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NRSA 318 Research Paper

Mollie Sanner
NRSA 318 Research Paper
Kettering College
April 27, 2015

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NRSA 318 Research Paper

Ethics is something that is taught to us at a very early age, we learn the difference of right

and wrong as chidden and we are taught the golden rule do unto others as you would have them
do unto you. Ethics applies to every situation and that includes research especially in the
healthcare field. The issue we all face however is that people interpret and apply ethical norms
differently, everyone has different opinions and everyone does things differently and this is
where issues arise. Ethics often don't cover every situation and they are likely to conflict. Most
societies also have legal rules that govern behavior, but ethical norms tend to be broader and
more informal than laws. (Resnik, 2011)
Ethics is extremely important in the conduct of research. A variety of different
professional associations, organizations and government agencies have established codes, rules
and policies relating to research ethics. When doing research with human participants it is very
important to understand the ethical and legal issues involved. We must understand who can be
recruited in the research study, how the researcher can recruit the participants, and also how the
studies should be conducted so that the participants are protected. Some of the ethical principles
we must remember when doing research with human participants is; integrity, respect for
intellectual property, confidentiality, nondiscrimination, legality, and human subjects protection.
Those are just some of the ethical principles to remember, there are many more to consider as
well. The human subjects protection states that when conducting research on human subjects,
minimize harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy;
take special precautions with vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the benefits and
burdens of research fairly. (Resnik, 2011)

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NRSA 318 Research Paper

When dealing with human participants in a research study it is vital to have an informed

consent. Informed consent is defined as the legal principal that an individual or his or her
authorized representative can make a decision about participation in a research study only after
being given all the relevant information pertaining to the study as well as being given a
reasonable amount of time to consider the decision to participate. (Rebar & Gersch, 2015 p.137)
Depending on your scope of practice you may be permitted to obtain an informed consent from
the participant or you may be able to just witness the participant giving the informed consent. It
is important that the healthcare team member recognizes that a patients consent to participate is
essential; the healthcare team member also knows that, as a professional he or she is ethically
obligated to follow the three ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, and justice. (Rebar &
Gersch 2015 p.135-136) Going for procedures, receiving blood products, and many other
procedures in the healthcare setting require consents, this is a huge requirement that not only
protects the patient but also yourself as the healthcare provider as well. It is absolutely essential
to strive for it for moral, sociologic, and legal reasons. The statement that consent has been
obtained has little meaning unless the subject or his guardian is capable of understanding what is
to be undertaken and unless al hazards are made clear. (Beecher, 1966 p. 372) It is also
important to make clear the hazards that are not known, and any questions or issues the
participant may have.
Many years ago numerous experiments were completed on human and animal
participants and safety and ethics were not considered which resulted in deadly consequences.
Many were performed because public safety or the imminent threat to the nation was deemed
paramount over individual rights. Others resulted from the misapplication of junk science,

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NRSA 318 Research Paper

shortsightedness, or political greed. Yet, despite our progress in reining in unethical testing
practices, some of the below research programs still use questionable methods. (Dickinson,
2012) Animal testing is very controversial and although the majority of researchers state they
follow strict ethical guidelines, stating the animals receive proper medical care and treatment,
ethical boundaries are still thrown out and animals suffer at the expense of the research. The rest
of the questionable methods that I have read about all seem to involve human participants
usually being prisoners, very poor, uneducated, and a sickness or mental disorder. The majority
of the experiments stated that the participants were involuntary and had no idea what they were
participating in. I think this is very unfortunate, many of these situations happened years ago but
I do believe that some of this still happens to some degree. These human and even animal
participants were taken advantage of, ethics were thrown out the window.
Although ethics in research has come a very long way and continues to improve daily we
still have a lot of work we can do to make it even better. This is important for the patients, us as
they healthcare workers, and our healthcare system in general. The National Institutes of Health
help with ensuring research integrity. The NIH has steps in place to help improv the legal and
ethical aspects in research. All institutions receiving Public Health Services funding must have
written policies and procedures for addressing allegations of research misconduct. (NIH, 2010)
According to NIH research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism,
misconduct does not include honest error or differences in opinion. As stated earlier ethics is
something we all learn early on as children however everyone has different opinions and carries
it out differently but it is so vital in healthcare and research related to healthcare. This is a topic
that I found very interesting and I believe is important for us all to be informed of and refreshed
on .

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NRSA 318 Research Paper

References:
Rebar, C. R. & Gersch, C. J. (2015). Understanding research for evidence-based practice
(4th ed., pp.133-146). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.
Resnik, D. (2011, May 1). National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Retrieved April
27, 2015, from http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/index.cfm
Beecher, H. (1966). Ethics and Clinical Research. The New England Journal of Medicine,
274(24), 367-372. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from
http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/archive/documents/BeecherArticle.pdf
Dickinson, D. (2012, January 31). Top 10 Unethical Research Programs in U.S. History Listosaur | Hungry for Knowledge. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from http://listosaur.com/science-atechnology/top-10-unethical-research-programs-in-us-history/
Research Misconduct. (2010, August 25). Retrieved April 27, 2015, from
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/research_integrity/research_misconduct.htm