everyonethe right to access any information collected about their health. However, the desire ofindividuals not to receive such information must also be respected. The rights of patientsduring medical research, as the object of research, including the study of their biologicalmaterial and data, regardless of the country in which they live and where medical researchtakes place, national laws must guarantee ethical standards at the highest levelof medical research and ensure strong legal basis for future medical research. The socialfunction of the state is the vocation to protect the researcher and the subjects.

Cultural Values and Beliefs of Selected Local Communities in Botswana: Implications for Human Subject Research Ethics Practice.

Calls have been made for researchers prospectively and continuously to engage study communities. If done, this typically occurs through a specific research study or collaboration. Rarely are community mores examined in-depth to understand implications for research ethics policy processes. We describe a qualitative study designed to understand local community values, beliefs, and practices that relate to research ethics in Botswana and explore how communities would want their interests represented. Through focus group discussions across two different selected ethnic communities and in-depth interviews with paramount chiefs, we highlight a range of community values and expectations that represent concrete behavioral representations of respect and trustworthiness. Communities are willing to engage in the process of enhancing research and research ethics policies and procedures. We invite future research and training that seek to connect local conceptualizations of substantive and procedural aspects of research ethics.

Person-oriented ethics for autism research: Creating best practices through engagement with autism and autistic communities.

Research ethics means issues that concern the welfare and wellbeing of people who take part in research. It is important in all scientific studies. Ethics helps people who do research treat people who take part in research fairly and with respect. This article is about day-to-day ethics when autistic people take part in research. We present tips for researchers who want to do this type of study.We used two methods to create these tips. First, we wanted to know what other people said about this topic. We used a literature review to find out. Second, we wanted to know what autistic people, parents, and professionals thought, and had a working group meet to discuss it. The working group provided advice that researchers could consider around day-to-day ethics in research. This article talks about these methods and advice. The advice fits into five big groups:Tailor the research process for the unique needs of each person.Think about the world in which people who take part in research live.Make it easier for people to make their own choices.Value what people who take part in research have to share and consider their needs and strengths.Think about how researchers and people who take part in research work together.This project shows why it is useful for researchers and communities to talk about research ethics together.

Vivências de adolescentes relacionadas à internação por condições sensíveis a atenção primaria à saúde

O estudo objetivou conhecer as vivências de adolescentes relacionadas à internação por condições sensíveis a Atenção Primária à Saúde. Trata-se de um estudo com abordagem qualitativa, realizado em um hospital público de referência no município de Santa Maria. A coleta aconteceu por meio de entrevista semiestruturada que foi realizada no segundo semestre de 2019. Os dados qualitativos foram submetidos a Análise Temática de Conteúdo. Destaca-se que toda a pesquisa foi regida pela Resolução 466/2012, respeitando os aspectos éticos de pesquisas realizadas com seres humanos. Para os adolescentes vivenciar a hospitalização fez emergir reações emocionais negativas associadas à ruptura e à separação da família e dos pares. Tais vivências, também, estiveram relacionadas à condição de saúde e aos procedimentos técnicos a que foram submetidos durante o tratamento. Para alguns participantes, a hospitalização esteve permeada por sentimentos ambíguos, pois ora entendiam a importância do tratamento para a melhoria de sua condição de saúde, ora não aceitavam ter sua rotina interrompida. Espera-se que a pesquisa possibilite aprimorar a atenção à saúde do adolescente por meio da identificação das causas de internação por condições sensíveis a atenção primária, reduzindo tais índices.

Person-Oriented Research Ethics and Dementia:The Lack of Consensus

Research ethics extends beyond obtaining initial approval from research ethics boards. The previously established person-oriented research ethics framework provides guidelines for understanding ongoing ethics throughout the tasks of a research project, in a variety of research contexts. It focuses primarily on the relational and experiential aspects of research ethics, organized around five guideposts: (1) focus on researcher-participant relationships; (2) respect for holistic personhood; (3) acknowledgment of lived world; (4) individualization; and (5) empowerment in decision-making. Given the widespread impact of dementia and the ethical challenges dementia research presents, conducting meaningful, ethical research is of high importance. This review explores this person-oriented framework in the context of dementia by examining existing literature on ethics practices in dementia research. We use a critical interpretive literature review to examine publications from 2013 to 2017 for content related to the five guideposts of person-oriented research ethics. While there is much literature addressing the relational and experiential aspects of research ethics, there is a lack of unanimous conclusions and concrete suggestions for implementation. We compiled practical recommendations from the literature, highlighting tensions and suggesting furthering evidence-based ethics research fieldwork to construct an accessible, easy-to-use set of guidelines for researchers that will assist in putting person-oriented research ethics into practice in dementia research.

Iranian L2 Researchers' Perspectives on Research Ethics

This study aims at exploring L2 researchers’ perspectives on research ethics in Iran. A total of ten teacher researchers were selected among a larger group of researchers based on the criteria of academic degree and familiarity with research principles. They were interviewed about different aspects of research ethics. Their responses were audio-recorded and transcribed by the researcher. Finally, the emerging themes were extracted from the responses which showed plagiarism, data management, participant rights, and authorship rights as the most frequent themes discussed by the respondents. Furthermore, the extent of the participants’ self-expressed adherence to ethical considerations in research was differential, ranging from a minimum amount of adherence to an acceptable degree of adherence and commitment to research ethics. In addition, the results showed that not all participants had a clear understanding and definition of the four major themes which emerged from the results.

Forming and implementing community advisory boards in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review

BackgroundCommunity advisory boards (CABs) have expanded beyond high-income countries (HICs) and play an increasing role in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) research. Much research has examined CABs in HICs, but less is known about CABs in LMICs. The purposes of this scoping review are to examine the creation and implementation of CABs in LMICs, including identifying frequently reported challenges, and to discuss implications for research ethics.MethodsWe searched five databases (PubMed, Embase, Global Health, Scopus, and Google Scholar) for publications describing or evaluating CABs in LMICs. Two researchers independently reviewed articles for inclusion. Data related to the following aspects of CABs were extracted from included publications: time, country, financial support, research focus, responsibilities, and challenges. Thematic analyses were used to summarize textual data describing challenges.ResultsOur search yielded 2005 citations, 83 of which were deemed eligible for inclusion. Most studies (65) were published between 2010 and 2017. Upper-middle-income countries were more likely to have studies describing CABs, with South Africa (17), China (8), and Thailand (7) having the greatest numbers. The United States National Institutes of Health was the main source of financial support for CABs. Many CABs (53/88, 60%) focused on HIV research. Thirty-four studies reported how CABs influenced the informed consent process for clinical trials or other aspects of research ethics. CAB responsibilities were related to clinical trials, including reviewing study protocols, educating local communities about research activities, and promoting the ethical conduct of research. Challenges faced by CABs included the following: incomplete ethical regulations and guidance; limited knowledge of science among members of communities and CABs; unstable and unbalanced power relationships between researchers and local communities; poor CAB management, including lack of formal participation structures and absence of CAB leadership; competing demands for time that limited participation in CAB activities; and language barriers between research staff and community members. Several challenges reflected shortcomings within the research team.ConclusionsOur findings examine the formation and implementation of CABs in LMICs and identify several ethical challenges. These findings suggest the need for further ethics training among CAB members and researchers in LMICs.