11 Ethics in practice

A Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approves and provides oversight of research studies and projects that involve human subjects. The primary mission of a HREC is ensure that protection of the rights and welfare of all human participants in research. HREC has the authority to approve, require modifications in (to secure approval), or disapprove research.

Before undertaking a study, researchers must submit research plans to a HREC and must also undergo any training that the HREC has established at a given facility or institution. Following this approval further governance from the research setting may also be necessary prior to the commencement of research projects.

Ethical principles and protecting study participants

In addition to applying to a HREC, the researcher must also have procedures in place to protect human subjects from risk of harm. One strategy that helps to minimise this risk is to do a risk/benefit assessment. With this assessment, researchers evaluate whether the benefits of participating in a study are in line with the costs. Another important methods for safeguarding research participants is to obtain an informed consent. In an informed consent, the study is explained in simple terms, with explanations of their power if free choice. The consent contains information about the study purpose, specific expectations of the participation, potential costs, any benefits, the voluntary nature, and who to contact for more information, if needed.

In some situations, consent is implied. For example, is a nursing educator were to enter a classroom and explain that they are conducting a survey for research, and then hands out the survey out to whoever wants it, it is implied consent if you proceed to fill the survey out.

The rights of the participant

Study participants also have the right to keep their information private and in strict confidence. A participant’s right to privacy is protected.

Anonymity is the most secure means of protecting confidentiality. This can occur when the researchers cannot link that data to the individual. For example, if in the above example, you fill out the survey and it did not contain your name, it would be anonymous. The researcher would not know who filled out each survey.

Sometime there is confidentiality in the absence of anonymity. A promise of confidentiality is given to the participant that even though the researcher may have some private information about the, (e.g. birth data, name, etc.), the information will be secured in locked files, substituting identification numbers for names, and reporting only on aggregate data for groups of participants.

Finally, an important concept to also note is debriefing. Debriefing sessions are sometimes advisable to have following data collection so that participants can ask questions of share concerns. It is up to the researchers to whether they decide to share study findings with the participants after the data has been analysed, but this is a good practice to have if reasonable to do so.

In summary, it is vital for nurses and healthcare providers to be knowledgeable about research ethics. Be alert to vulnerable patients and that their rights are upheld. It is everyone’s position and role to advocate for ethical rights of all people.

Complete the activity on components of a literature review.