Ethical Consideration In Nursing Research

Ethical consideration Issues of ethical behavior are central to health professions. In conducting clinical trials and research projects ethical issues should be taken in to consideration. It is unethical for an investigator not to give patients the best possible treatment. Other way, it is unethical not to discover whether a new treatment is an improvement, since this would deny future patients the possibility of a cure. It is also unethical to perform bad trials that give misleading results, and there by encourage others not to use a treatment that is beneficial, or to use a treatment that is not beneficial, or may indeed have harmful effects. Two important areas of ethical consideration are rights of human subjects and freedom from harm. Three factors are important regarding the rights of the participants, confidentiality, anonymity and the voluntary participation. It can be ensured through an informed consent which clearly explains the study objectives and states participants’ right to accept or refuse to participate (Fowler & Chevannes, 2002). Research Participants at Risk Research participants at risk are individuals who may be harmed physically, emotionally, spiritually, economically, socially, or legally through participation in a research study. A basic responsibility of the researcher and those assisting in carrying out the project, is to protect all research participants from harm and while they are participating in an investigation or as a result of the study. Informed Consent Informed consent is the process of providing an individual with sufficient understandable information regarding his or her participation in a research project. It includes providing potential participants with information about their rights and responsibilities with in the project and documenting the nature of the agreement. All consent forms need to assure potential participants of their right to withdraw from a research study at any time. . Informed consent is the researcher’s conscious and deliberate attempt to clearly and fully provide the potential participant with information about the study. It is a fundamental responsibility of the investigator in human research to ensure research participants understand the nature of the project and the implications of participation and the individual is able to decide freely whether to participate in a project, without fear or reprisal. When the researcher fails to adequately inform potential research participants about full nature of the research, there by preventing them from making an informed decision on their participation is called deception. Confidentiality & Anonymity Confidentiality refers to the researcher’s responsibility to protect all data gathered within the scope of the project from being divulged to others. Anonymity refers to the act of keeping individuals nameless in relation to their participation in a research project. Regulatory Bodies The researcher may need to take permission from regulatory bodies for conducting research investigations, mainly when subjects are human beings. There are regulatory bodies in most of the countries which grant permission after considering ethical issues of the study. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) released 'Ethical guidelines for biomedical research in human subjects' in the year 2000which are similar to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines and the prevalent international guidelines. These guidelines regulate all biomedical research in human subjects in India.