Ethical review of health systems research in low and middle income countries: a conceptual exploration
Theme:
Hyder, A.A. et al. (2014) Ethical review of health systems research in low and middle income countries: a conceptual exploration American Journal of Bioethics. 14(2): 28-37
Hyder and colleagues provide a framework to begin to think about ethics in health systems research. They prompt us to consider eight different areas: (1) the nature of intervention; (2) types of research subjects; (3) units of intervention and observation; (4) informed consent; (5) controls and comparisons; (6) risk assessment; (7) inclusion of vulnerable groups within different contexts; and (8) benefits of research. This is an invaluable starting place for any researchers interested in health systems research ethics. The authors note several challenges to thinking about the ethics of health systems research, including the diverse range of studies and disciplines involved, the grey zone between research and non-research, and the many overlaps of issues with other types of health research.