Existing International Ethical Guidelines for Human Subjects Research: Some Open Questions
Creator
Christakis, Nicholas A.
Panner, Morris J.
Bibliographic Citation
Law, Medicine and Health Care. 1991 Fall-Winter; 19(3-4): 214-221.
Abstract
International guidelines regarding ethics, and in particular the ethics of clinical research, are problematic on two broad levels. First, by asserting their universality, "international" guidelines obscure real and legitimate cross-cultural differences in ethical expectations. International guidelines seek to make homogeneous something which is not necessarily so. Second, existing guidelines are ambiguous about their objectives and purposes. On the one hand, guidelines are structured as a set of goals, largely aspirational in language and content. But on the other hand, such guidelines also suggest a normative function, providing a set of standards by which to judge and, if appropriate, sanction investigators' conduct. These criticisms are not intended to argue that international guidelines are useless. Nor are they intended to question the good faith under which such guidelines are developed. Rather, we wish to suggest that the role of present international guidelines is somewhat more limited than is ordinarily appreciated. In particular, the assumption of a normative function by international guidelines is ethically and practically problematic. International guidelines and
Date
1991Subject
Aids; Codes of Ethics; Cultural Pluralism; Clinical Research; Consent; Developing Countries; Dissent; Ethical Relativism; Ethical Review; Ethics; Evaluation; Goals; Guidelines; Human Experimentation; Human Rights; Informed Consent; International Aspects; Investigators; Legal Aspects; Organizations; Policy Analysis; Regulation; Research; Research Subjects; Review; Rights; Standards;
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Existing International Ethical Guidelines for Human Subjects Research: Some Open Questions
Christakis, Nicholas and Panner, Morris J. (1991-12)