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Balancing the quality of consent
1Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Academic Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
Journal of Medical Ethics
|July 3, 1998
Summary
Informed consent in medical research requires flexible application. Balancing consent quality with confidentiality and ethical values ensures ethical acceptability and appropriate procedures.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Biomedical Research
Background:
- Informed consent is a cornerstone of medical ethics and biomedical research.
- Current application of informed consent rules can be overly rigid and insensitive to research values.
Purpose of the Study:
- To argue for a balanced approach to informed consent quality.
- To suggest adjusting information and consent procedures based on ethical considerations.
Main Methods:
- Ethical analysis of informed consent principles.
- Proposal of a tiered approach to consent procedures.
Main Results:
- The quality of consent should be weighed against confidentiality and the importance of values at stake.
- A three-level system for consent procedures is proposed.
Conclusions:
- Ethically acceptable consent requires balancing rigidity with sensitivity to context.
- Tailored information and consent procedures, including informed refusal, are crucial for ethical research.
Keywords:
Biomedical and Behavioral Research