Hasil untuk "Medical philosophy. Medical ethics"

Juanfeng He, Yalin Zhang, Fang Zhang et al.

Abstract Purpose Moral disengagement can lead to anti-social behaviour by employees in business. In the healthcare field, moral disengagement can lead nurses to make unethical decisions and behaviours that can harm patient well-being. Therefore, this paper will examine the factors influencing moral disengagement among ICU nurses with the aim of contributing to the reduction of the level of moral disengagement among nurses. Methods Between January 2024 and January 2025, ICU nurses from second-level and above general hospitals in Henan and Hubei, China, were selected as survey respondents. The questionnaire survey was conducted using a general information questionnaire, a moral disengagement scale, a moral resilience scale, and a moral disengagement energy scale, and multiple linear stepwise regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of ICU nurses' moral disengagement. Results 305 ICU nurses scored (91.40 ± 34.37) on the Moral Disengagement Scale. The multiple linear stepwise regression analysis results showed that years of working experience, whether or not they had received ethics training(16.219 p < 0.001), ears of experience (-7.673, p = 0.018), moral resilience(-18.452,p < 0.001), and moral distress (5.523,p < 0.001) were the influencing factors of moral disengagement among ICU nurses (p < 0.05). The adjusted R2 = 0.499,which explains 49.9% of the total variation, suggests that the model explains the influences of moral disengagement well. Conclusion The moral disengagement of ICU nurses is moderately high, and individualized interventions can be carried out for high-risk groups to reduce this level and improve ethical decision-making to protect patient's rights and interests.

Maryam Al-Meshkhas, Zahraa Alakrawi, Sumaiah Alrawiai

Abstract Background Informed consent (IC) represents one of the fundamental rights of patients in healthcare. An essential aspect of the IC process is providing patients with equal access to information to enable them to make the right decisions. However, failure to obtain IC undermines patient autonomy, lowers patient satisfaction, increases risks, and negatively affects the patient’s trust in healthcare providers. This study aims to evaluate the surgical informed consent (SIC) process from the patient’s perspective both for emergency and elective surgeries in obstetrics/genecology in Saudi Arabia. Methods This is a quantitative cross-sectional study. The study population included all hospitalized female patients who had undergone obstetric or gynaecological surgeries, from February 2021 to March 2021. The total sample size was 156 female patients. Results Most of the participants were married (96.2%) and unemployed (80.1%). The most performed surgery was caesarean Sect. (84%). Most of the patients were satisfied with their SIC experience which represents over 85%. No significant difference has been found between the elective and emergency surgeries. However, person-in-charge of SIC administration and the time provided to sign the IC were deemed to be significant predictors. Conclusion Based on the findings, it is recommended that physician take responsibility for the SIC administration rather than an unknown provider. It is also recommended to provide the patients with adequate time to understand the SIC. Furthermore, ensuring the availability of emotional support is critical for enhancing the patient experience. Clinical trial number Not applicable.

Hongqiang LI, Detao YIN

5G remote robotic surgery breaks through the geographical and spatial limitations, optimizes the allocation of medical resources, and performs precise surgical operations. Its unique combination of technical advantages is of great significance to improve the quality of medical services and improving patients' treatment experience. However, as a cutting-edge medical technology, 5G remote robotic surgery faces challenges in areas such as the skill level and coordination of medical staffs at both the remote and operative ends, surgical safety management, patient privacy protection, medical cost control, and legal ethics review. To fully leverage the benefits of 5G remote robotic surgery while minimizing its limitations, collaborative efforts are required from healthcare professionals, equipment operators, medical institutions, network service providers, relevant national regulatory authorities, and industry associations. Such cooperation is essential to ensure the rational application and sustainable development of 5G robotic surgery.

Prasad Iyer

Ravichandran Moorthy, Gabriel Tyoyila Akwen

Environmental ethics is the subject in philosophy that examines the moral relationship of human beings to the environment and its non-human species. It concerns human’s ethical relationship with the natural environment. The central question concerning environmental ethics is essentially – what is human being’s moral obligation concerning the natural environment? The paper will firstly provide a review of the ethical relations of humans and the environment, secondly examine how value-based education can assist in inculcating environmental ethics among learners.

Alanis Carolina Guimarães, Gabriela Boiago Dias, Thiago Rocha da Cunha et al.

As Doenças Tropicais Negligenciadas (DTNs) são historicamente associadas à pobreza, resultantes de determinações sociais que reproduzem condições de desigualdades e vulnerabilidade social e sanitária. Por meio da abordagem teórico-reflexiva, fundamentada em referenciais da Bioética Crítica, este artigo explora os determinantes e as determinações sociais da saúde envolvidos no contexto das DTNs. O estudo aponta que a partir de um ponto de vista dialético histórico-estrutural, são as pessoas nestas situações que estão primeiramente negligenciadas e, por consequência, as doenças. Discute-se que é necessário superar a abordagem puramente biomédica sobre as DTNs e atuar nas determinações sociais que a reproduzem. Conclui-se que isso deve ocorrer por meio do desvelamento da racionalidade instrumental que orienta as abordagens hegemônicas sobre DTNs, bem como do enfrentamento das hierarquias coloniais que mantém as pessoas — e suas doenças — negligenciadas.

Observatori de Bioètica i Dret

Pasquale Gallo, Joseph Tham

La progresiva medicalización de la infertilidad en las últimas tres décadas se corresponde con una creciente difusión de las Tecnologías de Reproducción Asistida (TRA), que han dejado en la sombra, casi por completo, otros enfoques más fisiológicos del tratamiento de la infertilidad, que tienen menos riesgos, son más económicos y, a la vez, igualmente efectivos. Este trabajo presenta un enfoque sistemático e integrado: la NaProTecnología (NPT), que tiene como objetivo optimizar las condiciones fisiológicas en cada ciclo menstrual, para permitir, de esta forma, una concepción por métodos naturales. Este método se postula como una mejor solución para el tratamiento de la infertilidad, desde un punto de vista que no sólo es más ético, sino que, además, es compatible con otros puntos de vistas religiosos, médicos, sociales, legales y ambientales. Los gobiernos deberían promover y financiar la NPT y, al mismo tiempo, las sociedades médicas y científicas deberían diseñar estudios para comparar de una manera justa la tasa de éxito, los costos y las complicaciones de la NPT en contraposición al método TRA tradicional.

Amanda Shen

Photo by Mikael Kristenson on Unsplash ABSTRACT Students represent a vulnerable population within faculty-led research at universities because of the incentivized extra credit option. Therefore, other forms of participation in should be offered, to ensure that their choice to undergo becoming a student participant is fully their autonomous choice. INTRODUCTION Extra credit— two words college students love hearing. As an undergraduate student, I was no different. Ranging from subjects like chemistry to psychology to political science, there was no lack of extra credit opportunities in the courses I took to fulfill my social science major and pre-medical requirements. Participating in my professors’ research studies seemed to be a mutually beneficial opportunity at first glance; I would receive a few extra points to buffer my grade in case I did poorly on an exam, and my professors would be able to easily recruit the participants they needed to churn out scientific findings. BACKGROUND Social sciences research, especially psychology research, which has been labeled “the science of the behavior of the college sophomore,” routinely includes students. For instance, 77 percent of all articles in two major psychology journals included research done with students.[1]  There is literature describing how common recruitment of students from undergraduate or medical school classes in the US is, a practice documented since the 1920s.[2] Indeed, students enrolled in the Psychology 10 course at UCLA, for example, are not just incentivized to do so, but in fact, are “required to serve as psychological research subjects for a total of six hours or write three abstracts on articles from psychology journals, or do a combination of both.” [3] Professors widely use student participants in academic research because of their accessibility, convenience, and willingness to participate. However, such prevalent recruitment of undergraduate students as study subjects poses several ethical questions, necessitating more stringent regulation. ANALYSIS Incentivizing research participation with rewards may unduly influence students, tempting them to participate in research they would otherwise not want to engage. According to the Association for Clinical Research Professionals, undue influence “implies that individuals will agree to participate in research without a rational consideration of the information provided in the informed consent process”.[4] Undue influence typically involves providing financial incentives to individuals in great need of money, but undue influence pertains to non-financial incentives as well. For instance, my general chemistry professor offered authorship promises to students who could travel to Mexico and bring back samples of alcohol served at resorts for his study, which aimed to analyze the chemical content of resort alcohol. More often, professors use extra credit as an incentive. Though such an incentive may not seem highly harmful, students who are worried or anxious about their grades are in a particularly vulnerable position and may very well fail to deeply consider the risks or implications of participating in research that offers extra credit. Especially in intensive courses that may be graded on a curve, additional credit may seem like an unspoken requirement rather than an option. This was the case in some of my undergraduate courses; my organic chemistry professor offered extra credit to students who completed writing assignments designed to measure whether writing explanations of chemical reactions affected student understanding and performance in the course. Unsurprisingly, the majority of students participated in the research study, seeing it as integral to their grades. Furthermore, students are subject to an inherent, unbalanced power dynamic between themselves and their instructors. A student’s academic or professional standing may rely on the professor, who may boost grades or agree to write a letter of recommendation. Academic faculty members are on a payroll and thus retain a primary fiduciary responsibility to teach, educate, and protect their students.[5] However, many faculty members also advance and develop new scientific and academic knowledge through research positions. In studies that have student participants, professors can experience a conflict of interest while exercising their roles as researchers and instructors. These dual roles are especially risky in a study when a student participant must divulge personal information, which is then accessible to the professor. Students ought to participate in research out of their own volition, without the added pressure of benefits and risks reflected in their grades, recommendations, or professor relationships.  It is also essential to consider the ethical principle of justice in this space and whether findings from the research using student samples are meant to be implemented in policy or clinical efforts within a broader, more diverse population. A 2010 study published in the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences found that two-thirds of subjects in American psychology research were undergraduates studying psychology.[6] This finding raises the question of how such a disproportionate sampling has impacted the effect of clinical psychology on populations who may not have similar levels of education or socioeconomic status as the average college student. In general, student samples have historically been much more homogenous than non-student samples, which often leads to difficulties in replicating findings in the general population.[7] Nevertheless, researchers have an obligation to society to produce equitable results, and their research designs and sampling methods ought to reflect that. l.     Counterarguments and Benefits of Student Research Granted, there is undoubtedly valuable research that seeks to study student populations exclusively, resulting in data relevant to student populations specifically. Additionally, critics may contend that research involving student subjects rarely poses major risks that call beneficence into question. One may also argue that research participation can be a helpful, behind-the-scenes learning experience for students to experience how to conduct research. Some studies and research designs involving students provide tangible benefits to students. For instance, studies that supplement current course material would provide valuable insight into key concepts and, thus, be acceptable. ll.     Recommendations So how can institutions and individuals better regulate and ensure ethical practices within this area which has gone relatively unchecked? First, researchers should make an effort to randomly select a diverse sample if they intend the research to have far-reaching implications. Student participants are certainly easier to obtain and more accessible, but as the Belmont Report states, “the selection of research subjects needs to be scrutinized in order to determine whether some classes are being systematically selected simply because of their easy availability, their compromised position, or their manipulability, rather than for reasons directly related to the problem being studied.”[8] Academia must seriously re-evaluate whether students are being “systematically selected” simply because of their accessibility, through additional training modules or educational videos upon hire. This isn’t to say that research should completely exclude student participation; rather, researchers should make more of an active effort to recruit a variety of participants without solely targeting students through student-specific incentives like extra credit. There are unique ethical dilemmas that arise with power imbalances and convenient sampling. Thus, research that necessitates student-specific sampling must be carried out and regulated carefully. Research incentives can still be offered, but any incentive involving extra credit should be coupled with a diverse range of alternatives that take a similar amount of time to complete. The ability to participate in and contribute to research is a privilege; working students may not be able to take time off to participate in research, so researchers should offer them some other compensated work that suits their schedules. Also, students and non-students should receive similar compensation, something impossible if extra credit is the form of compensation. To avoid a conflict of interest, professors should avoid recruiting current students for their personal research. Separating roles may also address some pressing concerns about the confidentiality of subjects, who might feel more comfortable answering research questions without the fear of having their own professor read or listen to them. A much better method for enrolling student participants is to randomly assign students who have voluntarily signed up through an online platform to studies run by professors who are not directly related to the student. During studies that use student participants, informed consent and attention to general research ethics are essential. From the start, students should be educated about informed consent and how power may alter the voluntariness of their consent. Students should also be clear about the incentives available to them, the risks of participating in such research, the ensured confidentiality of their responses, and their ability to opt-out of the study at any time. Even after the study concludes, students should be able to voice any concerns through an anonymous survey or hotline. Simultaneously, researchers and professors should debrief participants. Ultimately, these post-study efforts would increase the transparency of research involving student subjects while furthering the field of academia by identifying areas of ethical improvement. CONCLUSION Currently, most universities and IRBs have guidelines for research involving student subjects and there are various federal and state regulations protecting research subjects.[9],Yet students remain susceptible to a host of ethical issues, including undue influence, lack of justice, and the sense they would be penalized for opting out. With increased and standardized oversight initiatives such as the ones outlined above, universities can work towards ensuring a more ethical space for students to participate in and learn from the research efforts of faculty members. - [1] Burnett JJ, Dune PM. An appraisal of the use of student subjects in Marketing Research. Journal of Business Research. 1986;14(4):329-343. doi:10.1016/0148-2963(86)90024-x [2] Prescott HM. Using the student body: College and university students as research subjects in the United States during the Twentieth Century. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. 2002;57(1):3-38. doi:10.1093/jhmas/57.1.3 [3] “Sona Instructions for Undergraduate Participants • UCLA Department of Psychology.” UCLA Department of Psychology, 14 Sept. 2021, https://www.psych.ucla.edu/undergraduate/subject-pool-experiment-participation/sona-instructions-for-undergraduate-participants/. [4] Borasky, David, et al. “Paying Subjects to Take Part in Research: A New Perspective on Coercion and Undue Influence.” ACRP, 13 Mar. 2019, https://acrpnet.org/2019/03/12/paying-subjects-to-take-part-in-research-a-new-perspective-on-coercion-and-undue-influence/. [5] Ferguson, Linda M., et al. “Students' Involvement in Faculty Research: Ethical and Methodological Issues.” International Journal of Qualitative Methods, vol. 3, no. 4, 2004, pp. 56–68., https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690400300405. [6] Giridharadas, Anand. “A Weird Way of Thinking Has Prevailed Worldwide.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Aug. 2010, https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/world/americas/26iht-currents.html. [7] Peterson, Robert A. “On the Use of College Students in Social Science Research: Insights from a Second-Order Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 28, no. 3, 2001, pp. 450–461., https://doi.org/10.1086/323732. [8] Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP). “The Belmont Report.” HHS.gov, 16 June 2021, https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/belmont-report/read-the-belmont-report/index.html#xbenefit. [9] U. S. department of education protection of human subjects. Home. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/humansub.html. Published August 4, 2020; Students as Subjects. Massachusetts Institute of Technology COUHES. https://couhes.mit.edu/guidelines/students-subjects. Accessed December 2, 2021. Accessed November 28, 2021.

Agustín Ortega Cabrera

Este trabajo recoge diversas claves y puntos que sustentan la base antropológica del desarrollo humano integral, con sus aspectos antropológicos constitutivos, para un buen vivir. Se exponen y profundizan apuntes o tesis sobre estas cuestiones tan importantes e imprescindibles del pensamiento social y de la ética, de la teología y de la moral, como es la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia (DSI). Contiene también referencias y aportes del magisterio de los papas contemporáneos hasta llegar al papa Francisco.

Joseph Ali, Betty Cohn, Erisa Mwaka et al.

Abstract Background Genetics and genomics research (GGR) is increasingly being conducted around the world; yet, researchers and research oversight entities in many countries have struggled with ethical challenges. A range of ethics and regulatory issues need to be addressed through comprehensive policy frameworks that integrate with local environments. While important efforts have been made to enhance understanding and awareness of ethical dimensions of GGR in Africa, including through the H3Africa initiative, there remains a need for in-depth policy review, at a country-level, to inform and stimulate local policy development and revision on the continent. Methods To identify and characterize existing ethics-related guidelines and laws applicable to GGR across much of Africa, we conducted a scoping review of English language policy documents identified through databases, repositories, and web searches. Thirty-six documents were included and coded using a framework that contained a range of themes across five analytical categories: (1) respect, (2) beneficence, (3) justice, (4) independent oversight, and (5) bans and prohibitions. Data analysis software (NVivo 12) was used to organize, code, and tabulate information according to document characteristics and topics. Illustrative examples of policy requirements were selected for inclusion. Results Documents that met inclusion criteria spanned 20 years; published between 1996 and 2018, with the majority (58%) published after 2009. About two-thirds were denoted as “guidelines,” and slightly more than half were non-exclusive to GGR. Very few (six) country-level documents identified were specific to GGR. Requirements related to the principle of “respect” appeared most often across all documents, relative to other principles and processes. The most commonly stated ban was on reproductive cloning. Other prohibitions applied to germline editing, undue inducements in research, sample use for commercial purposes, employee mandatory DNA testing, fetal sex selection, stem cell use, eugenics, and research without public health benefits. Conclusions Enforceable policies that are indispensable to the ethical conduct and review of GGR are either deficient or missing in many African countries. Existing international, GGR-specific ethics guidelines can be used to inform GGR policy development at a country-level, in conjunction with insight from country specific ethics committees and other local stakeholders.

José Francisco Silvestre Montellano

Reseña del libro La objetividad científica y sus contextos. Traducción de Gabriela Domínguez Cárdenas, revisada por el autor. Fondo de Cultura Económica-Universidad Panamericana. México, 2019; 1 vol., 526 páginas.

Gabriel Andrade

The so-called Trolley Problem was first discussed by Philippa Foot in 1967 as a way to test moral intuitions regarding the doctrine of double effect, Kantian principles and utilitarianism. Ever since, a great number of philosophers and psychologists have come up with alternative scenarios to further test intuitions and the relevance of conventional moral doctrines. Given that physicians routinely face moral decisions regarding life and death, the Trolley Problem should be considered of great importance in medical ethics. In this article, five “classic” trolley scenarios are discussed: the driver diverting the trolley, a bystander pulling a lever to divert the trolley, a fat man being thrown from a bridge to stop the trolley, a bystander pulling a lever to divert a trolley so that a fat man may be run over, and a bystander pulling a lever so that a fat man falls off from a bridge to stop the trolley. As these scenarios are discussed, relevant moral differences amongst them are addressed, and some of the applications in medical ethics are discussed. The article concludes that Trolley scenarios are not the ultimate criterion to make ethical decisions in difficult ethical challenges in medicine cases but they do serve as an initial intuitive guide.

Michel Renaud

No Portugal actual como em todos os países levanta-se, para os especialistas de ética, uma questão transversal, de natureza filosófica. Esta questão acompanha uma grande parte das deliberações sobre problemas bioéticos da vida quotidiana; quais são e onde estão os limites além dos quais entraríamos na zona cinzenta ou mesmo vermelha da desumanização? A teoria dos limites afecta de modo singular todas as ciências. Aquí também, no campo da bioética, será possível determinar a priori os limites da intervenção sobre o ser humano? Será que tudo pode ser investigado? Quais as experiências que se tornam propriamente imorais?o autor faz uma reflexão geral e, em seguida, digite duas questões importantes na história recente de Portugal: o uso de procriação medicamente assistida e a questão da eutanásia.

Josep Terés Quiles

Aun reconociendo la necesidad de medidas para asegurar la sostenibilidad del sistema, en incluso habiéndolas reclamado desde diferentes instituciones y en la voz de reconocidos expertos en economía sanitaria desde hace décadas, no parece que las que nos llegan con estos reales decretos sean las mas adecuadas, tanto por su apariencia de improvisadas, por su imposición en forma de real decreto, sin el debido debate parlamentario en una cuestión de tal importancia, por su falta de sensibilidad hacia los colectivos más frágiles, por su imprevisión de las probable sobrecarga de los servicios de urgencias y las posibles repercusión sobre la salud pública, como por el tufillo de contaminación ideológica en unas medidas que, presentadas como necesarias para sostener el sistema, conllevan el inicio de un cambio de modelo.

José Eduardo De Siqueira

Los avances producidos por los modernos métodos de control de la natalidad y de la fertilización humana asistida introdujeron en la reflexión ética nuevos valores como dignidad personal, autonomía y paternidad responsable. Loa antiguos preceptos de sumisión a la moralidad heterogénea de la Ley Natural fueron sustituidos por una ética de reflexión autónoma en los campos de la sexualidad y reproducción humana asistida.

Dallas Ducar

On December 3rd, 2014 a Texas man was scheduled to be put to death at the decision of the state. The pendulum of time swung back and forth, only hours remained before Scott Panetti would be pronounced dead. Less than 12 hours before the State of Texas was set to execute Mr. Panetti the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of execution. This decision does not mean that this man will not be executed, but rather, that the appellate court issued a delay in carrying out the execution until the appeal is resolved.[1] In this case, the death sentence can be lifted if new evidence is discovered that will exonerate Mr. Panetti. The stay was issued after former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Texas Gov. Mark White, and even United Nations human rights officials stepped in and urged the government to spare his life. Yet Mr. Panetti's life continues to hang in the balance, with the decision resting in the hands of the appellate court and the pendulum continuing to tick. Mr. Panetti was convicted of killing his mother-in-law, father-in-law, and holding his wife and daughter hostage until finally surrendering to police. When tried for capital murder in 1995 Panetti wished to represent himself and the court proceeded by ordering a psychiatric evaluation. Psychiatrists found that he suffered from fragmented personality, delusions, and hallucinations. According to a report issued by the Texas Attorney General's Office, “The evaluation noted that [Panetti] had been hospitalized numerous times for these disorders. Evidence later revealed that doctors had prescribed medication for [Panetti]’s mental disorders that, in the opinion of one expert, would be difficult for a person not suffering from extreme psychosis even to tolerate.”[2]   Moreover, Mr. Panetti has had previous psychotic episodes. One particular psychotic episode lead to Mr. Panetti burying many of his valuables next to his house after being convinced it was possessed by the devil.[3] There is also evidence of Mr. Panetti asking for mental-health care on three occasions when incarcerated, despite the state denying any records exist.   So what happens if the court recognizes incompetency? What if Mr. Panetti undergoes mental-health treatment and shows signs of his psychological state improving? He could then become competent enough to be again eligible for execution, thus forcing him and his lawyers to choose between insanity or execution.   The United States is a country rooted in retributive justice. Does killing the convicted really make the hurt go away? Would restorative justice do more for those affected? Perhaps encouraging dialogue and reparation allow for healing and forgiveness to take place for the families and communities involved.   In this case particularly, how can one fully blame Mr. Panetti for the actions committed if he was under the influence of a brain grasping at reality? Even if he eventually is able to become competent enough for execution, should the government be killing a citizen for an action committed due to a dysfunctional organ? If we cannot blame a patient for having an arrhythmia or a genetic disorder, why is it that we can blame someone for having an altered mental status dependent on physiological dysfunction?   Instead, the United States government should be focused on restoring individuals to competency and encourage human flourishing. No human being should be given the choice between death and insanity, rather, there should be true incentive for healing. If we truly want communities that strive for justice, we must work for rehabilitation and well-being.   Murder does not simply affect those that have had their lives taken, nor does solely affect the family, the ripples resonate throughout communities and nations. Closure is a myth, these effects never end, they change our humanity and deserve genuine discussion and reflection.   For now, the decision of the appellate court has bought some time for Scott Panetti, but he, and the community at large, need more than time, we need change. Change needs to begin now. No government should ever execute it's own civilians, and especially, never come so close to executing the mentally ill. We should focus on healing wounds, not causing more.   References: [1]   http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/stay_of_execution [2]   https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/oagnews/release.php?id=4900 [3]   Ibid.

Laura Rueda Castro

Bastante se ha dicho y publicado a la fecha, acerca de las comisiones de evaluación ética que existen para evaluar las activi­dades científicas y profesionales, sin embargo, considero pertinente la necesidad de comunicar aspectos específicos de este tipo de trabajo. Aspectos, que van emergiendo en la cotidianeidad práctica de los análisis de hechos y en las experiencias subjetivas de los miembros integrantes o en las realidades locales de estas unidades evaluativas. El presente ensayo contiene una reflexión, desde la participación en las deliberaciones éticas del comité institucional, sobre la importancia del factor de interdisciplinariedad, dado entre los integrantes que interactúan en el proceso de discusión y consenso sostenidos en las comisiones. Se desarrolla una sinopsis de las funciones tradicionales de los comités y se profundiza en la riqueza que aporta de lo interdis­ciplinario al análisis de los hechos tratados en la discusión y a la entrega de productos cercanos a las realidades socioculturales de las comunidades involucradas. La discusión final, rescata el significado y el rol social que proyectan al comité de ética como una instancia de repre­sentatividad cultural. Poseer esta condición, facilita el logro de los objetivos de su presencia y contribuye a resolver las situaciones de conflicto desde perspectivas coherentes a la realidad local.

Robert Baker, Laurence B Mccullough

U. Schmidt