Vulnerable populations in research: the case of the seriously ill.

Theor Med Bioeth

Department of Philosophy, University of California, Humanities Office Building 2, Irvine, California 92697-4555, USA.

Published: October 2006

AI Article Synopsis

  • The paper proposes a new framework for identifying vulnerable populations in research, emphasizing both consent and fairness as key factors.
  • Seriously ill individuals are highlighted as particularly vulnerable due to their heightened susceptibility to enticing offers that promise relief from their health issues, compromising their ability to protect their own interests.
  • This understanding aligns with the Belmont Report's designation of these individuals as needing special protections, arguing that vulnerability is a common characteristic in biomedical research rather than a rare occurrence.

Article Abstract

This paper advances a new criterion of a vulnerable population in research. According to this criterion, there are consent-based and fairness-based reasons for calling a group vulnerable. The criterion is then applied to the case of people with serious illnesses. It is argued that people with serious illnesses meet this criterion for reasons related to consent. Seriously ill people have a susceptibility to "enticing offers" that hold out the prospect of removing or alleviating illness, and this susceptibility reduces their ability to safeguard their own interests. This explains the inclusion of people with serious illnesses in the Belmont Report's list of populations needing special protections, and supports the claim that vulnerability is the rule, rather than the exception, in biomedical research.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11017-006-9000-2DOI Listing

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