Ethical and Human Rights Concerns in Global Health: Key Principles and Cases

What do international conventions and treaties recognize as human rights in relation to health?

Access to health services and health information.

What is a significant risk associated with health research involving human subjects?

Participants may be put at risk for the sake of other people's health.

What are governments obliged to do according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

Respect, protect, and fulfill the rights they state.

What is the Rights-Based Approach in health policy?

Assessing health policies in terms of their impact on human rights and addressing health impacts from violations.

Under what circumstances can human rights be suspended?

During an outbreak of an emerging or reemerging disease, but should be as narrow as possible and monitored.

What are some associated issues with HIV/AIDS as a human rights concern?

Protecting the rights of HIV-positive individuals to employment, schooling, access to care, and confidentiality.

What ethical concerns arise from the Tuskegee Study?

It involved a long-term study on African American men without providing treatment, leading to regulations for human research protection.

What was the Nuremberg Code's contribution to research ethics?

It specified ethical principles for human research, emphasizing the necessity of voluntary consent.

What is the Declaration of Helsinki?

A set of ethical principles developed by the World Medical Association to guide biomedical research on humans.

What are the basic ethical principles identified in the Belmont Report?

Respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

What six conditions must a clinical research protocol satisfy?

Social value, scientific validity, fair subject selection, acceptable risk/benefit ratio, informed consent, and respect for enrolled subjects.

What challenges do research ethics face in low- and middle-income countries?

Issues include standard of care, post-trial benefits, and ancillary care.

What is a legal requirement for human subjects research in most countries?

Independent ethical review by a research ethics committee.

What ethical principles should guide the distribution of scarce health resources?

Health maximization, equality, priority to the worst off, and personal responsibility.

What is essential for fair processes in health investment choices?

Transparency, representation from stakeholders, and appropriate use of scientific data.

What are some challenges for the future of global health ethics?

Insufficient training exposure to ethical issues, lack of enforcement mechanisms for human rights, and a shortage of trained personnel for research review.

What is the ethical concern regarding the 'Short-Course' AZT Trials?

The trials were not permitted in high-income countries, raising questions about ethical double standards.

What is the significance of the International Scientific Commission after World War II?

It investigated and documented abuses from Nazi medical experiments.

What is the role of cost-effectiveness analysis in health investment choices?

It is useful but rarely sufficient for making fair judgments about resource allocation.