Ganguli Mitra, Agomoni

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     Edinburgh Research Explorer                                      Revisiting Reciprocity in Health ResearchCitation for published version:Ganguli Mitra, A, Revisiting Reciprocity in Health Research, 2014, Web publication/site, Motley Coat: A Blogof the Mason Institute.Link:Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research ExplorerDocument Version:Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordPublisher Rights Statement:© Ganguli Mitra, A. (Author). (2014). Revisiting Reciprocity in Health Research . Motley Coat: A Blog of theMason Institute.General rightsCopyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s)and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise andabide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.Take down policyThe University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorercontent complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright pleasecontact openaccess@ed.ac.uk providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately andinvestigate your claim.Download date: 05. Apr. 2019Home About the Motley Coat SubmissionsF r i d a y ,  1 2  D e c e m b e r  2 0 1 4Revisiting Reciprocity in Health ResearchBy Agomoni Ganguli MitraEarlier this year, I had the pleasure to join the WellcomeTrust-funded Liminal Spaces Project at the Mason Institute.As Prof Graeme Laurie wrote in an earlier blog entry on"Confronting the Liminal Spaces of Health ResearchRegulation," this project allows us explore various areas ofhealth research regulation and governance. Given its broadscope, this project is also a chance for researchers likemyself to reflect upon the values of research and its place insociety.A concept that I have recently found myself revisiting is that of reciprocity, a term that playedan important role in my PhD thesis on exploitation and the ethics of globalised clinical trials.The last couple of decades have seen significant rise in the off-shoring of clinical trials,especially within the private sector, to low- and middle-income countries. My task was toexplore whether such trials, especially those in low-income countries can rightly beconsidered exploitative. Clinical trials are off-shored for a number of reasons, including largerpatient bases (and easier recruitment), cheaper infrastructure, and the research-friendlyregulatory and economic landscapes of countries eager to attract foreign investment in healthresearch to their shores.There are a number of sophisticated theories and approaches to exploitation, and I cannot dothem justice here. However, we can broadly separate them in two categories: those based onthe idea of micro-fairness or transactional exploitation (that is, the idea that exploitation is afeature of particular interactions or exchanges) and those based on an idea of macro-fairnessor systemic exploitation (that other considerations are crucial to exploitation, such as existingstructural injustices, and conditions under which transactions take place). The merits of oneapproach versus the other are still widely debated.I anchored my approach to Alan Wertheimer’s transaction-based understanding of exploitationin international research; arguing against his approach and siding with those describingexploitation in terms of structural injustices. More importantly, I suggested that such trials arealso exploitative because they do not adhere to a principle of reciprocity. It was my contentionthat health research in general, and participant recruitment in particular, are based on aprinciple of reciprocity. We are justified in asking people to put their health and interests at riskbecause the research arising from their participation contributes to medical progress and tohealth care systems that attend to their needs as patients.Off-shored trials often break this cycle by recruiting participants who do not belong tofunctional healthcare systems, whose needs are not addressed by the research agenda andwho do not stand to gain from such research as current and future patients of a health caresystem.As I look further into the values and justification behind human health research within LiminalMason InstituteOpportunity to work with the fantastic @masonInstitute team!  twitter.com/LiminalSpacesW…Retweeted by The MasonInstituteGlobalJusticeAcademy @GlobalJusticeEdExpandExcellent workshop on regulation and risk in health research with @anetrid #proportionality #autonomy #welfare #publicinterestThe Mason Institute @masonInstituteExpandPrivacy for health matters and medical records in litigation wp.me/p2DQr6-TnRetweeted by The MasonInstituteBill Madden @BillMaddenShow SummaryLiminal Spaces 18h20h20 Apr20 AprTweets FollowTweet to @masonInstituteMason Institute Twitter Feedassisted  suicide  bioethics  global health globalLabelsThe Motley Coat: Revisiting Reciprocity in Health Research http://masoninstitute.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/revisiting-reciprocity-in-h...1 of 2 21/04/2015 12:10Newer Post Older PostHomeSubscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)Posted by Mason Institute at 05:53Labels: clinical trials, global health, health, health research, patientsSpaces project, I believe that the concept of reciprocity will prove a particularly interestingavenue, be it, (among others) in assessing the global health research agenda, exploringcommunity engagement in biobanks, addressing participant-led research or guiding emergingbiomedical technology.Comment as: Publish  No comments:Post a Commentjustice  health  researchidentity medicalethics  organdonation  studentblog Simple template. Powered by Blogger.2015 (3) 2014 (8) December (1)Revisiting Reciprocity inHealth ResearchNovember (1)October (1)September (5)Blog ArchiveThe Motley Coat: Revisiting Reciprocity in Health Research http://masoninstitute.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/revisiting-reciprocity-in-h...2 of 2 21/04/2015 12:10

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Revisiting Reciprocity in Health Research

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