Physicians are obligated to inform patients involved in a clinical trial that there is a chance of receiving a placebo, which can result in a deterioration of a medical condition.
Research ethics should be included in the medical school curriculum so students and residents can fully understand the ethical implications of medical research.
A Peace Corps physician working in Africa recounts the challenges of obtaining prompt medical treatment for Trypanosomiasis and other tropical diseases in a country where emergency care is not readily available.
The Declaration of Helsinki was recently revised to require that the control arm of a trial use the current standard of care, even if that standard is not generally available in developing nations where the research is being conducted.
A medical student illustrates the damaging effects that stereotyping of immigrants has on the availability and receipt of health care and on the medical system itself.
Those conducting Western-style clinical trial research in developing countries must consider the manner in which ethical principals are implemented within local standards of care.