(Press-News.org) MAYWOOD, Ill. -- A growing number of health research programs are collaborating with community groups to conduct research. The groups help recruit study participants, obtain informed consent, collect data and provide input on study design and procedures.
But existing programs that educate researchers, community groups and institutional review boards about research ethics "fail to meet the needs of all groups that have a role in community-engaged research," according to an article in the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics.
First author of the study is Emily E. Anderson, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor in the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics & Health Policy of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
Community-engaged research has been defined as research that provides communities with a voice and role in the research process, beyond simply providing access to research participants.
Community-engaged research raises numerous unique ethical issues that have not been fully explored from the perspectives of all parties, Anderson and colleagues write. Academic and community partners sometimes have different goals, expectations, access to resources, work styles, types of expertise or interpretations of research results. Community-engaged research also may pose risks to all members of a group -- even those who do not participate directly in the research -- when findings potentially could label or stigmatize the entire group. Community partners also may experience distress when conducting research in communities where they work or live, due to feelings of responsibility beyond their research roles.
To address these and other ethical issues, the authors recommend numerous best practices for members of institutional review boards and those involved in community-engaged research partnerships. The authors also proposed a detailed research agenda for studying ethical issues in community-engaged research from the perspective of several stakeholders.
This effort was supported by the national Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through grants to several institutions.
Anderson, who is corresponding author of the article, has worked with several community-engaged research projects in Chicago. Her research interests include empirical research in bioethics, institutional review board policy and processes, health disparities and ethical issues in public health research and practice. She also has served on several institutional review boards.
INFORMATION:
Co-authors of the article are Stephanie Solomon of Saint Louis University, Elizabeth Heitman of Vanderbilt University, James M. DuBois of Saint Louis University, Celia B. Fisher of Fordham University, Rhonda G. Kost of Rockefeller University, Mary Ellen Lawless of Case Western Reserve University, Cornelia Ramsey of Virginia Commonwealth University, Bonnie Jones of the University of North Carolina, Alice Ammerman of the University of North Carolina and Lainie Friedman Ross of the University of Chicago.
END
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (05/03/2012) —Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present, a new University of Minnesota study shows. The unprecedented long-term study of plant biodiversity found that each species plays a role in maintaining a productive ecosystem, especially when a long time horizon is considered. The study found that every additional species in a plot contributed to a gradual increase in both soil fertility and biomass production over a 14-year period.
The research paper, published ...
Critical issues in learning, ADHD and autism will be explored during the Association for Psychological Science annual convention in Chicago, from May 23 to the 27th. Leaders in the field studying attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, learning, and childhood development will present the latest in psychological science research that will shed light on treatment options, disorder management, memory and school performance.
There will be two major offerings in ADHD research.
Four experts on ADHD will present current research, and discuss ...
While fatalities among teenage drivers have decreased over the past six years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) claims car accidents are still the leading cause of death among teens. With more teens surviving accidents, the long-term effects of a crash are becoming more apparent. Unfortunately, recent national discussion over teen concussions in high school sports has overshadowed the more widespread issue of serious head injuries in teen motor vehicle accidents.
The Stats
Due in part to out-reach programs, teen driver deaths fell 46 percent between 2005 and ...
Awake mental replay of past experiences is essential for making informed choices, suggests a study in rats. Without it, the animals’ memory-based decision-making faltered, say scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers blocked learning from, and acting on, past experience by selectively suppressing replay – encoded as split-second bursts of neuronal activity in the memory hubs of rats performing a maze task.
"It appears to be these ripple-like bursts in electrical activity in the hippocampus that enable us to think about future possibilities ...
May 3, 2012 — (Bronx, NY) — Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in collaboration with Nurses' Health Study investigators have shown that levels of certain related proteins found in blood are associated with a greatly reduced risk for developing type 2 diabetes up to a decade or more later. The findings, published today in the online edition of Diabetes, could open a new front in the war against diabetes.
These proteins are part of what is called the IGF axis. This axis was named for insulin-like growth factor-1, (IGF-1), so called ...
Researchers at Seattle Children's Research Institute and their collaborators have discovered a pair of defective genes that cause a rare congenital malformation syndrome that can make it impossible for the child to breathe or eat properly without reparative surgery. In a study led by Michael L. Cunningham, MD, PhD, medical director of the Seattle Children's Hospital's Craniofacial Center, a research team pinpointed two genes known as PLCB4 and GNAI3 in a genetic pathway that affects children with auriculocondylar syndrome (ACS). ACS is a rare disorder in which a child's ...
Defective hip implant devices and transvaginal mesh devices were put on the market despite significant concerns over the safety of earlier models. And thousands of Americans have been injured as a result. Sadly, a loophole in federal law could be to blame.
By law, the Food and Drug Administration is not required to review or approve medical devices that are "substantially equivalent" to previously approved models, so long as the prior model was not taken off the market pursuant to an FDA or court order. Since the device's prior models were approved, and still ...
People who have been in a car accident before know how difficult it can be to deal with insurance companies. However, if you are new to the experience, it can be a painful and patience-testing process to get your claim paid.
Despite the warm impression that insurance commercials give of efficient claims processing and willingness to help you out when you're in a car accident, insurance is in reality a multi-billion dollar business. Like most companies, insurance companies exist to make a profit for their shareholders, so making their policyholders happy is not the main ...
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—More than 60 percent of young adults between the ages of 19 and 22 received some financial help from mom and dad, according to a new University of Michigan study. The average amount they received – including help with college tuition, rent, and transportation – was roughly $7,500 a year.
The study is the first to use nationally representative data to calculate parental assistance to young adults and to analyze how help varies by family and individual characteristics. It is based on data from 2,098 interviews conducted between 2005 and 2009, with young ...
A Queen's University researcher has created a Star Trek-like human-scale 3D videoconferencing pod that allows people in different locations to video conference as if they are standing in front of each other. "Why Skype when you can talk to a life-size 3D holographic image of another person?" says professor Roel Vertegaal, director of the Human Media Lab.
The technology Dr. Vertegaal and researchers at the Queen's Human Media Lab have developed is called TeleHuman and looks like something from the Star Trek holodeck. Two people simply stand infront of their own life-size ...
