Privacy and Ethics in Pediatric Environmental Health Research
Author Information
Author(s): Celia B. Fisher
Primary Institution: Center for Ethics Education, Fordham University
Hypothesis
What are the ethical challenges and potential solutions for protecting the privacy and informed consent of family members in pediatric environmental health research?
Conclusion
The responsible conduct of pediatric environmental health research must balance the research context with the unique characteristics of subjects and their families.
Supporting Evidence
- Family members may not be considered research participants, leading to potential privacy risks.
- Longitudinal studies can raise unique privacy concerns as they involve repeated data collection over time.
- Ethical protections for family members are often inadequate under current federal regulations.
Takeaway
When researchers study children's health, they also need to think about how their questions might affect the children's families and communities.
Potential Biases
There is a risk of stigmatization for certain population groups when research findings are disseminated.
Limitations
The article discusses the limitations of current federal regulations in protecting family members who are not the primary research participants.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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