Ethics and Epidemiology: International Guidelines - Proceedings of the…

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Ethics and Epidemiology: International Guidelines
Proceedings of the XXVth CIOMS Conference

edited by Z. Bankowski, J.H. Bryant and J.M. Last
1991, viii 191 pages [E]
ISBN 92 9036 048 8
Sw.fr. 25.-/US $22.50; in developing countries: Sw.fr. 17.50
Order no. 1830025

Presents the first international guidelines formulated to ensure that epidemiological investigation, particularly research conducted by First World scientists in Third World countries, adheres to internationally agreed rules of ethical conduct. The guidelines, drafted by an international steering committee and extensively reviewed and revised, were formulated in response to the ethical issues raised by the application in epidemiology of information technology to large data-files, and particularly by HIV prevalence and monitoring studies, as well as clinical trials of candidate HIV vaccines and treatment drugs in Third World populations.

The guidelines are centred on four basic principles of ethics: respect for persons, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. Separate sections, moving from informed consent to conflict of interest, stipulate the ethical obligations of investigators themselves, their employers or sponsors, and the ethics committees that review their protocols. Examples specific to the AIDS epidemic are used to clarify these obligations, particularly concerning questions of recruitment for clinical trials, confidentiality, and the use of linked and unlinked information.

The main part of the book consists of fifteen papers presented at a conference where the draft guidelines were debated prior to their final revision and formal adoption in July 1991. These papers, which often differ markedly in their views, serve to illustrate the ethical dilemmas that are likely to arise during the formulation and review of protocols for testing candidate drugs and vaccines for HIV. ( )