Title
Protecting Communities in Biomedical Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-18-2000
Source
Science
Volume
289
Issue
5482
First Page
1142
Last Page
1144
URL with Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.289.5482.1142
Abstract
Although for the last 50 years, ethicists dealing with human experimentation have focused primarily on the need to protect individual research subjects and vulnerable groups, biomedical research, especially in genetics, now requires the establishment of standards for the protection of communities. We have developed such a strategy, based on five steps. (i) Identification of community characteristics relevant to the biomedical research setting, (ii) delineation of a typology of different types of communities using these characteristics, (iii) determination of the range of possible community protections, (iv) creation of connections between particular protections and one or more community characteristics necessary for its implementation, and (v) synthesis of community characteristics and possible protections to define protections appropriate for each type of community. Depending on the particular community, consent and consultation, consultation alone, or no added protections may be required for research.
Notes
Reprinted in: Emanuel EJ, Crouch RA, Arras JD, Moreno JD, Grady C. (Eds.). Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Clinical Research: Readings and Commentary. 342-343.
Dr. Charles Weijer is currently a faculty member at The University of Western Ontario.