BMC Medical Ethics最新文献

{"title":"The impact of moral injury on healthcare workers' career calling: exploring authentic self-expression, ethical leadership, and self-compassion.","authors":"Feifei Li, Lei Sun, Fanli Jia","doi":"10.1186/s12910-025-01175-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12910-025-01175-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Moral injury is a significant issue for healthcare workers, often stemming from exposure to ethical dilemmas and distressing events. This study aims to explore the relationship between moral injury and healthcare workers' career calling, using the job demands-resources model as a theoretical framework. The goal is to understand how moral injury affects healthcare workers' sense of purpose and vocation and identify factors that may mitigate this impact.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of 506 Chinese healthcare workers. The study used self-report questionnaires to assess moral injury, authentic self-expression, self-compassion, ethical leadership, and career calling. Path analysis was used to test the proposed mediating and moderating relationships within the job demands-resources model.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Moral injury has a negative effect on healthcare workers' career calling. This effect is mediated by authentic self-expression - the inability to openly discuss moral distress weakens the sense of purpose. Self-compassion and ethical leadership buffer against the negative impact of moral injury on career calling.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This research contributes to the understanding of moral injury and career calling in healthcare workers, with practical implications for safeguarding healthcare professionals' well-being and commitment to their vocation.</p>","PeriodicalId":55348,"journal":{"name":"BMC Medical Ethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"18"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11783728/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143076638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating cognitive bias in clinical ethics supports: a scoping review.","authors":"Louise Giaume, Antoine Lamblin, Nathalie Pinol, Frédérique Gignoux-Froment, Marion Trousselard","doi":"10.1186/s12910-025-01162-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12910-025-01162-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>A variety of cognitive biases are known to compromise ethical deliberation and decision-making processes. However, little is known about their role in clinical ethics supports (CES).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We searched five electronic databases (Pubmed, PsychINFO, the Web of Science, CINAHL, and Medline) to identify articles describing cognitive bias in the context of committees that deliberate on ethical issues concerning patients, at all levels of care. We charted the data from the retrieved articles including the authors and year of publication, title, CES reference, the reported cognitive bias, paper type, and approach.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of an initial 572 records retrieved, we screened the titles and abstracts of 128 articles, and identified 58 articles for full review. Four articles were selected for inclusion. Two are empirical investigations of bias in two CES, and two are theoretical, conceptual papers that discuss cognitive bias during CES deliberations. Our main result first shows an overview of bias related to the working human environment and to information gathering that concerns different types of CES. Second, several determinants of cognitive bias were highlighted. Especially, stressful environments could be at risk of cognitive bias, whatever the clinical dilemma.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Whether a need for a better taxonomy of cognitive bias in CES is highlighted, a proposal is made to focus on individual, group, institutional and professional biases that can be present during clinical ethics deliberation. However, future studies need to focus on an ecological evaluation of CES deliberations, in order to better-characterize cognitive biases and to study how they impact the quality of ethical decision-making. This information would be useful in considering countermeasures to ensure that deliberation is as unbiased as possible, and allow the most appropriate ethical decision to emerge in response to the dilemma at hand.</p>","PeriodicalId":55348,"journal":{"name":"BMC Medical Ethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"16"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11780915/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143069768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating impact of consulting midwives on maternal rights charter on perception of respectful maternity care and postpartum blues among postpartum women: a quasi-experimental study.","authors":"Razieh Bagherzadeh, Maryam Chananeh, Farahnaz Kamali, Khatoon Samsami","doi":"10.1186/s12910-025-01164-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12910-025-01164-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Despite the existing reports on mistreatment and disrespectful maternal care, few studies have investigated interventions to mitigate this issue. The present study aims to assess the impact of consulting midwives on maternal rights charter on perception of respectful maternity care and postpartum blues among postpartum women in two hospitals in southern Iran.</p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 437 postpartum women (217 mothers before the intervention and 220 mothers after the intervention) and 44 midwives working in the maternity ward of two hospitals affiliated to Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in 2023-2024. The hospitals were randomly divided into control and intervention groups. The mothers and midwives were selected using convenience and census sampling methods, respectively. Initially, the first sampling phase of postpartum women was conducted. Then, midwives in the intervention group received consultation on patient rights charter in groups of 3-4 individuals over three sessions. After the intervention, the second phase of sampling of postpartum women was conducted. Data collection tools included questionnaires assessing women's perception of respectful maternity care and postpartum blues. The data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistical tests in SPSS 20.0.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After performing the intervention on midwives, the mean score of postpartum respectful maternity care from the perspectives of the mothers in the intervention and control hospitals were 91.08 ± 5.51 and 68.34 ± 10.81 respectively (P < 0.001). Also, the mean scores of postpartum blues in the intervention and control hospitals were 12.88 ± 4.66 and 14.85 ± 5.94 respectively (P = 0.007). Multivariable linear regression analysis revealed that consulting with midwives regarding the Maternal Rights Charter, led to an increase in respectful maternity care (β coefficient = 0.780, 95% C.I. = 19.796). ~ 24.541) and decreased postpartum blues (β coefficient = -0.172, 95% C.I. = -3.318 ~ -0.390) from the perspectives of the mothers.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Consulting midwives on patient rights charter was positively correlated with mothers' perception of respectful maternity care and negatively correlated with postpartum blues, indicating the positive effect of intervention on increasing women's satisfaction and reducing postpartum blues. It is recommended that this consultation be included in midwives' continuing education programs.</p><p><strong>Clinical trial number: </strong>Not applicable.</p>","PeriodicalId":55348,"journal":{"name":"BMC Medical Ethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"15"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11776204/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143069772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Experiences, perceptions and ethical considerations of the malaria infection study in Thailand.","authors":"Bhensri Naemiratch, Natinee Kulpijit, Supanat Ruangkajorn, Nicholas P J Day, Jetsumon Prachumsri, Phaik Yeong Cheah","doi":"10.1186/s12910-024-01160-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12910-024-01160-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Thailand has made significant progress in malaria control efforts in the past decade, with a decline in the number of reported cases. However, due to cross-border movements over the past 5 years, reported malaria cases in Thailand have risen. The Malaria Infection Study in Thailand (MIST) involves deliberate infection of healthy volunteers with Plasmodium vivax malaria parasites, and the assessment of the efficacy of potential vaccine and drug candidates in order to understand acquired protection against malaria parasites.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This paper drew from ethics and social science qualitative study called MIST-ETHICS embedded within the MIST studies. MIST-ETHICS aimed to describe and understand the experiences, perceptions and ethical considerations of the MIST studies. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion. A total of 46 participants participated in MIST-ETHICS .</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three major themes emerged: experiences and perceptions of MIST, reasons for joining MIST, and ethical considerations. We found that although compensation was a motivation for participation, this was secondary to it being beneficial to self (health checks; link to health networks; building merit) and others (medical research contribution; altruism). Participants expressed varied opinions regarding the requirement of a university degree as one of the inclusion criteria for MIST.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our study revealed widespread concerns about long-term health effects and safety. Ethical considerations, including obtaining valid informed consent and ensuring participant inclusivitiy, were deem essential. Despite some debate regarding eligibility criteria, most participants agreed that the informed consent process was robust, accompanied by a strong sense of responsibility to contribute to the greater good. We emphasize the importance of continuously gathering participants' feedback for quality control, such as improving information materials to clarify the purpose of initial phases, their contributing to later phases, and the rationale behind each selection criterion.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>This manuscript is part of the clinical trials registered under ClinicalTrials.gov IDs NCT04083508 (MIST1) registered on 5 Sep 2019 and NCT05071079 (MIST2) registered on 28 July 2021. However, the manuscript pertains to a qualitative study that does not require trial registration.</p>","PeriodicalId":55348,"journal":{"name":"BMC Medical Ethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"14"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11773921/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143060783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Shared decision-making between patients and healthcare providers at rural health facilities in Eastern Uganda: an exploratory qualitative study.","authors":"Ranga Solomon Owino, Olivia Kituuka, Paul Kutyabami, Nelson K Sewankambo","doi":"10.1186/s12910-025-01172-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12910-025-01172-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Shared decision-making in healthcare is a collaborative process where patients are supported to make informed decisions according to their preferences. Healthcare decisions affect patients' lives which necessitates patients to participate in decisions concerning their health. This study explored experiences and ethical issues related to shared decision-making in a rural healthcare setting.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An exploratory qualitative study was conducted at Budumba Health Centre III and Butaleja Health Centre III in rural Eastern Uganda. In this study, 23 in-depth interviews were conducted among 12 healthcare providers and 11 patients. Data was analyzed thematically using NVivo-12 plus software.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four themes emerged which included: Paternalistic cultures of care, challenges, strategies for improvement, and ethical issues. Patients at both facilities expressed the need to be involved in decision-making processes. However, many stressed that they are not engaged in decision-making about their health. Many healthcare providers noted that shared decision-making could improve patient prognosis but are faced with challenges related to low male involvement and the influence of cultural and religious practices, including myths and patriarchal attitudes which impact effective patient engagement. Ethical issues identified include concerns about informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, deception, and harm.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study highlighted the need for better sensitization of patients and comprehensive training for healthcare providers to minimize and resolve ethical issues that emerge during shared decision-making processes. Therefore, targeted interventions are needed to enhance decision-making processes in rural healthcare including but not limited to developing shared decision-making manual and continuous training of healthcare providers to ethically engage patients. Further research is needed to explore larger facilities with a bigger scope including patients under 18 years of age and and their surrogates.</p>","PeriodicalId":55348,"journal":{"name":"BMC Medical Ethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"13"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11773793/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143054338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aesthetic dentistry and ethics: a systematic review of marketing practices and overtreatment in cosmetic dental procedures.","authors":"Masoumeh Rostamzadeh, Farshad Rahimi","doi":"10.1186/s12910-025-01169-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12910-025-01169-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The increasing societal emphasis on physical appearance, particularly influenced by social media, has led to a significant rise in demand for aesthetic dentistry procedures. This study aims to explore the ethical dimensions of marketing practices and the phenomenon of overtreatment in cosmetic dental procedures, highlighting the implications for patient care and professional integrity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic literature review was conducted across four databases, yielding an initial 76 articles. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 articles were selected for analysis. The review focused on ethical considerations, marketing practices, and overtreatment in aesthetic dentistry, employing narrative synthesis to extract relevant data.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The findings indicate that social media is a primary driver of patient expectations, often prioritizing aesthetic outcomes over health considerations. This trend raises ethical concerns about informed consent and autonomy. The commodification of dental care, fueled by aggressive marketing strategies, has resulted in a notable increase in overtreatment, where unnecessary procedures are performed to satisfy commercial pressures and idealized beauty standards. The review highlights a lack of robust ethical guidelines governing marketing practices in aesthetic dentistry, exacerbating these issues.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study underscores the urgent need for clear ethical frameworks to guide dental practitioners in balancing patient welfare with business interests. Recommendations include the implementation of ethics education in dental curricula, the development of comprehensive ethical guidelines, and fostering open communication between practitioners and patients. These measures are essential for enhancing informed decision-making and ensure that patient care remains the priority in aesthetic dentistry.</p>","PeriodicalId":55348,"journal":{"name":"BMC Medical Ethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"12"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11770913/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143054324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ethical issues raised in the care of the elderly during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and possible solutions for the future: a systematic review of qualitative scientific literature.","authors":"Mohamed Amine Bouchlaghem, Zoé Estey-Amyot, Erika Ethier, Miruna Anohim, Marie-Laurence Ouellet-Pelletier, Lyse Langlois, Félix Pageau","doi":"10.1186/s12910-024-01149-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12910-024-01149-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic has led governments worldwide to make ethically controversial decisions. As a result, healthcare professionals are facing several ethical dilemmas, especially in terms of healthcare services provided to senior citizens. Thus, the aim of this review is to identify and categorize ethical dilemmas as well as propose solutions regarding health care services for elderly individuals.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A qualitative systematic review of the literature was undertaken in the first tier of the pandemic. All identified scientific and editorial articles published in English or French between December 2019 and October 2021 were included. An article was excluded if it was commercial, did not address an issue in the care of the elderly or present any qualitative data. Article eligibility was determined through a process of triangulation among three independent reviewers.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Initially, 69 articles met our inclusion criteria and were selected for this review. These studies can be divided into 2 distinct categories: scientific articles (17 studies) and expert opinion articles (52 articles). However, due to the large quantity of qualitative data that was extracted, only the results from the scientific literature are presented here. The analysis of the data of 17 studies has allowed the emergence of 2 main themes of ethical dilemmas: 1) access to care (3 subthemes: A) triage decisions for admission, B) access to the intensive care unit and C) vaccine allocation) and 2) infection control decisions (2 subthemes: (D) isolation and E) autonomy). Our results also revealed 4 categories of potential solutions to the encountered ethical dilemmas, namely, optimal protocols, enhanced communication, caregiver support and technological assistance (virtual team-based, AI).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The ethical dilemmas that emerged from our results highlight the interest of a serious international discussion around the phenomena of ageism and its potential ethical implications for health care workers (be it under normal circumstances or exceptional circumstances such as those of a pandemic). We highly recommend that future research be undertaken to test the efficacy of the proposed solutions in providing age-friendly, dilemma-free health care and environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":55348,"journal":{"name":"BMC Medical Ethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"10"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11763134/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143043420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lay views in Southern France of the acceptability of refusing to provide treatment because of alleged futility.","authors":"María Teresa Muñoz Sastre, Paul Clay Sorum, Etienne Mullet","doi":"10.1186/s12910-025-01171-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12910-025-01171-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>To carry out a detailed study of existing positions in the French public of the acceptability of refusing treatment because of alleged futility, and to try to link these to people's age, gender, and religious practice.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>248 lay participants living in southern France were presented with 16 brief vignettes depicting a cancer patient at the end of life who asks his doctor to administer a new cancer treatment he has heard about. Considering that this treatment is futile in the patient's case, the doctor refuses to prescribe it. The vignettes were composed by systematically varying the level of four factors: likelihood of a positive effect, painfulness to the patient of the treatment, cost of the treatment, and attitude of the family.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Five main positions were identified. For 10%, refusing treatment was almost never acceptable. 35% judged acceptability in line with the level of painfulness. 19% judged acceptability consistent with an interaction between the painfulness of treatment and likelihood of positive effect. For 30% it was either almost always acceptable or always acceptable. 5% did not take a position.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A range of positions regarding the acceptability of refusing to provide treatment on the basis of perceived futility was observed. These positions have been analyzed in terms of what physicians and medical ethicists would see as the four principles of medical ethics. This description of lay people's positions in terms of the principles of medical ethics present clinicians with a conceptual tool to improve communication and shared decision making.</p>","PeriodicalId":55348,"journal":{"name":"BMC Medical Ethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"11"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11762517/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143043421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Students' attitudes toward euthanasia and abortion: a cross-cultural study in three Mediterranean countries.","authors":"Ivana Tutić Grokša, Ana Depope, Tijana Trako Poljak, Igor Eterović, Toni Buterin, Robert Doričić, Mariana Gensabella, Maria Laura Giacobello, Josip Guć, Eleni Kalokairinou, Željko Kaluđerović, Iva Rinčić, Ivana Zagorac, Miltiadis Vantsos, Amir Muzur","doi":"10.1186/s12910-025-01167-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12910-025-01167-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Abortion and euthanasia are still one of the greatest bioethical challenges. Previous studies have shown that there are differences in attitudes towards these issues depending on socio-demographic characteristics and socio-cultural environment (country of residence). As part of the scientific research project EuroBioMed, we compared the attitudes of students from three Mediterranean countries towards abortion and euthanasia and examined them from the perspective of Mediterranean bioethics.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A pen-to-paper survey was conducted on a convenient sample of students (N = 1097) from five universities and four fields of study (Medicine, Law, Theology and Philosophy) in Croatia, Greece and Italy to investigate their attitudes towards abortion and euthanasia. Three hypotheses were tested using t-test and ANOVA for differences in attitudes according to country, field of study, year of study, gender, religiosity, political orientation, financial status, and size of place of residence.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>While attitudes towards abortion were not statistically significantly different between students from different countries, the analysis showed that students from Italy had more liberal attitudes towards euthanasia. Theology students had more conservative attitudes towards both abortion and euthanasia, while there were no differences between the other groups. Women, final year students, non-religious and politically left-oriented students had more liberal attitudes.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results provided an insight into students' attitudes towards abortion and euthanasia. Knowledge of the attitudes of these future experts can be valuable for the discussion of these issues. These results also provided a basis for a better understanding of the construct of Mediterranean bioethics.</p>","PeriodicalId":55348,"journal":{"name":"BMC Medical Ethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"9"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11756114/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143029987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Compliance with research participant protection guidelines by Nigerian medical journals.","authors":"Adaora A Onyiaorah, Euzebus C Ezugwu","doi":"10.1186/s12910-025-01168-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12910-025-01168-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Stakeholders in medical research have roles in ensuring that research participants are protected. Medical journals play gatekeeping roles in the responsible conduct of research. They help guard against the publication of findings of unethical research, such as those with compromised participant welfare. Nigerian medical journals are being created to support the growing number of research enterprises. In this study, we aimed to determine the compliance of Nigerian medical journals with guidelines on research participant protection.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of Nigerian medical journals and articles. We used a checklist to obtain information on journal characteristics and the presence of recommendations from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) on the protection of research participants in the journal instructions to authors and articles. The data were analysed via IBM SPSS version 23.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We studied 40 journals and 350 journal articles. Thirty-one (77.5%) journals required ethical approval and the Declaration of Helsinki statement in their instructions to the authors, while informed consent was present in 26 (65.0%) journals; 6 (15.0%) journals had no participant protection guidelines. Forty-one (11.7%) articles complied with all three recommendations on research participant protection, whereas 60 (17.1%) articles did not. Ethical approval was most common in 268 (76.6%) articles, whereas it was least common in statements on the Declaration of Helsinki in 50 (14.3%) articles. The presence of participant protection recommendations in instructions to authors was not associated with compliance with these recommendations in published articles (p > 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although there is fairly good compliance of Nigerian medical journals with research participant protection recommendations, there are still gaps, which highlight the need for remedial measures.</p>","PeriodicalId":55348,"journal":{"name":"BMC Medical Ethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"8"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11753085/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143025356","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}