Ethics of Psychiatric Research
The conduct of psychiatric research often presents
a paradox with troubling ethical ramifications. In many circumstances,
particularly in clinical investigations, worthwhile research thatis primarily
intended to benefit individuals with mental illnesses as a group demands that
the human subjects taking part in the protocols themselves be drawn from the
ranks of the mentally ill community. The central dilemma, of course, is that
the very psychiatric illness that makes an individual a desirable, even
necessary, subject for a particular research project may compro-mise that
individual’s own capacity to give voluntary, informed and competent consent to
research participation. No subjects may be involved in research unless legally
effective informed consent has been obtained and it is clear that undue
influence and coercion are eliminated. The best research asks a specific and
relevant question that will advance the field of knowledge, has a hypothesis,
and has an investigator who has thoughtfully considered the risks of the study
for subjects and the process for obtaining informed consent. The investigator
presents the study to an Institutional Review Boards (IRB) which is comprised
of institutionally-appointed assessors of risk and informed consent. IRBs have
membership from the consumer community, the sci-entific community and others.
IRBs are free to reject research, to amend the informed consent procedure, and
to demand ad-ditional protections for the subjects. Although IRBs are a legally
mandated check, which can also provide resources on the ethics of research, the
responsibility for conducting ethical research lies with the investigator.
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