Research Ethics in Humanitarian Crises

AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Dana Howard, Center for Bioethics, The Ohio State University, United States, howard.1146@osu.eduConversations About Research Ethics (CARE) is a year-long series of faculty-led conversations at The Ohio State University related to the ethical issues that arise from engaging in research. This CARE panel will discuss the distinctive challenges of conducting research during and after humanitarian crises. Disasters and conflicts lead to crises that call for humanitarian responses. How can we know that the type of response being provided is actually effective, timely, and the best use of the available resources? To answer these questions, there has been a recent drive for more research and other evidence-generating activities related to humanitarian aid. But research related to humanitarian aid often involve human participants and thus raise ethical issues of their own. Among the questions we will discuss: How can such research avoid exploitation? What counts as good evidence of efficacy? What sort of risks can we expect research participants to sign up for? Is informed consent possible? Are there conditions under which research is not appropriate and the sole priority should be providing aid? The panel will feature Dr. Veena Pillai (Dhi Consulting and Training, Malaysia). Combining her medical license, research, and interests in humanitarian work, Dr. Pillai works with refugees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She is affiliated with the University of Malaya through various research projects, and she was a past Global Health Equity Scholar (GHES). She will be joined by Erin Lin (Political Science, The Ohio State University) and Marcel Yotebieng (College of Public Health, The Ohio State University)