Ethical Issues in Research Nursing
While researching the ethical issues surrounding the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, I was surprised to learn that the nursing and medical professions did not recognize the need until recently to establish ethical standards guiding research that uses human samples. I had expected a topic of this nature to emerge before 1974, when the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, which I will refer to simply as the Commission, was established (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2017). Because of the evolution of human rights that occurred before the establishment of the Commission, medical practitioners, in my opinion, should have considered the need to protect the well-being of human respondents in studies.
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I was also surprised to learn how simple the first three principles established by the Commission at its inception were: beneficence, justice, and respect for persons. The three principles recognized the importance of healthcare and research in upholding humanity’s dignity by respecting their rights and privileges. For example, I learned that the three principles could be summarized as intending to put respondents’ best interests at the center of operations during nursing research projects (Munhall, 2012). Importantly, ensuring that research designs meet specific set ethical standards implies that the ethical standards redefined the role of researchers in promoting the well-being of respondents first and foremost.
The modifications and reviews of previous ethical standards gave rise to the numerous principles in human sample research. The evolution, I discovered, changed as I became more aware of the challenges that would arise during research that were not necessarily governed by the three previous principles. The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) specifically emphasized informed consent, which is the foundation for determining the specific needs and rights researchers should develop. For example, researchers should understand that informed consent extends beyond simply mentioning the study’s objectives by questioning intended participants about factors that may make them reluctant to participate and some of the challenges they may face. The Tuskegee researchers did not anticipate this challenge or, as I may argue persuasively, chose to ignore it, even though syphilis is contagious and can progress to worse conditions if left untreated for an extended period, as was the case in the Tuskegee experiment.
Today, I believe that researchers have two primary responsibilities. To begin, they should inform theory and provide the rationale for applying such theoretical knowledge through evidence-based practices (Stetler et al., 2015). Second, because of advances in our understanding of the scope of human rights and the factors that influence people’s well-being, modern researchers now bear a greater ethical responsibility to protect the well-being of research participants than ever before. In light of these findings, one almost gets the impression that the Tuskegee syphilis research project’s researchers should have been severely punished and that if they must be forgiven, it should only be because the nursing profession had not yet refined its understanding of the ethics of researching with human samples.
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References
LoBiondo-Wood, G., & Haber, J. (2017). Nursing research-E-book: methods and critical appraisal for evidence-based practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Munhall, P. (2012). Nursing research. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Stetler, C. B., Brunell, M., Giuliano, K. K., Morsi, D., Prince, L., & Newell-Stokes, V. (2015). Evidence-based practice and the role of nursing leadership. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 28(7/8), 45–53.
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- The role of nursing in research analysis for improving practice environments and patient outcomes cannot be understated. As you might be aware, research outcomes play a significant role in evidence-based nursing practice. You will be formulating research questions; collecting, summarizing, and interpreting data; and understanding the elements of research design.
Ethical Issues in Research Nursing
- For this assessment, you develop a research proposal using the research question you developed by completing the Research Foundations worksheet. As you develop a research proposal, you must consider the ethical issues related to it.
- Determine the ethical considerations related to the research question you developed as part of your Research Foundations worksheet.
- Consider the seven principles of ethical research introduced in the learning activities section, Research Ethics Guidance (found at National Institutes of Health Patient Recruitment). Be sure to address the role cultural diversity might play in your research. The seven main principles of ethical research are:
- Social and clinical value
- Scientific validity
- Fair subject selection
- Favorable risk-benefit ratio
- Independent review
- Informed consent
- Respect for potential and enrolled subjects
- Summarize the ethical issues related to your research topic in one of the following formats:
- 18- to 20-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation
- The slides should contain only essential information and as little text as possible. Do not design a slide presentation made up of long bullet points. Your speaker notes convey the details you would give if you were presenting. See the Create Speaker Notes section of the PowerPoint 2013 Training video.
- Record and upload a video of a 15- to 20-minute oral presentation. Review the How to Record High-Quality Videos for Online Courses at the Home article for helpful video recording techniques.
- Cite at least one peer-reviewed and one evidence-based resource according to APA guidelines. Use the APA Style Guide 7th ed.
