Abstract

LOBATO-VICTORIA, Amanda Cecilia  and  PICHARDO-GARCIA, Luz María Guadalupe. TO WHAT EXTENT IS IT TRUE THAT RESEARCH SUBJECTS UNDERSTAND THEIR RIGHTS?. pers.bioét. [online]. 2013, vol.17, n.1, pp.49-57. ISSN 0123-3122.

The objective of this article is to assess what the subjects of experiments know about their rights and to what extent they are able to exercise them. The study in question is qualitative and features semi-structured interviews, purposive sampling and situation analysis conducted at health institutions in Mexico City. The findings show research subjects in countries such as Mexico are extremely vulnerable and dependent on the physician. As manifest in the responses to the interviews, this situation is reflected in and compounded by their lack of knowledge about what their participation in the research protocol implies. The conclusion is that researchers should be more involved in the process of obtaining informed consent (IC), so as to effectively address the patient's concerns about the nature and effects of the treatment they will receive. It also is necessary to empower the subject to demand what is fair in terms of benefits and compensation for damages in the event of adverse effects, by overcoming attitudes still entrenched in the paternalistic model.

Keywords : Human rights; research subjects; informed consent; physician-patient relations; ethics.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )