Ethics in Nursing Research
In human research, ethical research standards demonstrate the acknowledgment of the imperative to tell the truth during research processes and the respect and dignity of the participants. Modern nursing research corrects the traditional human injustices evident in the Tuskegee Study and Nuremberg trials by utilizing best practices in human research, centered on the Belmont Report and the Nuremberg Code, among other research treaties targeted at human protection. This paper highlights the normative principles adopted from the Nuremberg Code and the Belmont report, the purpose of the IRB, and the values that are compromised when these provisions are not considered.
Principles of the Nuremberg Code
The Nuremberg Code remains a foundational documentation for ethical clinical research. This declaration was preceded by the Nuremberg trials, where medical experimentation was done on Jews and other minorities by the Nazis. The subsequent Nuremberg Code declaration highlighted ethical standards that still govern human research to date. The principles that were adopted from the trials and formed the Nuremberg code include beneficence towards the research participants, which requires the researchers to promote the welfare of their participants, informed consent and absence of coercion during research processes, which requires researchers to seek permission from the participants before conducting research processes on them, and proper formulation of scientific experimentation before its initiation, which requires research processes to be backed by evidence. These principles continue to guide human research in the modern dispensation.
One of the principles that considerably applies to modern nursing research is informed consent and the absence of coercion. Nursing researchers are required to obtain informed consent from the research participants before their inclusion in the research process (Varkey, 2020). In this respect, they should educate them on the research process, including the anticipated events, to allow them to make an informed decision on whether to participate in the research. Any form of coercion, including monetary solicitation, is prohibited in this respect. This allows only willing candidates to participate in the research study.
Principles from the Belmont Report
The Belmont Report of 1978 is another landmark declaration in human research that continues to guide nursing research. This declaration followed the Tuskegee trials, in which unsuspecting Black participants with syphilis were lured into an untreated syphilis study sanctioned by the government. The participants were told that they were being treated for bad blood and were promised goodies, such as free meals to participate in the study.
The Belmont report is an executive summary with three normative principles of human research. These include respect for human subjects, beneficence, and justice. The principle of respect for human subjects requires that researchers treat the study participants as autonomous subjects and that they enroll in the research voluntarily. Beneficence requires that researchers protect the study participants from harm. Justice requires that research participants are selected fairly and that the risk is shared equally across populations.
One of the principles that is important to nursing and adopted from the Belmont report is justice. The distributive justice paradigm in nursing research requires that in the early phases of research studies, where toxicity and safety are being measured, the risk is distributed equally (Nagai et al., 2022). This means that participants must be selected across population groups and that the composition and distribution should not be skewed toward a specific group. For instance, in research, where there is a potential for deleterious side effects, all races and ethnicities should be equally present in the study.
The Purpose of the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is integral to all research processes. It serves the purpose of protecting the welfare and safeguarding the rights and privacy of human participants. This body guides and governs research processes and can approve, disapprove, recommend modification to the research process, and even exempt a research study that falls within its jurisdiction. The board also monitors ongoing research to ascertain its conformance with the normative research ethics. It also provides training programs to researchers on research ethics and good practices in the research process. This highlights its significance in nursing research.
Threatened Values
Not putting the highlighted principles in place would threaten the nursing ethical values of beneficence, justice, and autonomy. Contravention of the ethical principles in research also threatens the foundation of biblical teachings of life preservation and the call to do good for all. As evident in Exodus, the bible condemns killing, stealing, and bearing false witness against a neighbor (New International Version, 2011, Exodus, 20: 13-16). Per these teachings, persons who subscribe to Christianity worldwide and believe in biblical teachings should not oversee or commit actions that may result in the loss of a life. Likewise, they should not engage in activities that misrepresent an action. Contravening the provisions of the Belmont report and the Nuremberg code may surmount killing someone, as coercion and not protecting the welfare of the participants may result in their death. Likewise, not disclosing to the participants the downside effects of the research process on their health may surmount lying. It is thus imperative that persons who subscribe to the Christian worldview and biblical teachings, comply with the principles of ethical research
References
Nagai, H., Nakazawa, E., & Akabayashi, A. (2022). The creation of the Belmont Report and its effect on ethical principles: A historical study. Monash Bioethics Review, 40(2), 157–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40592-022-00165-5
New International Version (NIV) – New International Version Bible. (2017).NIV Online Version – biblegateway.com. https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/
Varkey, B. (2020). Principles of clinical ethics and their application to practice. Medical Principles and Practice, 30(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000509119
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Question 
Prepare to discuss the following Discussion Prompts:
a. Describe three principles of the Nuremberg Code and explain how one of these principles is important to nursing research.
b. Describe three ethical principles from the Belmont Report and explain how one of these principles applies to informed consent, risk/benefit assessment, and/or selection of participants.
Ethics in Nursing Research
c. Describe the purpose of the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
d. What values would be threatened if these principles had not been put in place? Support your answer with a verse from the Bible. For consistency, all students are to use the New International Version of the Bible, which can be accessed via Biblegateway.com. Indiana Wesleyan is a Christian university, but students are not required to ascribe to that belief system to enroll or succeed in classes. Students of any religious background are able to address assignments regarding my
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