CGS-authored
Biomedical research must adhere to ethical norms, but in poorer countries there are considerations above and beyond them. In particular, attention must be given to understanding community hierarchies and the need for adequate compensation, financial or otherwise, as well as the role of researchers in improving local health education.
Involving the right people
When designing a clinical study in the developing world, ethical approval must be obtained from governing research ethics committees. But many researchers overlook how important it is to engage local communities themselves in the approval process.
Communities must be able to determine what they want to get out of participating in a study, if only to safeguard future participation. Local institutional review boards protecting resource-poor participants should involve local leaders in determining from the outset the rewards due to the whole community within the study budget. This will improve local people's confidence in the study.
Understanding community hierarchies is also essential when making contact with that community. Resource-poor communities are often communally 'owned', with certain sectors empowered to make decisions for the whole village. Yet sometimes researchers'...