Beginning with the inhumane research at Nuremberg, there has been increasing sensitivity to the importance of ethical oversight of research when human subjects are involved. The Declaration of Helsinki was formulated by the World Medical Association in 1964 (and revised several times) to guide physicians in their roles in such research. The Council of International Organizations for Medical Sciences (CIOMS) developed International Ethical Guidelines for Research Involving Human Subjects in 1982, revised in 1992, and again this year. These guidelines were designed to be supportive of applications of the Helsinki Declaration, with special consideration for developing countries. Revisions of the two sets of guidelines are proceeding in parallel. The guidelines of CIOMS, Helsinki and others have been widely used by researchers and ethical committees that oversee their research. However, the fields of research and ethics have been continuously changing, raising new ethical questions that had not been seen earlier, including sharp controversies. Consequently, CIOMS is undertaking a careful review of its guidelines in relation to evolving perspectives on research and ethics, drawing on understandings of researchers, public advocates, ethicists, policy makers, and health care persons from both developed and developing countries. In March, 2000, a conference will be held in Geneva to explore these areas of concern and to identify relevant philosophical concepts and research experiences that call for revision, and to put forth current perspectives on the guidelines.
Learning Objectives: To understand the history of the development of ethical guidelines for research involving human subjects, and how these are pressured to change over time as ethical and research parameters undergo change. There is also the opportunity to see how persons in this field seek harmonization among various sets of guidelines on a global basis
Keywords: Research Ethics, Developing Countries
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.