Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2014 , Vol 17, Issue 2
ETHICS IN GERIATRIC MEDICINE RESEARCH
Önder İLGİLİ1, Berna ARDA1, Kerim MUNİR2
1Ankara University School of Medicine, History of Medicine and Ethics Department Dalı, ANKARA, Türkiye
2Boston Children's Hospital, Developmental Medicine, BOSTON, ABD
This article aims to evaluate the research process in geriatrics from the ethical point of view. The elderly population is increasing rapidly, but there is no parallel in the amount of research concerning this demographic. On the other hand, in the light of research ethics, this group mainly represents vulnerable people and requires more sensitivity. Taking into account all these features, fundamental principles in research ethics are first considered: the soundness of the scientific project, qualifications of the investigators, ethics committee approval, informed consent, confidentiality and privacy, beneficence/nonmaleficence, and justice are evaluated. Special ethical issues in geriatric research such as ageism and research inclusion, paucity of research involving elderly people, vulnerability of elderly subjects, and cognitive impairments are discussed separately. Keywords : Ethics; Research; Geriatrics