Some questions of ethics in randomized controlled trials

Questions of ethics in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in development economics need greater attention and a wider perspective. RCTs are meant to be governed by the three principles laid out in the Belmont Report, but often violated them, for example, when local laws are flouted. In other cases,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of development economics 2024-11, Vol.28 (4), p.2072-2087
Main Author: Khera, Reetika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical trials
Critical incidents
Development economics
entitlements
Ethical dilemmas
Ethics
methodological
randomized controlled trials
Research subjects
Review boards
Safeguards
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Questions of ethics in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in development economics need greater attention and a wider perspective. RCTs are meant to be governed by the three principles laid out in the Belmont Report, but often violated them, for example, when local laws are flouted. In other cases, the framework of the Belmont Report itself has proved inadequate: for instance, when there are unintended outcomes or adverse events for which no‐one is held accountable. Primarily using RCTs conducted in India, this paper highlights eight areas of concern. RCTs also have a disproportionate influence on shaping research agendas and on policy. Though ethical issues have been raised, there has been little engagement from the RCT community—a manifestation of its power in the profession. As current safeguards (such as oversight by Institutional Review Boards) have failed to protect human subjects, the concluding section discusses possible ways to resolve these issues.
ISSN:1363-6669
1467-9361
DOI:10.1111/rode.12996