Ethical Considerations for Research on Housing-Related Health Hazards Involving Children

Ethical Considerations for Research on Housing-Related Health Hazards Involving Childrenexplores the ethical issues posed when conducting research designed to identify,understand, or ameliorate housing-related health hazards among children. Suchresearch involves children as subjects and is conducted in the home and in communities. It is often conducted with children in low-income families given the disproportionateprevalence of housing-related conditions such as lead poisoning, asthma,and fatal injuries among these children. This book emphasizes five key elements toaddress the particular ethical concerns raised by these characteristics: involving theaffected community in the research and responding to their concerns; ensuring thatparents understand the essential elements of the research; adopting uniform federalguidelines for such research by all sponsors (Subpart D of 45 CFR 46); providing guidanceon key terms in the regulations; and viewing research oversight as a system withimportant roles for researchers, IRBs and their research institutions, sponsors and regulatorsof research, and the community.