Ethical Recruitment Research Articles

Ethical recruitment and employment of internationally educated paramedics

A shortage of skilled paramedics in the UK has led the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust to look overseas to help fill vacant posts. Ian Peate considers the ethical issues associated with the migration of healthcare workers and whether alternative solutions should be explored.

PS-128 The Ethics Of Microdosing Studies In Children: The Experience Of The Era-net Priomedchild Project Pamper

Background and aims To examine the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of microdosing in exploratory paediatric research where there is exposure to background radiation and no therapeutic benefit to participants. Methods The ethical and regulatory issues encountered in the ERA-NET PRIOMEDCHILD project ‘Paediatric Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Evaluation Research Study (PAMPER)’ were analysed. These included the project design, scientific and ethical reviews, informed consent and recruitment processes. Infants 0–2 years were recruited in Estonia and the UK to study the pharmacokinetics (PK) of acetaminophen using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) bioanalysis. The study was considered in the context of the scientific, regulatory, and ethical frameworks guiding Phase 0 studies in adults and children. Results The science and ethics were developed in the protocol design and informed consent process, which resulted in approval of the study by research ethics committees in the UK and Estonia. Fifty-two babies were recruited into the study, with an acceptance rate of 50% among the parents approached. The study results demonstrated PK comparability between microdosing and therapeutic dosing in young children. Conclusions The PAMPER study showed the feasibility and validity of microdosing AMS PK studies in children, This methodology may provide a safer and more ethically robust approach for paediatric PK studies in certain drug models than more traditional PK study designs. The parameters and validation methods for microdosing AMS PK studies need to be reflected in regulatory guidance from the EMA, FDA and other authorities.

Ethical Considerations in the Recruitment of Military Partners in Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research.

The recruitment of military partners in combat-related posttraumatic disorder (PTSD) research necessitates nurses' awareness to their unique ethical concerns. Safeguarding the ethical rights of partners living with veterans with PTSD is crucial to the development and implementation of quality, rigorous research designs. Nurses should understand the unique ethical considerations that pertain to partners' participation in PTSD research. To describe the ethical considerations relating to the recruitment of partners in PTSD research. A succinct discussion of the recent concerns in the recruitment of military partners in PTSD research. The ethical guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association are employed to describe implications for researchers, educators, and administrators. For clinical nurses, the American Nurses Association's initiative to support military families is used to guide our discussion. Nurses are in a leading position to advocate for the ethical recruitment of military partners in PTSD research.

Nurse leaders' perceptions of the ethical recruitment of study subjects in clinical research.

The aim of this study was to describe nurse leaders' perceptions of ethical recruitment in clinical research. Nurse leaders are expected to get involved in clinical research, but there are few studies that focus on their role, particularly the ethical issues. Qualitative data were collected from ten nurse leaders using thematic one-to-one interviews and analysed with content analysis. Nurse leaders considered clinical research at their workplace in relation to the key issues that enabled ethical recruitment of study subjects in clinical research. These were: early information and collaboration for incorporating clinical research in everyday work, an opportune and peaceful recruitment moment and positive research culture. Getting involved in clinical research is part of the nurse leader's professional responsibility in current health care. They have an essential role to play in ensuring that recruitment is ethical and that the dignity of study subjects is maintained. The duty of nurse leaders is to maintain good contact with other collaborators and to ensure good conditions for implementing clinical research at their site. This requires a comprehensive understanding of the overall situation on their wards. Implementing clinical research requires careful planning, together with educating, supporting and motivating nursing staff.

HIV practitioners in Madrid and New York improving inclusion of underrepresented populations in research.

Practitioners have frequent contact with populations underrepresented in scientific research--ethnic/racial groups, sexual minorities and others at risk for poor health and whose low participation in research does not reflect their representation in the general population. Practitioners aspire to partner with researchers to conduct research that benefits underrepresented groups. However, practitioners are often overlooked as a work force that can help erase inclusion disparities. We recruited (n = 282) practitioners (e.g. physicians, social workers, health educators) to examine associations between their attitudes toward research purposes, risks, benefits and confidentiality and their involvement in recruitment, interviewing and intervention facilitation. Participants worked in community-based agencies in Madrid and New York City (NYC), two large and densely populated cities. We used cross-sectional data and two-sample tests to compare attitudes toward research and practitioner involvement in recruiting, interviewing and facilitating interventions. We fit logistic regression models to assess associations between practitioner attitudes toward ethical practices and recruitment, interviewing and facilitating interventions. The likelihood of recruiting, interviewing and facilitating was more pronounced among practitioners agreeing more strongly with ethical research practices. Though Madrid practitioners reported stronger agreement with ethical research practices, NYC practitioners were more involved in recruiting, interviewing and facilitating interventions. Practitioners can be trained to improve attitudes toward ethical practices and increase inclusion of underrepresented populations in research. Funders and researchers are encouraged to offer opportunities for practitioner involvement by supporting research infrastructure development in local agencies. Practices that promise to facilitate inclusion herein may be used in other countries.

Policy Solutions To Address The Foreign-Educated And Foreign-Born Health Care Workforce In The United States

Foreign-educated and foreign-born health workers constitute a sizable and important portion of the US health care workforce. We review the distribution of these workers and their countries of origin, and we summarize the literature concerning their contributions to US health care. We also report on these workers' experiences in the United States and the impact their migration has on their home countries. Finally, we present policy strategies to increase the benefits of health care worker migration to the United States while mitigating its negative effects on the workers' home countries. These strategies include attracting more people with legal permanent residency status into the health workforce, reimbursing home countries for the cost of educating health workers who subsequently migrate to the United States, improving policies to facilitate the entry of direct care workers into the country, advancing efforts to promote and monitor ethical migration and recruitment practices, and encouraging the implementation of programs by US employers to improve the experience of immigrating health workers.

Health professional mobility and ethical recruitment: What are the options?

This presentation will explore the policy options available for ethical recruitment and professional mobility policies in the context of the challenges faced by EU health systems. Health professional shortages, an ageing population and the rise of non-communicable diseases highlight the urgent need to build a qualified health workforce. From a public health perspective, professional imbalances mean diminished patient safety and declining health outcomes. Migrating health professionals also run the risk of being viewed as replaceable …

Ethical considerations for effective health human resources planning and management

This paper maps out some of the ethical issues associated with effective Health Human Resources (HHR) planning and management. The key HHR topics of ethical recruitment and retention are highlighted drawing upon an ethics framework that emphasizes the principle of transnational justice. The key take-home messages are as follows: (1) ethical recruitment of health workers from other jurisdictions needs to acknowledge the effect their recruitment has on the region, province, or country they leave behind and (2) an ethical approach to HHR management requires more attention be paid to deploying existing domestic HHR to their full scope. This would include but not be limited to non-practising internationally educated health professionals already in Canada.

How effective is an ethical international recruitment policy? Reflections on a decade of experience in England

Using evidence from a 2006 postal survey of NHS organisations, plus eight case studies and source country interviews (India; Philippines; Zimbabwe; Poland; Spain) in 2007–2008, the paper explores the impacts of England’s ‘ethical’ recruitment policy as it developed from the late 1990s onwards. It shows that a Code of Practice and bilateral agreements did positively influence the behaviour of NHS organisations and commercial agencies at the height of England’s international recruitment drive from 2001 to 2006. However, such policies could only go so far; and other actions are needed to mitigate the downside effects of migration on source countries. One key step is an attitude change that sees countries like England receiving internationally mobile health professionals for the ‘value added’ that they bring – rather than regarding them primarily as a numerical addition or substitute for the domestically-trained workforce. Another is to plan and manage the domestic workforce in order to deliver on self-sufficiency ambitions. Finally, ‘ethical’ stances mean placing health professional recruitment/migration into wider development agendas – as a platform for training and skills development for the developing world. Overall, it was the winding down of England’s active recruitment policy from 2006 together with subsequent general immigration and professional registration rule changes that had most influence on migration numbers.

EAHP EU News

### EAHP EU Monitor, 27 April 2012 The European Commission has recently published an Action Plan for the EU Health Workforce to help EU member states address the challenges faced...

Postinterview Communications Between Residency Programs and Candidates: What are the Rules?

Postinterview Communications Between Residency Programs and Candidates: What are the Rules?

Emigration preferences and plans among medical students in Poland

BackgroundMigration and ethical recruitment of health care workers is receiving increased attention worldwide. Europe’s aging population is creating new opportunities for medical doctors for finding employment in other countries, particularly those of a better standard of living.MethodsWe conducted a survey among 1214 medical students in five out of eleven universities in Poland with medical schools in October 2008. A series of statistical tests was applied to analyse the characteristics of potential migrants. Projections were obtained using statistical analyses: descriptive, multifactorial logistic regression and other statistical methods .ResultsWe can forecast that 26–36% of Polish medical students will emigrate over the next few years; 62% of respondents estimated the likelihood of emigration at 50%. Students in their penultimate year of study declared a stronger desire to migrate than those in the final year. At the same time, many students were optimistic about career opportunities in Poland. Also noted among students were: the decline in interest in leaving among final year students, their moderate elaboration of departure plans, and their generally optimistic views about the opportunities for professional development in Poland.ConclusionsThe majority of Polish students see the emigration as a serious alternative to the continuation of their professional training. This trend can pose a serious threat to the Polish health care system, however the observed decline of the interest in leaving among final year students, the moderate involvement in concrete departure plans and the optimistic views about the opportunities for professional development in Poland suggest that the actual scale of brain drain of young Polish doctors due to emigration will be more limited than previously feared.

Internationally Educated Nurse Hiring: Geographic Distribution, Community, and Hospital Characteristics

As the largest importer of internationally educated nurses (IENs), the United States is considered to be the epicenter of global nurse migration. The purposes of this study were to examine the geographic distribution of IEN hiring and determine associations between community and hospital characteristics and IEN hiring. More community characteristics than hospital characteristics were strongly associated with IEN hiring which suggest perceived community needs and receptivity to lENs could be an important consideration in hospital administrators' decisions to hire IENs. These findings suggest that as the U.S. population ages and becomes increasingly diverse, the demand for IENs is likely to grow. Nurse leaders and faculty may face challenges with regard to the ethical recruitment of IENs from low-income countries, incorporation of IENs into U.S. health care organizations, and continued development of a diverse U.S.-educated nursing workforce. This study expands understanding of the demand side of IEN employment in U.S. hospitals by providing the first in-depth examination of the community and hospital factors related to hospitals' IEN hiring.

The Impossible Dream? Codes of Practice and the International Migration of Skilled Health Workers

AbstractThe international migration of skilled health workers has increased significantly from the 1990s. Many source countries have expressed concern over losses of health workers, resulting in regional Codes of Practice and bilateral Memoranda of Understanding being established since 1999 to achieve more effective, equitable and ethical international migration. The finalisation of a Global Code in 2010 drew attention to continued migration concerns. Codes have three key objectives — protecting rights of migrant workers, adequate workplace support for migrant workers and ensuring that migration flows do not disrupt health services in source countries. There is no agreed definition of ethical international recruitment, and no consensus on the significance and location of harmful recruitment practices. Most codes have covered relatively few regions and exhibit a high degree of generality. Several source countries encourage rather than discourage migration. Migration is a right and occurs in contexts that do not necessarily involve health issues. There are no incentives for recipient countries and agencies to be involved in ethical international recruitment. All codes are voluntary which has restricted their impact. Substantial migration and recruitment have occurred outside their scope, and codes have diverted skilled health workers beyond regulation. The private sector is effectively excluded from codes. Bilateral agreements and memoranda have a greater chance of success, enabling managed migration and return migration, but are more geographically limiting. The most effective constraints to the unregulated flow of skilled health workers are the production of adequate numbers in present recipient countries and provision of improved employment conditions in source countries.

P.2.a.015 Child abuse and depression severity more than genotype predictive of antidepressant response

The purpose of this study was to explore factors associated with willingness of African Americans and Latinos to participate in biomedical and public health research and to delineate factors that influence the decision to become a human subject.We present results from a 2010 random digit-dial telephone survey of 2,455 African American (N = 1191) and Latino (N = 1264) adults. We used standard measures to assess knowledge of research, terminology, informed consent procedures, previous participation in research, health care experiences, social support, risk perception, religiousness, and trust.Over 60% of both African Americans and Latinos reported they believed people in medical research are pressured into participating. Over 50% said that it was not at all important to have someone of the same race/ethnicity ask them to participate. In a sub-sample of 322 African Americans and 190 Latinos who had previously been asked to participate in a research study, 63% of African Americans and 65% of Latinos consented to participate in a study. Finally, both African Americans (57%) and Latinos (68%) reported willingness to participate in future research. Overall, the multivariate analysis explained 29% of the variability in willingness to participate in future research.Results suggest that African Americans and Latinos have no automatic predisposition to decline participation in research studies. These results can inform culturally tailored interventions for ethical recruitment of minorities into research and clinical trials.

Human Rights, Ethics, and the Protection of Intravenous Drug Users Are Much Improved in China

Human Rights, Ethics, and the Protection of Intravenous Drug Users Are Much Improved in China

Cross-border mobility of health professionals: Contesting patients’ right to health

Cross-border labour mobility in the health sector is portrayed as both an opportunity for health professionals immigrating to developed countries, and as a challenge for patients remaining in low-income countries with restricted access to health care provision. In policy debate, this problem is articulated as the opposition between, ‘the right to freedom of movement’ and ‘the right to health’. The underlying layers of this dilemma expose competing institutional interests for source and destination countries, international organisations, private recruitment agencies, trade unions and professional organisations. To resolve some of these tensions, a ‘soft law’ regulation (ethical recruitment policy) was adopted in the UK in the early 2000s.This article argues that this ethical recruitment policy produces an ambivalent effect. The qualitative content analysis refers to documents produced by international organisations, government bodies, professional organisations and trade unions in the UK and source countries. We found that ethical recruitment on the one hand proposes a practical mechanism to the realisation of the right to health in source countries, through encouraging employers’ behaviour in accordance with ethical principles in international recruitment. On the other hand, this policy protects the reputation of institutional stakeholders changing rhetoric around international recruitment rather than the practice. The findings of this study contribute to a broader discussion of the international norms diffusion and the ambivalent role of ‘soft law’ in their implementation.

Emergency research in children: options for ethical recruitment

The paucity of research data to guide current paediatric practice has led to children being termed therapeutic orphans. This difficulty is especially pertinent to research in emergency situations, such as...

Reflections on the ethics of recruiting foreign-trained human resources for health.

BackgroundDeveloped countries' gains in health human resources (HHR) from developing countries with significantly lower ratios of health workers have raised questions about the ethics or fairness of recruitment from such countries. By attracting and/or facilitating migration for foreign-trained HHR, notably those from poorer, less well-resourced nations, recruitment practices and policies may be compromising the ability of developing countries to meet the health care needs of their own populations. Little is known, however, about actual recruitment practices. In this study we focus on Canada (a country with a long reliance on internationally trained HHR) and recruiters working for Canadian health authorities.MethodsWe conducted interviews with health human resources recruiters employed by Canadian health authorities to describe their recruitment practices and perspectives and to determine whether and how they reflect ethical considerations.Results and discussionWe describe the methods that recruiters used to recruit foreign-trained health professionals and the systemic challenges and policies that form the working context for recruiters and recruits. HHR recruiters' reflections on the global flow of health workers from poorer to richer countries mirror much of the content of global-level discourse with regard to HHR recruitment. A predominant market discourse related to shortages of HHR outweighed discussions of human rights and ethical approaches to recruitment policy and action that consider global health impacts.ConclusionsWe suggest that the concept of corporate social responsibility may provide a useful approach at the local organizational level for developing policies on ethical recruitment. Such local policies and subsequent practices may inform public debate on the health equity implications of the HHR flows from poorer to richer countries inherent in the global health worker labour market, which in turn could influence political choices at all government and health system levels.

Clinical considerations for allied professionals on research ethics—Vulnerable research participant populations: Ensuring ethical recruitment and enrolment

Clinical considerations for allied professionals on research ethics—Vulnerable research participant populations: Ensuring ethical recruitment and enrolment