An Ethically Informed Consideration of the Use of a Waiver of Informed Consent in Emergency Medicine Research

The concept of informed consent arose in the mid-20th century as a mechanism for protecting patients and research subjects from abuses. But recent technological advances in the field of emergency medicine research have created new challenges for informed consent procedures. As a result, in 1996 the FDA passed a “Final Rule,” which provides for a waiver of informed consent in a narrow class of studies.In this paper I will first conduct a historical survey of the development of informed consent regulations. Then, I will lay out several of the main arguments for the use of the waiver in emergency medicine research. I will conclude that these arguments are unsatisfactory, and that conducting research on human subjects without their consent is ethically dubious, at best. Lastly, I will consider alternative ways in which this socially valuable research might still be carried out, albeit without the use of the waiver of informed consent.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Philosophy (Arts and Sciences)

Grantor dc:publisher

Ohio University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• King, Hillary S.

Contributors dc:contributor

• LeBar, Mark

• Ethics
• Medical Ethics
• Philosophy
• Waiver of Informed Consent
• Emergency Medicine Research

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1366042483

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:ohiou1366042483