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Perceptions of the ethical conduct of cancer trials by oncology nurses
Author(s) -
BEADLE G.,
MENGERSEN K.,
MOYNIHAN S.,
YATES P.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2354.2011.01251.x
Subject(s) - medicine , clinical trial , informed consent , bioethics , perception , family medicine , oncology , alternative medicine , psychology , pathology , neuroscience , biology , genetics
BEADLE G., MENGERSEN K., MOYNIHAN S. & YATES P. (2011) European Journal of Cancer Care 20 , 585–592 Perceptions of the ethical conduct of cancer trials by oncology nurses Informed consent and subject protection are internationally mandated requirements for the ethical conduct of research; however, the monitoring of the day‐to‐day conduct of research may be insufficient for ensuring consistent compliance with required ethical ideals. Oncology nurses were surveyed about their perceptions of ethical issues relevant to cancer trials research. Utilising an investigator‐developed instrument, multi‐item scales assessed six ethical domains. Of 192 respondents, 95% or more held definite views in 12 of 15 items about patient understanding of cancer trials, informed consent and the welfare of participants. Approximately 95% perceived that patients consented freely and knew how to withdraw from a trial, and 81% perceived better monitoring of trial than non‐trial patients. However, more than 80% of respondents perceived that at times patients had unrealistic expectations of participation, and more than 50% perceived that participants sometimes did not understand the nature and risk of cancer trials. Although the conative attributes of patients place limits on the goals of bioethics, the results of this study show first that oncology nurses have opinions about ethical constructs directly linked to the daily conduct of cancer clinical trials, and second that this link warrants further investigation in order to benchmark trial conduct against the ideals of ethical research.