Research plays important role in the current dynamic world that is characterized by new changes and trends. Importantly, health research is associated with the high value to the society, as it can be used to find solutions to new disease trends, come up with effective and efficient public health intervention, and reduce the cost of healthcare ( Nass, Levit & Gostin, 2009) . At the same time, health research can lead to substantial discovery, the creation of new therapies, and improvement in healthcare. However, health research is associated with various ethical issues, as some researchers have been violating medical research ethics. Some of the main ethical issues involving health research include informed consent, beneficence, autonomy and confidentially of subjects, and exploitation of vulnerable groups. As a result, the paper discusses ethical issues involved in health research with respect to “The Monster Study” that was accused of gross violation of research ethics.
“The Monster Study” is a nickname that was given to the stuttering experiment that was conducted on orphans in Davenport, Iowa, in 1936. The experiment was conducted by a University of Iowa scholar by the name Wendell Johnson with the aim of finding the cause and cure of stuttering ( Ambrose & Yairi, 2002) . The researcher selected 22 subjects from an orphanage in Iowa. None of the subjects were told the true objective of the research and they ended up believing that they were receiving speech therapy. The researcher was inducing stuttering on health selected orphans. It is interesting to know that Johnson was a stutter and he was desperately looking for the cure for the disease. It was reported that the subjects were psychologically harmed and were left with emotional scars. At the same time, some of the subjects became self-conscious and reluctant to speak. The case raised a number of ethical issues and in 2007 six of the subjects were awarded $925,000 each for psychological damage.
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There were a number of ethical principles that were breached by “The Monster Study” case. First, it violated the principle of informed consent, which requires that the subject in a study should be knowing, voluntarily, and intelligently give his or her consent before participating in a study ( Marianna, 2011) . What is apparent in the case is the subjects were never given informed consent and they were deceived to participate in the study. The principle of beneficence was also violated in the case because the subjects suffered psychologically ( Marianna, 2011) . It also seemed that Johnson conducted the study to benefit himself and did not promote the welfare of the constituent as required in the principle of beneficence. In addition, Johnson unfairly targeted vulnerable people to be part of his study. The orphans who were selected because their fathers had died in the civil war and their mothers were not able to take care of them. As a result, they were institutionalized in the orphanage.
It is not clear why Johnson violated ethic principles when conducting the study. However, it is possible that he feared that the subjects would not have been willing to participate in the study if he told them the true intention of the study ( Moreno & Arteaga, 2012) . There is also a possibility that the researcher did not know that the research could have led to psychological damage. Besides, the researcher chose orphans because of their vulnerability and inability to refuse any offer, especially if it is going to be beneficial.
Johnson could have avoided or minimized ethical problems witnessed in his research if he conducted the research differently. First, to minimize the problem of informed consent, Johnson could have informed the subject about the intention of the study and provide any necessary information about the research ( Newcomb, 2010) . This could have helped the subjects to make informed decisions on whether to participate in the study or not. Johnson could have also reduced the psychological harm by informing the subjects in advance about the possible consequences of the study, as the subjects could have prepared psychologically ( Kumar, 2013) . Therefore, I was possible to reduce ethical problems in “The Monster Study”.
In addition, research always involves some emotional, physical, and spiritual consequences that may pose risks to participants, especially when it is sensitive. Due to the importance of research in the society, researchers must find ways of conducting research while the same time protecting the rights of the subjects. First, it is important for the researchers to fully understand the potential impact of the study on the subjects, as this will help them to avoid violating the rights of subjects. Secondly, researchers should train subjects on how to avoid some of the possible dangers during the study. The step can mainly help in reducing physical injuries. Thirdly, preparing subject psychologically can significantly reduce the psychological consequences of a sensitive research.
In conclusion, it is important for researchers to adhere to all ethical principles when conducting various researches. The Monster Study demonstrates that researchers can deliberately avoid ethical principle while conducting studies, which can lead to many consequences, especially to the participants. Finding ways to minimize ethical problems is essential when conducting sensitive research.
References
Ambrose, N. G., & Yairi, E. (2002). The Tudor study: Data and ethics. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology , 11 (2), 190-203.
Kumar, N. K. (2013). Informed consent: Past and present. Perspectives in clinical research , 4 (1), 21.
Marianna, M. (2011). What are the major ethical issues in conducting research? Is there a conflict between the research ethics and the nature of nursing?. Health Science Journal .
Moreno, B. A. C., & Arteaga, G. M. G. (2012). Violation of ethical principles in clinical research. Influences and possible solutions for Latin America. BMC medical ethics , 13 (1), 35.
Nass, S. J., Levit, L. A., & Gostin, L. O. (2009). The value, importance, and oversight of health research . National Academies Press.
Newcomb, P. (2010). Evolving fairness in research on human subjects. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing , 23(3), 123–124.
