The research on community consultation: an annotated bibliography

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Clinical Research Ethics
• Public Health Research

Context:

• Emergency research often requires waiving or excepting informed consent.
• Community consultation serves as a critical patient safeguard in these situations.
• Investigator-reported difficulties highlight challenges in implementing community consultation.

Purpose:

• To provide an overview of the literature on community consultation in emergency research.
• To assess the effectiveness of community consultation as a patient safeguard.
• To identify areas for future research on community consultation processes.

Summary:

• This article reviews the limited literature on community consultation for research using waivers of informed consent.
• It highlights that community consultation is a required safeguard but often difficult to implement.
• The current process may not be meeting its intended goals, necessitating more research.

Impact:

• Informs ethical guidelines for emergency research.
• Highlights the need for improved methods for community engagement in clinical trials.
• Guides future research to strengthen patient protections in emergency research settings.