Results

The Tearoom Trade Study
James M. DuBois
In the 1960’s, Laud Humphreys observed men having sex with men in public restrooms of parks as part of his dissertation research without disclosing his role as a researcher.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study
James M. DuBois
From 1932 through 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service enrolled African-American men in a non-therapeutic research study to observe the natural course of syphilis. Subjects were not told they had syphilis, nor were they treated for syphilis or any secondary problems. The study continued even after penicillin became the standard treatment for syphilis in the 1940’s and was not ended until 1972, when a public health official went to the press.

Hepatitis Studies at the Willowbrook State School for Children with Mental Retardation
James M. DuBois
From 1956 through 1971, residents at the Willowbrook State School for Children with Mental Retardation were infected with live hepatitis in order to develop a vaccine. Parents gave permission for their children to participate in this study, often because it guaranteed acceptance into the overcrowded facility.

Obtaining Informed Consent to Participate in Research from Mentally Retarded Adults
Celia B. Fisher
A researcher obtains informed consent from mentally retarded adults who maintain the legal right to consent to such decisions and permission from legal guardians when necessary (with assent from the participants). Fisher presents this as an example of best practice.

A Living Wage?
James M. DuBois
A researcher tries to determine the appropriate amount to pay participants in a study comparing psychotherapy and pharmaceutical treatments for bipolar disorder.

Family Involvement in Informed Consent
Emily E. Anderson
As principal investigator of a study on Mexican-American women and postpartum depression, you learn that many potential study participants want to discuss the study with their husbands before signing a consent form.

Trouble on the Horizon
James M. DuBois and Angela Dunn
Administrators at a rehabilitation facility for teenage girls want to report the success of their programs in a regional adolescent health journal. However, data were originally collected as part of treatment and not for research purposes, and there is risk of certain girls being identifiable.

Lack of Permission and Assent
Gerald P. Koocher and Patricia C. Keith-Spiegel
Researchers have the appropriate permissions and assent to observe playground behavior of specific children. Nonstudy children, unaware of the study, are observed only when interacting with study children and are not identified by name. The authors present this as a case of acceptable research practice.

Wrong Assumptions
Gerald P. Koocher and Patricia C. Keith-Spiegel
Researchers employ a method of passive consent in requesting permission from parents to survey their children regarding sensitive family issues. The authors present this case as an example of poor research practices.

Splitsville
Gerald P. Koocher and Patricia C. Keith-Spiegel
Parents disagree over enrolling their son in a research project using aversive conditioning to eliminate his cocaine addiction.

Paper or Plastic? From Paper Records to Electronic Database
Brian Schrag
Dr. Edwards has developed an electronic database to manage patient records. He is beginning to use the database as a research tool, but his patients have never consented to having their data used for research purposes.

Heightened Protections in Clinical Trials
James M. DuBois
A researcher recommends additional protections for participants in clinical trials that pose any risk of severe decline or relapse.