Informed Consent
Informed consent simply put is the ongoing agreeement by an individual to receive treatment, undergo procedures or participate in research after risks , the benefits of the procedure and the alternatives have thoroughly been discussed and understood by the parties involved.
The prinicples and process of acquring this informed consent is the same for all participants with the exception of special circumstances. There are times when it is not at all possible to receive informed consent of participants before the actual research activity begins. On a whole informed consent is supported by legal and ethical frameworks.
The entire process of obtianing informed consent has to be independently informed , approved and scrutinised. It is by and large at the heart of ethical research. Researchers are expected to make the appropriate arrangements to obtain informed consent from the participants involved. Diversity has to be respected when going about the process of getting informed consent.
The factors which have to be taken into account are as follows : the ethnic background, gender, disabilities (if there are any ), religious beliefs, culture, language and level of understanding of the participant. It is unknown what the effects of these listed factors may or may not have an effect on the participant , so it is imperative that the researcher be extremely sensitive or mindful whilst going through the process of gaining consent.
Where invasisve procedures are concerned, the process of gaining informed consent is a legal requirement. If procedures of this nature are undertaken without the full inderstanding of the participants awareness, legal action could be the end result.
This in effect would go against the chief investigator or researcher. In the United Kingdom there are three requirements that need to be satisified before a potential research participant can be given informed consent. It has to be given by someone with the mental capacity to do so, there needs to be sufficient information and this information has to be fully understood by the participant involved and finally , the consent has to be freely given.
Thanks to the data protection act, it is established that personal information should not be used for the purposes of research without the say so or approval of the individual. The only exception to this is, situations deemed by the State to be in the best interest of the patients and public at large.