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Vulnerable Populations

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The concept of ethics in scientific research has continuously evolved over several hundred years; records of the first experiments on humans, documented in the bible, date back to 550 BC.1 Throughout history, notorious cases of scientific misconduct have established guidelines and set the precedence for the governing standards of ethical conduct today. “Researchers refer to populations which have low autonomy as "vulnerable populations"; these are groups which may not be able to fairly decide for themselves whether to participate in clinical trials. Vulnerable populations include…the incarcerated/detained, children, women, prisoners, soldiers, migrants, mentally insane or any other condition which precludes their autonomy, and to a lesser …show more content…

Human beings were utilized as test subjects, enduring extreme suffering, merely serving as means to an end. The ethical misconduct was obvious; inclusion in clinical trials was associated with enormous risk and nominal benefits.2 As scientific research has evolved, more subtle manners of exploitation have become prevalent, and the direct or indirect exclusion of subjects places the same vulnerable populations at risk. Although the explicative methods are opposing, the outcome is the same. Vulnerable populations do not receive equal medical treatment. They are not given equal opportunities to experience the potential health benefits associated with research and therapy, placing them at higher medical …show more content…

They concluded that “the consent forms failed to reveal the risks associated with each trial group, an increased risk of dying in the low-oxygen group and an increased risk of severe eye damage in the high oxygen

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