Imparting Research Ethics in Emergency Medicine-A Perspective from the Developing World

Given that the ED deals with a vulnerable population, researchers must carefully conduct research with the voluntary participation of subjects. When faced with such consent problems, researchers may violate ethical standards. Institutional review boards need to be aware of EM-related research proposals; in particular, the protocols must safeguard the rights of clinical research subjects. Formal research ethics training must be provided to data collectors prior to allowing them to initiate clinical research studies in the ED. EM research has immense opportunities in a developing country such as Pakistan. The area can identify possible areas of improvement in research and healthcare. Incorporating public health into EM can create new horizons focusing on basic health issues of the country. Emergency research can identify gaps that occur while managing events such as terrorist attacks and natural disasters. EM services are in infancy with scope for improvement and pre-hospital care. Moreover, EM research has numerous risks. As Pakistan has a low literacy rate with a low understanding about research, participants may be enrolled in studies without properly understanding the rationale of the study and their role in it. As EM research is an area prone to ethical disparities, investigators enrolling patients without paying due attention to the patient autonomy and beneficence; this may create serious issues in violation of patient healthcare rights. Consent importance in EM research must be communicated to the masses of the country through print and electronic media, which are easily accessible. In conclusion, EM research is a moral endeavor. The moral lapse that has been observed in Pakistan is due to the lack of patient autonomy in EM research principles. EM research, which possesses the potential ground for novel research, could be improved if the focus is toward better training of emergency physicians.