Ethics in EMS and disaster research.

The advancement of emergency medical services (EMS) and disaster medicine requires vigorous research. Without systematic investigation, the knowledge base for EMS and disaster medicine will fail to develop and advance. Adding to the scientific knowledge base should be the goal of a researcher, and writing only for personal advancement and acclaim are to be discouraged. It is important that researchers maintain high ethical standards and avoid conflicting interests when participating in research projects. Researchers are responsible for conducting ethical studies. This includes gathering data in a meticulous manner, keeping study databases with protection of subject privacy, and interpreting results objectively and without bias. Studies must be designed to limit potential bias. In addition, a study should be designed such that another researcher can reproduce the study and validate the findings. Conclusions should be limited to study findings based on the data and evidence presented in the research. Above all, any research study must adhere to the highest ethics with respect to human subjects. Ethical EMS and disaster medical research can be challenging because study populations are often suffering a personal or community crisis and are therefore vulnerable to exploitation. It is important that, when appropriate, an informed consent process be in place to enter subjects into a study, and that for all forms of human research, there are adequate personal rights and confidentiality protections. Most important is that the well-being of each research subject takes precedence over all other interests. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine requires that all submitted research papers undergo independent review for compliance with ethical standards in conducting human subjects research. Authors most often accomplish this task by submitting research protocols to human subjects ethics committees or institutional review boards for review and approval of adherence to ethical research standards. As befitting an international journal, ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects described in the Declaration of Helsinki are considered the standard for Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. The original version of the Declaration was published in 1964, with eight subsequent revisions. The current version was published in 2008. Among the 35 principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki, the following are particularly relevant to EMS and disaster medical research: