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Article
Protecting Communities in Biomedical Research
Science (2000)
  • Charles Weijer, Dalhousie University
  • E. J. Emanuel, National Institutes of Health
Abstract

Although for the last 50 years, ethicists dealing with human experimentation have focused primarily on the need to protect individual research subjects and vulnerable groups, biomedical research, especially in genetics, now requires the establishment of standards for the protection of communities. We have developed such a strategy, based on five steps. (i) Identification of community characteristics relevant to the biomedical research setting, (ii) delineation of a typology of different types of communities using these characteristics, (iii) determination of the range of possible community protections, (iv) creation of connections between particular protections and one or more community characteristics necessary for its implementation, and (v) synthesis of community characteristics and possible protections to define protections appropriate for each type of community. Depending on the particular community, consent and consultation, consultation alone, or no added protections may be required for research.

Keywords
  • Bioethics,
  • Human Experimentation,
  • Informed Consent,
  • Residence Characteristics,
  • Truth Disclosure,
  • Vulnerable Populations
Publication Date
August 18, 2000
Publisher Statement
Reprinted in: Emanuel EJ, Crouch RA, Arras JD, Moreno JD, Grady C. (Eds.). Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Clinical Research: Readings and Commentary. 342-343.
Dr. Charles Weijer is currently a faculty member at The University of Western Ontario.
Citation Information
Charles Weijer and E. J. Emanuel. "Protecting Communities in Biomedical Research" Science Vol. 289 Iss. 5482 (2000)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/charlesweijer/103/