National health care registries in the Nordic countries share many attributes, but different legal and ethical frameworks represent a challenge to promoting effective joint research. Internationally, there is a lack of knowledge about how ethical matters are considered in Nordic registry-based research, and a lack of knowledge about how Nordic ethics committees operate and what is needed to obt...

OBJECTIVE To explore the doctrine of informed consent and the development of capacity in adolescents with psychiatric problems to help clinicians better reflect on the relevant ethical issues. METHOD We discuss the relevant literature and explore the role of psychiatric impairment in adolescents' ability to consent. RESULTS In common law, there is no minimum age at which individuals are abl...

The reliance of subjects and researchers on the current regulatory scheme for human subject protection is misplaced. Investigators often assume that compliance with the requirements of the Common Rule, including Institutional Review Board approval of their research project, adequately fulfills the spirit of the federal regulation and protects them from liability for lack of adequate informed co...

The recruitment and counselling of sperm donors raise several ethical issues. The word 'donation' implies no payment and informed consent for donation is essential in respecting the autonomy of the giving party. This implies looking into the motivation of donors and, when accepted, information about the screening and its results. It is a sensitive issue, especially when pathology is uncovered i...

When obtaining samples from biobanks, resolving ethical and legal concerns is a time-consuming task where researchers need to balance the needs of privacy, trust and scientific progress. The Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure-Large Prospective Cohorts project has resolved numerous such issues through intense communication between involved researchers and experts in it...

This issue of the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics highlights the ethical issues that arise when researchers conducting projects in low- and middle-income countries seek to share the data they produce. Although sharing data is considered a best practice, the barriers to doing so are considerable and there is a need for guidance and examples. To that end, the authors of thi...

Research into the effectiveness of epilepsy specialist nursing needs to take into account a number of factors, which have not been adequately addressed in previous studies. Nursing outcome measures are different to medical ones and it is inappropriate to confuse these. Specialist nurses affect the whole culture of a service, and their impact on service quality may go beyond that of their indivi...

Background Informed consent is an important part of the patients’ rights and hospitals are assigned to obtain informed consent before any diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Obtaining an informed consent enables patients to accept or reject their care or treatments and prevent future contentions among patients and medical staff.   Methods This survey was carried out during 2011-2. We assessed...

PURPOSE Little is known about how patient education and emotional support is provided at abortion facilities. This pilot study documents 27 facilities' practices in this aspect of abortion care. METHODS We conducted confidential telephone interviews with staff from 27 abortion facilities about their practices. MAIN FINDINGS The majority of facilities reported they rely primarily on trained ...