Declaration of Helsinki: What Does the Future Hold?
Margaret D. Chi* and Michelle A. Dwyer
Author Affiliations:
College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
Corresponding author: Margaret D. Chi MPH; chimarga[at]msu.edu
Key Words: Research Ethics; Medicine; Human Research Subject Protection; Informed Consent; Helsinki Declaration; Bioethics
[button link=”http://msrj.chm.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/MSRJ-Winter-2014-Declaration-of-Helsinki-What-Does-the-Future-Hold.pdf” type=”icon” icon=”download” color=green] Full Text Article PDF [/button]
Corresponding author: Margaret D. Chi MPH; chimarga[at]msu.edu
Key Words: Research Ethics; Medicine; Human Research Subject Protection; Informed Consent; Helsinki Declaration; Bioethics
Abstract:
Within the world of medical research, the Declaration of Helsinki (DoH) has long been considered the cornerstone document explaining the “rules” of ethical human research. Developed in 1964 by the World Medical Association to protect the rights of research subjects, it originally contained a set of 11 articles explaining the basic ethical duties of physicians in regards to research. The original version took aspects of the Nuremburg Code and Declaration of Geneva to incorporate human experimentation with the physician’s ethical role in the process and delineated a patient’s rights of informed consent, privacy and safety1,3. Since then, it has undergone seven revisions and grown in length from 11 to now 37 articles, with categories ranging from General Principles to Risks to Informed Consent (http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/index.html)2. Though considered comprehensive and accurate in some aspects, it has not been without controversy over the years. Therefore, this year, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the document, we must ask, how has the relevance of DoH changed, and will it change further in the future?
Published: January 1, 2014
Senior Editor: N/A
Junior Editor: N/A
DOI: Pending
Citation:
Chi MD, Dwyer MA. Declaration of Helsinki: What Does the Future Hold?. Medical Student Research Journal. 2014;3(Winter):20-2.
References:
1. Carlson, RV, Boyd KM, Webb, DJ. The Revision of the Declaration of Helsinki: Past, present and future. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 2004; 57(6):695-713. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2125.2004.02103.x.
2. Nbebele, P. The Declaration of Helsinki, 50 years later. JAMA. 2013; 310(20):2145-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.281316.
3. World Medical Association. World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: ethical principles form medical research involving human subjects. JAMA. 2013; 310(20):2191-4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.281053.
4. Millium, J, Wendler, D, Emmanuel E. The 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Helsinki: progress but many remaining challenges. JAMA. 2013; 310(20):2143-4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.281632.
5. Coyne, J. Revised Ethical Principles Have Profound Implications for Psychological Research. PLOS Blogs. 2013. http://blogs.plos.org/mindthebrain/2013/10/20/revised-ethical-principles-have-profound-implications-for-psychological-research/ [cited 30 November, 2013].