Global Health Research in an Unequal World: Ethics Case Studies from Africa

This book is a collection of fictionalised case studies of everyday ethical dilemmas and challenges, encountered in the process of conducting global health research in places where the effects of global, political and economic inequality are particularly evident. 

It is time to revise the international Good Clinical Practices guidelines: recommendations from non-commercial North–South collaborative trials

The Good Clinical Practices (GCP) codes of the WHO and the International Conference of Harmonization set international standards for clinical research. But critics argue that they were written without consideration for the challenges faced in low and middle income countries (LMICs).

The hidden side of clinical trials: Sile Lane

Around half of the clinical trials done on medicines we use today are not published; a tragic truth that needs to be changed.

Launch of Mesh: a new online platform co-created by its users and aiming to improve Community Engagement

Today,The Global Health Network launches Mesh: a new online platform co-created by its users and aiming to improve Community Engagement with health in low and middle income countries.

Preparing for and Executing a Randomised Controlled Trial of Podoconiosis Treatment in Northern Ethiopia

This study highlights the utility of rapid ethical assessment prior to clinical trials involving complex procedures and concepts.

Strengthening capacity to apply health research evidence in policy making: experience from four countries

Little experience of strengthening the capacity of policy makers in low- and middle- income countries has been published to date. This article describe the experiences of five projects (in Bangladesh, Gambia, India and Nigeria) - author available to comment!

The Ebola Virus Epidemic - where to from here...

The Ebola virus epidemic may well spread out of Africa. Dr Greg Martin takes a look at some of the variables that contribute to this risk and discusses some steps that should be taken.

Assessing the quality of informed consent in a resource-limited setting: A cross-sectional study

The process of obtaining informed consent continues to be a contentious issue in clinical and public health research carried out in resource-limited settings. We sought to evaluate this process among human research participants in randomly selected active research studies approved by the School of Medicine Research and Ethics Committee at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University.

Downloadable Templates and Tools for Clinical Research

A range of downloadable templates and tools for Clinical Research, including monitoring checklists, budget spreadsheets, informed consent forms, SOPs and so on.

Ensuring Consent to Research is Voluntary: How Far Do We Need to Go?

One fundamental ethical principle underpinning research ethics is that of respect for persons. It requires that researchers respect research participants’ autonomy, interests, and wishes, and act on the presumption that participants are the best judges of what their interests are (Nuffield Council on Bioethics 2002). This presumption obliges us to design consent processes for research that facilitate prospective participants’ free and informed decisions as to whether or not to participate in a study.

Informed Consent Templates

A set of 4 consent templates for clinical trials, interview studies, observation studies and sampling only studies.

A general introduction to Biomedical Research Ethics

This article was written by a researcher from Sri Lanka and presents a very helpful overview on Biomedical Ethics. This article will be helpful to all levels of research staff and others who might want an accessible overview

Community Engagement

Community sensitisation is a fundamental aspect of clinical trial operations anywhere in the world but is of particular relevance in the developing world. Share your experiences with other developing country researchers.

Informed Consent

The informed consent process is fundamental to ensuring that clinical trials are conducted ethically. This article outlines some issues to consider.