Formal clinical ethics review first developed in the USA and most hospitals there have structures in place. This is often a clinical ethics committee. Developments have been slower in the UK, where there has been uncertainty and variability about the role of clinical ethics committees. Even in the USA, their exact role is uncertain. Although we now have a good idea of the mechanisms for ethical...

Research ethics review is an important process, designed to protect participants in medical research. However, it is increasingly criticised for failing to meet its aims. Here, two researchers reflect on their experiences of applying for ethical approval of observational research in clinical settings. They highlight some problems faced by reviewers and researchers and propose a two-stage ethica...

Ethics in clinical research focuses largely on identifying and implementing the acceptable conditions for exposure of some individuals to risks and burdens for the benefit of society at large. Ethical guidelines for clinical research were formulated only after discovery of inhumane behaviour with participants during research experiments. The Nuremberg Code was the first international code layin...

Research ethics committees have an important role to play in ensuring the ethical standards and scientific merit of research involving human subjects. There are three important obligations placed on the ethics committee. Firstly, and most importantly, the ethics committee must ensure that the rights of research participants are protected. This is achieved by ensuring that individuals receive su...

Introduction Children of the Nineties (ALSPAC) is a major longitudinal study of pregnancy and childhood. From its beginnings in 1990, it has had its own multidisciplinary ethics and law committee, with several interesting features. The committee is specific to this study and has a broad remit which has allowed it to be involved in planning the study as a whole, approving individual projects, an...

BACKGROUND Many studies have been published about ethics committees and the clarifications requested about the submitted applications. In Finland, ethics committees require a separate statement on ethical aspects of the research in applications to the ethics committee. However, little is known about how researchers consider the ethical aspects of their own studies. METHODS The data were colle...

The Ethics Committee’s Mandate 1. Starting point and principles 1.1. Brief description of “Terminator” technology 1.2. Patenting 1.3. State of knowledge 1.4. State of the international discussion 2. Elements of the ethical evaluation 2.1. Research and economic aspects 2.2. Social aspects 2.3. Ecological aspects 2.4. Aspects of the dignity of creation 2.5. Impact of patenting “Terminator” techno...

Ethical dilemmas are inherent in every health care setting. A sample of hospice social workers with no direct access to a hospice ethics committee (N = 110) was surveyed regarding ethical issues in hospice care, how the issues were managed, and the extent to which social workers participated in resolution of ethical dilemmas. Common issues discussed were the patients' medical condition, involve...

OBJECTIVE To report on part of a pilot study done to explore ethical responses to the new reproductive technologies in Sri Lanka. DESIGN Semi-structured interviews carried out with the members of three committees responsible for ethical review of medical research. Members were asked for their views on the ethical, social and legal implications of the new reproductive and genetic technologies....

The Patient-Centered Medical Home: An Ethical Analysis of Principles and Practice Clarence H. Braddock III, MD, MPH, Lois Snyder, JD, Richard L. Neubauer, MD, and Gary S. Fischer, MD For the American College of Physicians Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee and The Society of General Internal Medicine Ethics Committee* Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, USA; Center for Ethics...