On informed consent

The question of whether patients should influence medical decisions, and if so how much, is not simple. Among other things, it is necessary to decide whether the patient's well-being should take precedence over respect for the patient's autonomy, or vice versa; whether or not the patient has the capacity to exercise true autonomy; what the information should be furnished in order to provide the patient with the basis for making a decision about treatment; and how such information should be provided. This article examines these matters, reviews the pros and cons of various methods for obtaining patients' informed consent, presents some broad guidelines for dealing with informed consent issues in a therapeutic setting, and discusses ethical principles that should be applied in obtaining patients' informed consent to participate in clinical research

Ethical principles of biomedical research on human subjects: Their applications in Latin America and the Caribbean

Biomedical research on human subjects involves certain ethical principles, several of which are described in this article. It is also true, however, that application of these principles in real life poses problems, especially in the case of international research conducted under culturally diverse conditions. This presentation examines certain cultural and institutional circumstances prevailing in much of Latin America and the Caribbean that show a predilection to pose problems of this kind. This is not done to encourage research without ethical principles, but rather to familiarize investigators with cultural differences, so that these differences can be considered when studies on human subjects are being conducted, thereby improving the prospects for beneficial research that respects ethical principles with different cultural contexts