Research scope and context
A pandemic changes the context of some research
- The criteria for determining whether activities qualify as research do not usually change when they are being carried out during an emergency. Who Ethics in Epidemics, Emergencies and Disasters: Research, Surveillance and Patient Care Training Manual
- Ethical analysis of public health activities should be consistent with ethical norms of public health ethics and conducted by individuals or entities that can be held accountable for their decisions. WHO Ethics in an Outbreak
- Routine public health activities not constituting research do not require independent ethics review but should still proceed with due attention to ethical considerations as outlined in part in the WHO’s Guidelines on Ethical Issues in Public Health Surveillance. Who Ethical Standards for Research During Public Health Emergencies
- In considering whether to adopt particular public health strategies, countries should rely on the best available scientific evidence. WHO Ethics in Pandemic Flu
- Involve an investment of resources in collecting ethically and methodologically sound evidence. APHA Code of Ethics, 4.10.6.
- Research should be conducted only if it does not impede emergency response efforts. Who Ethical Standards for Research During Public Health Emergencies
- During an infectious disease outbreak there is a moral obligation to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible, in order to inform the ongoing public health response, and to allow for proper scientific evaluation of new interventions being tested. WHO Ethics in an Outbreak
- National authorities and international organizations should seek to coordinate research projects in order to set priorities that are consistent with broader outbreak response efforts. WHO Ethics in an Outbreak
- In all cases, research involving human participants requires independent ethics review. WHO Ethical Standards for Research During Public Health Emergencies
- The level of review required is proportionate to the risks associated with the research; that is, the riskier the research, the greater the degree of scrutiny it will receive. WHO Ethics in Epidemics, Emergencies and Disasters: Research, Surveillance and Patient Care Training Manual
- Research must be distinguished from public health practice because most institutions require that research undergo independent ethics review. WHO Ethics in Epidemics, Emergencies and Disasters: Research, Surveillance and Patient Care Training Manual
- MEURI [Monitored emergency use of unregistered and experimental interventions] should not preclude or delay the initiation of clinical research into experimental products. In addition, it should not divert attention or resources from the implementation of effective clinical care and/or public health measures that may be crucial to control an outbreak. WHO Ethics in an Outbreak
- Any known risks associated with an intervention should be minimized to the extent reasonably possible. WHO Ethics in an Outbreak
- Physicians overseeing MEURI have the same moral obligation to collect all scientifically relevant data on the safety and efficacy of the intervention as researchers overseeing a clinical trial. WHO Ethics in an Outbreak
- Individuals who are offered MEURI should be made aware that the intervention might not benefit them and might even harm them.WHO Ethics in an Outbreak