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SIMPATH BSN 422 Assignment 3 Evidence-Based Practice: Ethics in Research
Evidence-Based Practice: Ethics in Research
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The research ethics of human subjects involve principles of science and protection of human rights and dignity. One of the ethical principles being the protection of vulnerable groups, concerned with balancing the different ethical principles, is the role of the IRB. The history of setting research ethics and reviewing research principles of respect, beneficence, and justice, and the role of law and ethics in the IRB are the issues that this paper will address.
Legal VS. Ethical Considerations
Research ethics protect the subjects’ human rights and dignity and require balancing the different ethical principles. Legally, the researcher is bound by laws and regulations like the Common Rule (Olejarczyk & Young, 2024) in their role of protecting research subjects. Although these legal frameworks primarily focus on the protection of the subjects’ rights and dignity, the researcher is still obligated to ensure safety and maintain informed consent throughout the research.
Ethical obligations, on the other hand, are broader. They are about protecting the rights and dignity of human subjects (Olejarczyk & Young, 2024) and balancing the ethical principles. At the minimum level of legal protection, ethical obligations aim at optimizing the benefits and minimizing the risks.
Role of the IRB
The IRB is the connective role between the legal framework, broader ethical obligations, and protecting the rights and dignity of research subjects.
An IRB reviews research proposals and assesses compliance with legal and ethical standards. This involves review of research study protocols and participant information sheets, the consent process, and the level of risk posed to study participants. An IRB also assesses which legal and ethical standards are being addressed. These include dignity and rights of participants, the welfare of participants, and fairness (Tomkins & Bristow, 2021). An IRB upholds the ethical standards of research, thereby protecting all research participants and especially vulnerable participants from being exploited and harmed by research.
Knowledge of Research History, codes and ethical principles
In order to understand the ethical principles that govern research involving human participants, it is necessary to understand the historical evolution of research ethics. These include the Nazi holocaust and the Tuskegee Syphilis study, which led to the creation of the Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki (Baker & Wynia, 2022). These historical events also contributed to the establishment of health research ethics with emphasis on the dignity of research participants, the welfare of research participants, and fairness.
Ethical Considerations for Vulnerable Populations
Research involving vulnerable participants, such as children, prisoners, and the poor, needs to be conducted with additional ethical codes of conduct. Concerning research with children, one must consider the child’s beneficence as well as the use of parental consent (Baker & Wynia, 2022). These examples are critical when working with special or vulnerable populations.
There is an increased risk of harm and abuse to research subjects, particularly vulnerable populations, i.e., children, incarcerated individuals, and those impacted by socio-economic disadvantages (Resnik, 2020). The IRB is responsible for ensuring that research practices with special populations are conducted with additional safeguards to address the requirements of justice and beneficence as outlined in the law and research ethics.
Identifying Diverse Populations and Ethical Considerations
In working with diverse populations, justice principles require that research burdens and benefits be equitably distributed to avoid leaving populations in the margins or being over-sampled in research. Such principles are imperative for achieving equity in research. For example, when recruiting individuals from socio-economically deprived populations, the potential impact of remuneration on the participants’ decisions must be taken into account as participants may be influenced by the offer of monetary payments.
The Importance of Diversity in Research
The inclusion of various populations in research is vital to improve the external validity of research and help identify the inequalities that exist in health, nutrition, and diets. This demonstrates how incorporating a range of participants in research studies makes findings more relevant to the general populace and more efficiently implemented in the equitable delivery of healthcare interventions (Herington et al., 2023).
Justifying the need for ethical considerations in diverse sampling. While the need to decrease sample homogeneity may be justified on scientific grounds, it is crucial that the decrease is also defined on ethical grounds. The principle of justice thus embedded states that research should benefit not only a certain group but all members of the society. This means that a certain degree of research homogeneity should be attained in order to increase the likelihood of benefiting all social groups if the research advances a positive outcome.
Conclusion
From past and present observations, the most sensitive area in the advancement of research and practice is ethics. The IRB, as we have noted, plays a vital role in upholding ethical standards in research involving human participants. The research process does not exploit vulnerable populations and respects individuals’ rights while upholding the values of beneficence and justice and aiding in the advancement of scientific knowledge. The importance of diversity in research also increases justification of ethics to uphold the principle of justice in fair and equal treatment to all people.
References
Ethical imperatives for working with diverse populations in digital research. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e47884. https://doi.org/10.2196/47884
Olejarczyk, J., & Young, M. (2024). Patient rights and ethics. National Library of Medicine; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538279/
Resnik, D. B. (2020). Standards of evidence for institutional review board decision-making. Accountability in Research, 28(7), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/08989621.2020.1855149
Tomkins, L. C., & Bristow, A. (2021). Evidence-based practice and the ethics of care: “What works” or “what matters”?. Human Relations, 76(1), 001872672110441. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267211044143
