Value and importance of informed consent to researchers at Makerere University
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Date
2012
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Annals of Tropical Medicine and Public Health
Abstract
Respect for persons requires that research participants be given the opportunity to make
choices about what should be done to them. Many times, the process of informed consent is abused to the
benefit of researchers while exploitation and harm to the research participants may occur. In Uganda,
issues of questionable research ethics have been highlighted in the past. Objective: To determine the
Value and importance of the informed consent process among researchers at Makerere University.
Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative descriptive study design involving faculty and graduate students
in the faculties of Medicine and Social Sciences. Results: Of the 37 respondents 68% were faculty while 32%
were graduate students in the fields of social sciences, clinical and basic sciences. Mean research experience was
8.5 years. More than 70% of the respondents have had no formal training in research ethics. Only 22% of the
respondents appreciated the need for research participants to comprehend the informed consent; 38% thought it
is not always the case and in many cases their subjects do not have to comprehend, while the remaining 40% believe
that research subjects’ understanding of the informed consent process may not be necessary. All respondents
appreciated the importance of confidentiality although data management procedures were lacking by many.
Conclusion: Most researchers appreciate the importance of confidentiality, but have limited understanding of
the process of informed consent, information handling and the importance of feedback.
Description
Keywords
Importance, Informed consent, Makerere university, Researchers, Value
Citation
Ochieng, J. (2012). Value and importance of informed consent to researchers at Makerere University. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Public Health DOI: 10.4103/1755-6783.92872