Ethically, the health care professional has a responsibility to
provide the best care (beneficence), minimize harm, respect for
persons (informed consent), and treat people equally (justice).
Does the act of enrolling a person in a randomized clinical trial
counter these obligations? What are the implications for the
patients in the placebo group? What are the implications for the
patients in the experimental groups? Consider the following:
A new cancer drug has been developed and is ready for clinical
trials. The researcher has received IRB approval and informed
consent is obtained. This new drug appears to be much more
effective than the standard protocol. A randomized clinical trial
is conducted with 50 patients assigned to the experimental group
(the new drug) and 50 patients assigned to the control group or
usual treatment (standard protocol). In the course of the clinical
trial, the patients in the control group experience a significant
increase in mortality rates compared to the experimental group.
A) Write a potential hypothesis for this study and
identify the variables (independent and dependent)
B) Should the research study be stopped? Why or why
not?
C) Is there a favorable balance between benefit and
harm?
D) What would you recommend from an ethical perspective? Support
your position.
Ethically, the health care professional has a responsibility to provide the best care (beneficence), minimize harm, resp
-
- Site Admin
- Posts: 899603
- Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:13 am