CardiovascularEthics Review Of Research In The Context Of Humanitarian Relief Work
Two articles published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine
highlight the need for, and the practicalities of, getting appropriate
ethical review of research done in the context of humanitarian relief.
An article by Doris Schopper and colleagues describes the functioning of
the Mç©decins Sans Frontiç¨res (MSF) independent ethics review board (ERB)
and the framework used for ethics review by this board. The board, set up
in 2001, currently comprises seven members from around the world, all
independent of MSF. In 2008, the last full year of operation, the board
reviewed 23 proposals covering a range of topic and study designs. As well
as
providing an overview the article describes some specific challenging
ethical issues encountered by the board since its inception. In concluding
the
article, the authors say: "International humanitarian organizations such
as MSF will be faced with even more complex health problems in the future
as the global environment changes. Research to devise and test new
interventions will remain an important part of MSF"s agenda, and will most
probably increase. As this happens, a major concern will be to ensure that
communities in which such research takes place are empowered to become
true
partners and that vulnerable individuals and groups are effectively
protected The ethical oversight provided by the MSF ERB will be crucial
in
addressing these challenges."
The editorial, written by the PLoS Medicine editors, discusses more
generally the problems that can arise when research is done in such
settings, and
notes that ethical oversight of such research needs to be rigorous, but
also pragmatic, and suggests what the role of journals should be. As the
editorial notes, by supporting initiatives such as the MSF research ethics
board, journals can help to address these ethical challenges, at the same
time as ensuring that the research they publish adheres to accepted
ethical standards.
Article By Schopper and Colleagues:
Funding:
No funding was received for this work.
Competing Interests:
The authors have declared that no competing interests
exist.
Citation:
"Research Ethics Review in Humanitarian Contexts: The Experience of the Independent Ethics Review Board of Medç©cins Sans Frontiç¨res."
Schopper D, Upshur R, Matthys F, Singh JA, Bandewar SS, et al. (2009)
PLoS Med 6(7): e1000115. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000115
PLoS Medicine