Voluntariness in clinical research at the end of life
Title
Voluntariness in clinical research at the end of life
Creator
Agrawal M
Identifier
Publisher
Journal Of Pain And Symptom Management
Date
2003
Subject
Humans; Terminally Ill; Research; Ethics; Biomedical and Behavioral Research; Multi-site Ethics; Human Experimentation/ethics
Description
Voluntariness is a requirement that is frequently voiced in research ethics but is poorly understood. This article seeks to clarify voluntariness and assess its significance in clinical research at the end of life. First, what voluntariness is and why we consider it important is considered. Next, where voluntariness fits in the overall context of making clinical research ethical is clarified. Finally, the murky terms "vulnerability," "exploitation," and "coercion" are clarified and their relationship to voluntariness examined. The danger of using some of these terms is that they carry a lot of moral weight and labeling patients as "vulnerable" or "coerced" can close off conversation because they are reflexively associated with unethical research. Finally, correctly characterized threats to voluntariness are examined and ways to ameliorate them are presented.
2003
Rights
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Type
Journal Article
Citation List Month
Backlog
URL Address
Citation
Agrawal M, “Voluntariness in clinical research at the end of life,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed March 28, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/13006.