Nursing and Ethics - Biomedical Research

Alabama Nurse,  Mar-May 2004  by Bross, William

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Another important consideration is that of a potential conflict of interest. An actual conflict of interest exists when the researcher subordinates the good of patients or the public to his own interests. Therefore, a researcher engaged in research financed by a drug company in which he owns stock would be guilty of a conflict of interest. We may or may not be aware of these situations. If we feel like this is a possibility, we must access the IRB and voice our concerns. There are other less known conflicts that might arise, such as an Investigator placing a subject into a study that he/she does not really meet the baseline criteria to be in the study.

Finally, we must be aware of the ethics involved in using randomized trials. In randomized trials patients are randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. As healthcare providers, we often wonder whether it is ethical to use a control group or not. This group will not receive any treatment that might be beneficial. I mentioned the Tuskegee Syphilis Study earlier. In this study, the Public Health Service used African American males with untreated syphilis as a control group despite the availability of effective treatments. The purported purpose was to examine the course of the disease, however, this was already well known. As effective treatments became available, including penicillin, the subjects were not told of the treatment nor were they provided treatment. There were many failures in this atrocious study, including lack of consent and respect for the subjects. An additional nightmare of this study was that most minorities now refuse to participate in studies out of distrust (King, 1992).

While we could discuss this subject for pages and hours, I will close at this time. I want you all to consider your role in research activities and the major responsibility you have to your patients that might be subjects in research. Always be aware of the mechanisms at your disposal when you think any aspect of research is being violated.

About the Author: William Brass is a nurse-attorney, who recently began practicing law full time with the firm of Garrison, Scott, Gamble & Rosenthal in Birmingham, Alabama. he has been active in the field of nursing throughout Birmingham in various roles and capacities at several facilities and was most recently the Director of Clinical Research for an International Healthcare Organization. He has been published and teaches health care ethics, management, and adult learning courses. In his legal practice, he represents all types of health care professionals in personal and professional matters. He also handles a variety of other general legal matters. He can be reached at wlbross(q)gsattys.com.

Copyright Alabama State Nurses' Association Mar-May 2004
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