Ethics Without Borders 英文参考文献.docVIP

Editorial EthicsWithoutBorders ThePLoSMedicineEditors* Many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)providemedicalcareandhuman- itarian assistance to some of the most vulnerable populations on earth. Increas- ingly, such organizations are also impor- tant producers of health research, which can range from simple health surveys or interviewstudies,tocomplexclinicaltrials. There is little doubt that the results of suchresearchcanbeimmenselyvaluable. First,theymaybecriticalininformingthe scale and type of interventions an NGO may need to deliver—for example, a survey of growth among children being treatedformalnutrition[1].Second,they may provide crucial data against which the effects of ongoing events can be monitored—for example, the effect on displaced populations of access to mater- nal health care [2]. Third, they may be usedtoinformhealthpolicyatthehighest levels—forexample,studiesofanti-malar- ial efficacy among populations served by NGOs can inform recommendations for treatment regimens internationally (re- viewedin[3]). Most would accept the need for the InanarticlethismonthinPLoSMedicine on the experiences of the Me′decins Sans Frontie`res (MSF) research ethics review board[8],DorisSchopperandcolleagues discuss how the board has attempted to definewhatconstitutesresearch,developa reviewprocessappropriatefortheorgani- zation, and provide adequate protection forparticipantsinresearchcarriedoutby MSF. There is no question that the researchdonebyMSFandotherhuman- itarian organizations is done in the most difficult of circumstances—‘‘research on the run’’ as one of the moderators at a recent United Kingdom MSF research event [9] called it—and that there are ethicalreviewofrandomizedclinicaltrials, and that registration in a clinical trials registry plus proper reporting is best research practice [5]. But what about other types of research—such as the exampleaboveofanutritionalsurvey for the purposes of monitoring the growth of childrenorahumanrightsinvestig