II. The Research Ethics Involving Vulnerable Groups
- 27 January 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Publicidad Permanyer, SLU in Revista de Investigación Clínica
- Vol. 71 (4), 217-225
- https://doi.org/10.24875/ric.19002812
Abstract
Vulnerability in research occurs when the participant is incapable of protecting his or her interests and therefore, has an increased probability of being intentionally or unintentionally harmed. This manuscript aims to discuss the conditions that make a group vulnerable and the tools and requirements that can be used to reduce the ethical breaches when including them in research protocols. The vulnerability can be due either to an inability to understand and give informed consent or to unequal power relationships that hinder basic rights. Excluding subjects from research for the only reason of belonging to a vulnerable group is unethical and will bias the results of the investigation. To consider a subject or group as vulnerable depends on the context, and the investigator should evaluate each case individually.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Cognitive Fluctuations as a Challenge for the Assessment of Decision-Making Capacity in Patients With DementiaAmerican Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias®, 2014
- Ethical issues concerning the recruitment of university students as research subjectsJournal of Psychosomatic Research, 2013
- GLOBAL SOLIDARITY, MIGRATION AND GLOBAL HEALTH INEQUITYBioethics, 2012
- Improving the Informed Consent Process for Research Subjects with Low Literacy: A Systematic ReviewJournal of General Internal Medicine, 2012
- Competencia: conceptos generales y aplicación en la demenciaNeurología, 2012
- How Researchers Define Vulnerable Populations in HIV/AIDS Clinical TrialsAIDS and Behavior, 2010
- Participation in dementia research: rates and correlates of capacity to give informed consentJournal of Medical Ethics, 2008
- The History and Moral Foundations of Human-Subject ResearchAmerican Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 2007
- Preventive ethics for including women of childbearing potential in clinical trialsAmerican Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2006
- The Limitations of “Vulnerability” as a Protection for Human Research ParticipantsAmerican Journal of Bioethics, 2004