A principle-based framework for improving health equity in the Champlain region of Ontario, Canada.

The purpose of this column is to present an action-oriented health equity framework derived from Beauchamp and Childress' four ethical principles (ie, autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice) and centred around the specific needs of marginalized and excluded communities of the Champlain region of Ontario. It describes the conceptual underpinnings of the framework, defines its components, and demonstrates how it can be applied. The principle-based health equity framework is a useful tool to reduce health disparities within healthcare organizations; it is designed to promote the incorporation of health equity objectives, strategies, principles, and measurements into healthcare organizations' strategic planning processes and operations.

Evaluation of a cartoon-based knowledge dissemination intervention on scientific and ethical challenges raised by nutrigenomics/nutrigenetics research.

Context: The push for knowledge translation on the part of health research funding agencies is significant in Canada, and many strategies have been adopted to promote the conversion of knowledge into action. In recent years, an increasing number of health researchers have been studying arts-based interventions to transform knowledge into action. This article reports on the results of an online questionnaire aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a knowledge dissemination intervention (KDI) conveying findings from a study on the scientific and ethical challenges raised by nutrigenomics-nutrigenetics (NGx) research.

Family communication following BRCA1/2 genetic testing: a close look at the process.

This study examines the process of communicating BRCA1/2 genetic test results to family members, and the factors influencing disclosure. Twenty-nine semi-structured telephone interviews with BRCA1/2 tested individuals, 4 to 9 years post-notification, were conducted. Our results suggest that individual, familial, relational and socio-medical factors influence the decision to disclose/not disclose genetic test results to family members.

Scientists' perspectives on the ethical issues of stem cell research.

This paper describes findings from an ethics education project funded by the Canadian Stem Cell Network (SCN). The project is part of a larger research initiative entitled "The Stem Cell Research Environment: Drawing the Evidence and Experience Together". The ethics education study began with a series of focus groups with SCN researchers and trainees as part of a "needs assessment" effort.

Trust in health research relationships: accounts of human subjects.

TRUST IS FUNDAMENTAL in health research, yet there is little empirical evidence that explores the meaning of trust from the perspective of human subjects. The analysis presented here focuses on how human subjects talked about trust in the in-depth interviews. It emerged from the accounts that trust could not be assumed in the research setting, rather it was portrayed as a dynamic concept, built and easily broken, characterized by reciprocity and negotiation.