This particular page provides information on vulnerable populations in research. Research ethics are based on three fundamental principles: . It is decidedly extrinsic. These people are exposed to various types of harm that includes social, economic, legal, psychological, or even physical challenge (Henry, 2012). 10 Jeste, D.V., et al. 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)04572-4. "Vulnerable populations" are groups of individuals who in one or more ways are at risk of harm through research; research ethics committees often use the term to identify groups that are at risk in particular research projects. social work research often involves people considered vulnerable because there may be a risk of painful emotional reactions consequent to speaking of sensitive personal and emotional issues, such as in research on those who are bereaved (stroebe, stroebe, & schut, 2003) or who have experienced trauma (mudaly & goddard, 2009; newman & kaloupek, IRB: Ethics & Human Research 1997;19:1-4. If the target is the general population, and one of these groups (except prisoners) will participate, they are not considered a "target" population. The definition of what is a vulnerable population . Those generally accepted as being vulnerable include children, prisoners, pregnant women, fetuses, mentally disabled persons, and economically or educationally disadvantaged individuals. The categories of individuals that constitute Vulnerable Populations are outlined under The Common Rule (45 CFR 46, Subparts A-D). It reflects the principles of anti-oppressive social work and the ethics of undertaking research with vulnerable populations. Keywords: ethics, disasters, disaster research, research methodology, vulnerable populations 1. 45 CFR 46.111(b) When some or all of the subjects are likely to be vulnerable to coercion or undue influence, such as children, prisoners, individuals with impaired decision-making capacity, or economically or educationally disadvantaged persons, additional safeguards should be included in the study to protect the rights and welfare of these subjects. For Vulnerable Populations, the Thorny Ethics of Genetic Data Collection Republish To be equitable, genetics research needs more diverse samples. I wanted to share a favorite resource of mine - 100 Questions (and Answers) about Research Ethics by Emily E. Anderson and Amy Corneli (2018; SAGE). ): Cognitive or communicative vulnerability Institutional vulnerability Deferential vulnerability Medical vulnerability The term "vulnerable population" is also problematic, for it reinforces a false binarypeople are either members of a vulnerable population or not. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 applies to 16-17 year olds and adults (18 years and over) who lack capacity to make decisions because of an impairment, mental disorder or 'disturbance in the functioning of the mind and brain'. The Ethics Center will submit a final report to the USH on October 31, 2008, summarizing the findings and recommendations of the Work Group on PTSD and Vulnerable Populations in Research. To increase the rate of subject participation, investigators have to rely on help from health care providers who often serve as gatekeepers to potential research study subjects. With approximately 1% of US residents incarcerated as of 2013, the issue of research ethics in this . Policies have been developed to protect vulnerable populations in clinical research, including the US federal research regulations (45 Code of Federal Regulations 46 Subparts B, C, and D). Content Authors Jeremy N. Block, PhD, MPP Baruch College Bruce Gordon, MD The University of Nebraska Medical Center Introduction. As Anderson and Corneli explain in their 2018 book, 100 questions (and answers) about research ethics: Some people may be particularly vulnerable to exploitation and harm in the context of research. Other vulnerable populations may be those who are already dislocated from familiar settings, for instance, refugees, new immigrants, or minority groups. Lancet. Introduction Communities worldwide are affected by an increasing number of natural and technologi-cal (man-made) disasters (Myers & Wee, 2005). . Risks to humans participating in research must be minimized; that is, subjects must be offered protection from risks. in the introduction to the cioms guidelines, issues of human rights are described as relating to two principles, one of which is the " protection of dependent or vulnerable persons and populations " ( [ 18 ], p. 11), while the principle of respect for persons is described as entailing " at least two fundamental ethical considerations ", including The idea of vulnerable populations falls under the ethical construct of respect for persons. Bioethics first engaged with vulnerability in the context of participation in research and this continues to define how the value is typically understood. Deliberate and intentional--intentionality only applies to ACTS . (New York: Routledge Press, 1990). Generally, vulnerable populations refer to groups of people whose range of options is severely limited, who may be subjected to coercion or who may be compromised in their ability to give informed consent to receive medical or surgical treatments or to participate in research. Annotated bibliogrpahy for the research ethics module covering the ethical issues that arise in doing research on vulnerable populations. 5. . Participant recruitment and retention from vulnerable populations in clinical trials is a matter of trust October 2022 Contemporary Clinical Trials 123(5):106969 This collection of open-access articles explores qualitative studies with vulnerable individuals and communities. Ram Weiss and colleagues (Sept 20, p 951) report the results of clinical research involving obese children with and without impaired glucose tolerance. Journal of Medical Ethics 2017; 43 664-665 Published . in the introduction to the cioms guidelines, issues of human rights are described as relating to two principles, one of which is the " protection of dependent or vulnerable persons and populations " ( [ 18 ], p. 11), while the principle of respect for persons is described as entailing " at least two fundamental ethical considerations ", including You are here Research > Research Ethics > Research with vulnerable groups and sensitive topics. Vulnerable Populations and Sensitive Topics. Lancaster University, which is the lead research institution . People who are included in research should not be included merely because they are a population that is easy to access, available, or perhaps vulnerable and less able to decline participating. APPROVAL: Any changes in objectives, scope, or membership of work group members must be approved by the Under Secretary for Health. Recognizing the specific needs and considerations of a vulnerable population is an important step in putting appropriate research protections in place. Ethical Questions. Pregnant women should not be categorised as a 'vulnerable population' in biomedical research studies: ending a vicious cycle of 'vulnerability'. physical, sexual, emotional, neglect. Backdoor to Eugenics. I've come to think that any discussion of the ethics of conducting research with vulnerable populations, such as children in the developing world, should be grounded in a three-part foundation. Vulnerable and Other Populations Requiring Additional Protections The Code of Federal Regulations outlines specific requirements to enhance protections for three groups. Eisenberg, Leon Recruiting vulnerable populations for research: revisiting the ethical issues The successful recruitment of participants is essential to the research process. Population ageing is a long-term trend which began several decades ago in Europe . As seen on Figure 1, European population is projected to continue to age. Speakers employ an expanded definition of vulnerability, discussing not only research with vulnerable populations as defined by the federal regulations, but also research with individuals with disabilities, undocumented individuals, individuals who are critically ill or at the end of life, and victims of epidemics and other disasters. Causes of Undernutrition: The reasons are diverse- for instance, before birth, intrauterine growth restriction can be an essential basis. Our goals are threefold: (1) to help researchers, research ethics committees (RECs), and other stakeholders to . Vulnerable subjects require additional protections. 2008;3(1):15-24. The vulnerable individuals' freedom and capability to protect one-self from . Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics. Guidance on the Mental Capacity Act notes that lack of capacity to make a decision may be permanent or temporary. Read more at feedproxy.google.com Protection of Vulnerable Populations in Research In addition to vulnerable subject populations such as children, prisoners, and pregnant women (covered in the subparts of the federal regulations for human subjects research), there are special classes of subjects including students, employees, and cognitively impaired individuals who may be vulnerable in In three reports issued during the 1970s, the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research identified fetuses, pregnant women, children, and prisoners as vulnerable populations requiring special protections, and a 1998 report from the National Bioethics Advisory Commission identified dementias . When bioethicists refer to vulnerable populations these persons might be minorities, women, children, the elderly, the imprisoned or other institutionalized persons. Visual: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images By Adrian Pecotic 09.30.2019 4 Comments Shows the return of scientific racism under the influence of genetic research and (mis)interpretations of findings. Citing Literature There are a number of research populations described in the Federal regulations as "vulnerable" or that require additional consideration or protection. In research, vulnerability typically focuses on the possibility that some people might be taken advantage of and harmed through research efforts. Procedural ethics such as those maintained by the Institutional Review Board require researchers to literally "do no harm" to participants. The older population (aged 65 years and over) is constantly increasing. As respect for personal autonomy, prevention of harm, and promotion of justice are widely accepted ethical principles of responsible research, the possibility that some communities and individuals may be susceptible to exploitation or harm due to their vulnerable circumstances raises important ethical concerns. Ethics of research involving vulnerable populations. Title: PowerPoint Presentation Author: Alison Antes Pregnant women, human fetuses, and neonates Children Prisoners research with vulnerable populations. Body Duster, Troy. One of the recommendations from the workshop was that pregnant women in research trials should be defined as a "scientifically complex" rather than a "vulnerable" population 8. Over the past three decades, there has been a rapid The University of Sheffield Research Ethics Policy Note no. 45 CFR 46. NUTRITION ISSUES &VULNERABLE POPULATIONS 4 like scarce natural resources, high and volatile food prices, conflicts, climate change as well as demographic changes and poor governance. The APHA concluded that there was no evidence of harm to vulnerable populations, when aid in dying was available and adopted policy supportive of the option.1 At this point in time, significant support for the option of aid in dying has emerged from mainstream medical, health policy, patient advocacy communities. They may lose their papers, documents of identification. The reality is that individuals and groups exist within a matrix of domination, and "all individuals and all groups possess varying amounts of penalty and privilege" (Collins, 2000, p. 246). These policies generally recognize vulnerable populations to include pregnant women, fetuses, neonates, children, prisoners, persons with physical handicaps . Fisher CB. Vulnerability in research occurs when the participant is incapable of protecting his or her interests and therefore, has an increased probability of being intentionally or unintentionally harmed. The research involved a vulnerable population and did not offer the participants the prospect of direct health-related benefits. In some cases, vulnerable populations are the people who are not able to protect their rights, their interests, or their well-being. It is essential in protecting researchers and research participants, and is defined as " protecting people's health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect .". In this paper, we describe, illustrate through cases, and critically examine key ethical challenges that are more likely to arise because a research study focuses on health-related stigma or involves stigmatized groups or conditions. THE CENTER FOR ETHICS EDUCATION Individuals in vulnerable populations may have a higher risk of negative outcomes as a result of participating in a research study, they may have a reduced capacity or ability to give consent, or they may (for other reasons) have special legal protections. (2009). Their links to their new community may still be fragile. Ten lessons to successfully conduct research with vulnerable populations using the Belmont report Respect for persons The Belmont Report defines respect for persons in research as: honoring the choices of subjects capable of exercising autonomy and protecting subjects incapable of making their own decisions. Participants in the workshop argued that a vulnerable population is one that has a compromised ability to protect its interests and provide informed consent. Under Provision 8, nurses must advocate for all vulnerable populations to receive equal treatment despite sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, immigration status or other factors. Acts of Commission. Click on the links below to learn more about what is required for each of the populations. Refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented immigrants present unique vulnerabilities relevant to protocol development as well as ethics review procedures and criteria. She has used modules such as the Study Guide to "Ethically Impossible" STD Research in Guatemala from 1946 to 1948 and Vulnerable Populations in Safeguarding Children: Pediatric Medical Countermeasure Research for courses on research ethics and clinical trials. Any act or series of acts of commission (abuse) or omission (neglect) by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child (under the age of 18) Four common types of abuse. 6 RESEARCH INVOLVING VULNERABLE PEOPLE . This learning activity provides an overview of ethical and regulatory principles of research with participants perceived as vulnerable. Vulnerable population There are several definitions available for the term "vulnerable population", the words simply imply the disadvantaged sub-segment of the community requiring utmost care, specific ancillary considerations and augmented protections in research. The types of study populations that are likely to be vulnerable to coercion or undue influence may including but are not necessarily limited to: Children/minors Prisoners Employees Military persons and students/trainees in hierarchical organizations Terminally ill, comatose, physically and intellectually challenged individuals The focus is on protecting people from research participation that . Subpart A, also known as the Common Rule, provides a robust set of protections for research subjects; subparts B, C, and D provide additional protections for certain populations in research; and subpart E provides requirements for . In line with other contributions to this special issue, the article . A relational perspective on ethics-in-science decisionmaking for research with vulnerable populations. This manuscript aims to discuss the conditions that make a group vulnerable and the tools and requiremen The IRB-SBS identifies eight categories where the potential for vulnerability exists in research ( modified from National Bioethics Advisory Committee, Ethical and Policy Issues in Research Involving Human Participants. 3 , 4 The need to identify this population arose out of historical examples in which subjects were exploited for the purpose of medical experimentation. The National Bioethics Advisory Committee (NBAC 2001) defines vulnerable subjects as persons who "have difficulty providing voluntary, informed consent arising from limitations in . Thus, vulnerability is generally deployed to describe individuals (or populations), where real or perceived deficiencies limit the ability to function and to protect themselves from risks. Safeguarding is an integral part of our overarching research ethics. vulnerable population framework serves a vital practical and ethical function in research practice and oversight. However, there is The HHS regulations for the protection of human subjects in research at 45CFR 46 include five subparts. Vulnerable Populations. Vulnerabilities often characterize the availability of immigrant populations of interest in social behavioral science, public health, and medical research. Carleigh B Krubiner Ruth R Faden. But collecting that data could present ethical issues. The first is that we must be willing to take the time and make the effort to be aware of and ask ourselves some of the difficult . Learners will review definitions of vulnerability, relevant regulations in the United States, and their implications for special protections among various populations, including: This activity is co-provided by . And therefore, the importance of additional research on diseases typical for older people is becoming increasingly . Research ethics is based on several main principles that underline . In a study of consent among vulnerable populations in Mexico , about half of patients found the consent forms difficult to understand; most of the doctors also confirmed that the forms were incomprehensible to patients. In medical research ethics, the term Vulnerable Populations generally refers to individuals whose situations do not allow them to protect their own interests. An experimental strategy that is likely to be used by many types of people should be . Control Groups in HIV Research Ruth Macklin, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine Presented July 2011 at the Fordham HIV Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute Ethical Assessment of Ongoing Vaccine Trial: The Bangkok Experience Ruth Macklin, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine Presented July 2011 at the Fordham HIV Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute Ethical This paper describes vulnerable populations in relation to the Belmont . Limited autonomy = vulnerable populations Vulnerable populations are so-named because: They are vulnerable to undue influence or coercion Undue Influence = "an offer of an excessive, unwarranted, inappropriate or improper reward or other overture in order to obtain compliance" We sometimes forget that the source of their vulnerability is not intrinsic. Moreover, within research ethics policy and guidelines, vulnerable populations have been defined in relation to 'reasons for vulnerability' , which can be divided into two broad groups'respect for persons-based accounts' and 'justice-based accounts' [12 p. 2]. vulnerable populations INTRODUCTION The concept of vulnerability is a cornerstone of the theoretical basis and practical application of ethics in human subjects research. Leaning J: Ethics of research in refugee populations. As noted earlier, the term " vulnerable populations " refers to a wide range of persons who may be at risk in a research setting not only because of their intrinsic characteristics but also as a result of their life situation or circumstances.