Being born with disability is a normal way of life and one should not interfere with the biological state of the affected person. However, doing research on the best way to help improve the lives of such people is important and ethical. Research studies help professionals to understand how to cater for the needs of those affected (Leroi et al., 2017). Conversely, it is also not ethical to do research with the aim of tampering with the biological situation, especially in cases where no remedy for one’s condition may be forthcoming.
Research is essential as a means of improving the sensory functions of the body organs like hearing and blindness, particularly blindness at birth. Disability research ethics are a fundamental part of research ethics in all studies and demonstrate a researcher’s attempt to respect the human rights of the people concerned (National Disability Authority, 2009). Virtue and deontology ethics assert that society and individuals have a responsibility to do what is good to others. Therefore, carrying out research to help people with disability is a responsibility of society aimed at improving their lives (Weir, 2011). However, research ethics that implore on the researchers to uphold respect, human dignity and one’s freedom are fundamental and should not be ignored by any well-meaning researcher. Involving people with disabilities in research studies is a fundamental part of ensuring that the research studies respect their condition and wants to help them lead better life through evidence-based knowledge. On the contrary, the argument against having research on these people is informed by the perspective that they may be exploited by researchers for their selfish gains. In addition, some may never want their condition to be taken as a handicap that segregates them from the rest.
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Conclusion
It follows that having research studies on the people with disabilities is ethical on condition that these studies are aimed at improving the living conditions of those affected. Conversely, if disability research ethics are not observed, then it will be unethical to conduct studies on these people.
References
Leroi, I., Pye, A., Armitage, C.J., Charalambus, A., Helmer, C et al. (2017) Research protocol for
a complex intervention to support hearing and vision function to improves the lives of people with dementia. Pilot Feasibility Studies , vol.3, no.38. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5594580/
National Disability Authority (2009) Ethical Guidelines for Research with people with
Disabilities; Retrieved from http://nda.ie/nda-files/Ethical-Guidance-for-Research-with-People-with-Disabilities.pdf
Weir, L. (2011) Virtue Ethics and Rational Disabilities: A Problem of Exclusion and the Need
for Revised Standards; Retrieved from https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/handle/10012/6357/Weir_Lindsay.pdf;jsessionid=3D3F40789B675BC67DC255FD6F92108D?sequence=1
