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Developing World Bioethics, Ahead of Print. (Source: Developing World Bioethics)
Source: Developing World Bioethics - May 3, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Mapping research ethics committees in Africa: evidence of the growth of ethics review of health research in Africa
Abstract
Health research initiatives worldwide are growing in scope and complexity, particularly as they move into the developing world. Expanding health research activity in low‐ and middle‐income countries has resulted in a commensurate rise in the need for sound ethical review structures and functions in the form of Research Ethics Committees (RECs).
The urgent need for continued capacity development in Africa has necessitated research initiatives to identify existing capacity. This discussion paper describes the mapping of RECs in Africa through MARC (Mapping African Research Ethics Capacity) project, second phase ...
Source: Developing World Bioethics - May 3, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Boitumelo Mokgatla, Carel IJsselmuiden, Doug Wassenaar, Mary Kasule Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
A critique of the principle of ‘respect for autonomy’, grounded in African thought
Abstract
I give an account how the principle of ‘respect for autonomy’ dominates the field of bioethics, and how it came to triumph over its competitors, ‘respect for persons’ and ‘respect for free power of choice’. I argue that ‘respect for autonomy’ is unsatisfactory as a basic principle of bioethics because it is grounded in too individualistic a worldview, citing concerns of African theorists and other communitarians who claim that the principle fails to acknowledge the fundamental importance of understanding persons within the nexus of their communal relationships. I defend the claim that ‘respect fo...
Source: Developing World Bioethics - May 3, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Kevin G. Behrens Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
H3Africa: An Africa exemplar? Exploring its framework on protecting human research participants
Abstract
The Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Consortium is a conglomeration of research and infrastructure projects spread throughout Africa whose aim is to apply genomic methodology to diseases affecting the people in the region. Its operation is innovative in the sense that it is doing something new; that is, filling a hitherto existing void in genomic research capability of African scientists and infusing resources and manpower to institutions and investigators across Africa. But aside from developing and sustaining capacity in genomic research and biorepositories, H3Africa is also invested in developing ...
Source: Developing World Bioethics - May 3, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Obiajulu Nnamuchi Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
Ethics of community engagement in field trials of genetically modified mosquitoes
Abstract
Effective community engagement is an important legal, ethical, and practical prerequisite for conducting field trials of genetically modified mosquitoes, because these studies can substantially impact communities and it is usually not possible to obtain informed consent from each community member. Researchers who are planning to conduct field trials should develop a robust community engagement strategy that meets widely recognized standards for seeking approval from the affected population, such as timeliness, consent, information sharing, transparency, understanding, responsiveness, mutual understanding, inclusiv...
Source: Developing World Bioethics - May 3, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: David B. Resnik Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
Regulating clinical trials in India: the economics of ethics
This article uses India as a case study to explore this nexus. From the mid‐2000s, India became a popular destination for foreign‐sponsored clinical trials. The Indian government had sought to both attract clinical trials and ensure these would be run in line with internationally accepted ethical norms. Reports of controversial medical research, however, triggered debate about the robustness and suitability of India's regulatory system. In response to civil society pressure and interventions by the Supreme Court, the Indian government proposed additional measures aimed at strengthening protections for clinical trial pa...
Source: Developing World Bioethics - April 1, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Gerard Porter Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
Conceptualizations of fairness and legitimacy in the context of Ethiopian health priority setting: Reflections on the applicability of accountability for reasonableness
Abstract
A critical element in building stronger health systems involves strengthening good governance to build capacity for transparent and fair health planning and priority setting. Over the past 20 years, the ethical framework Accountability for Reasonableness (A4R) has been a prominent conceptual guide in strengthening fair and legitimate processes of health decision‐making. While many of the principles embedded within the framework are congruent with Western conceptualizations of what constitutes procedural fairness, there is a paucity in the literature that captures the degree of resonance between these principles...
Source: Developing World Bioethics - April 1, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Kadia Petricca, Asfaw Bekele Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
The views of ethics committee members and medical researchers on the return of individual research results and incidental findings, ownership issues and benefit sharing in biobanking research in a South Indian city
Abstract
The return of individual research results and incidental findings from biobanking research is a much debated ethical issue globally but has extensive relevance in India where the burden of out of pocket health care expenses is high for the majority. The views of 21 ethics committee (EC) members and 22 researchers from Bengaluru, India, concerning the ethics of biobanking research were sought through in‐depth interviews using an unfolding case vignette with probes. A shared view among most was that individual research results which are ‘actionable’ or have ‘clinical significance’ should be returned to the...
Source: Developing World Bioethics - April 1, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Manjulika Vaz, Mario Vaz, Srinivasan K Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
Age ‐related inequalities in health and healthcare: the life stages approach
Abstract
How should healthcare systems prepare to care for growing numbers and proportions of older people? Older people generally suffer worse health than younger people do. Should societies take steps to reduce age‐related health inequalities? Some express concern that doing so would increase age‐related inequalities in healthcare. This paper addresses this debate by (1) presenting an argument in support of three principles for distributing scarce resources between age groups; (2) framing these principles of age group justice in terms of life stages; and (3) indicating policy implications that merit further attention...
Source: Developing World Bioethics - April 1, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Nancy S. Jecker Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
Informed consent, community engagement, and study participation at a research site in Kigali, Rwanda
Abstract
People enroll in medical research for many reasons ranging from decisions regarding their own or family members' health situation to broader considerations including access to health and financial resources. In socially vulnerable communities the choice to participate is often based on a risk‐benefit assessment that goes beyond the medical aspects of the research, and considers the benefits received. In this qualitative study, we examined the motivations of Rwandan women to participate in a non‐commercial collaborative research study examining the safety, acceptability, and adherence of a contraceptive vaginal...
Source: Developing World Bioethics - April 1, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Jennifer Ilo Nuil, Evelyne Kestelyn, Grace Umutoni, Lambert Mwambarangwe, Marie M. Umulisa, Janneke Wijgert, Raffaella Ravinetto Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
Defining Health Research for Development: The perspective of stakeholders from an international health research partnership in Ghana and Tanzania
ConclusionThrough defining Health Research for Development six key learning points were generated from the four result themes: 1) Ensure there is local research leadership working with the collaborative partnership, and local healthcare system, to align the project agenda and activities with local research and health priorities; 2) Know the country‐specific context ‐ map the social, health, legislative and political setting; 3) Define an explicit development component and plan of action in a research project; 4) Address the barriers and opportunities to sustain system capacity. 5) Support decentralised health system d...
Source: Developing World Bioethics - April 1, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Claire Leonie Ward, David Shaw, Evelyn Anane ‐Sarpong, Osman Sankoh, Marcel Tanner, Bernice Elger Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research
