Bioethics as a Dynamic Issue: Holistic Approaches to Understanding and Applying Ethics to Study Design

Anthropologists have challenged bioethicists to incorporate more holistic approaches to applying ethics in real-world situations. Where bioethicists tend to use systematic philosophical approaches to moral dilemmas, anthropologists apply malleable approaches designed to be responsive to variable cultural contexts. For example, in decision making anthropologists emphasize the importance of community and the effects of social issues, political economy, and cultural tradition. This difference in approaches contributes to the contentious relationship between anthropologists and bioethicists. Despite nuanced perspectives, anthropologists have not enjoyed a durable role in shaping contemporary bioethics. This lack of nuance becomes problematic when researchers attempt to reconcile ethical issues against a rigid standard of morality, rather than what Patricia Marshall defines as a “culturally constituted and continually evolving” process. Reflecting on the institutional review board (IRB) review of the author’s work with African descendants in the United States and Nigeria, this discussion covers the importance of conceptualizing bioethics as a dynamic issue, especially when working with communities abroad. Comparing these review processes reveals the organizational structures, influenced by culture and society, that impact decision making in respective communities. This contribution to the special issue suggests that a focus on how IRB reviews are done can also offer insights and contextualization into community decision making. Within a cross-cultural setting, considerations of the IRB review processes can lead to more informed conversations on bioethics and can aid researchers in applying more holistic approaches to study design.