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Taking Stock of the Ethical Foundations of International Health Research: Pragmatic Lessons from the IU–Moi Academic Research Ethics Partnership

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ABSTRACT

It is a sine qua non that research and health care provided in international settings raise profound ethical questions when different cultural and political values are implicated. Yet ironically, as international health research expands and as research on ethical issues in international health research broadens and deepens, we appear to have moved away from discussing the moral foundations of these activities. For international health research to thrive and lead to the kind of benefits it is capable of, it is helpful to occasionally revisit the foundational premises that justify the enterprise as a whole. We draw on the experience of the Indiana University–Moi University Academic Research Ethics Partnership, an innovative bioethics training program co-located in Indianapolis and Eldoret, Kenya to highlight the changing nature of ethical issues in international health research and the ongoing practical challenges.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Tom Inui, Bill Tierney, Jeffrey Jackson and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on an earlier draft, and Avril Rua for assistance in finalizing the manuscript.

Support

UL1RR025761-01, NCRR/NIH (Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, EMM); 2 R25 TW006070-05 Fogarty International Center/NIH (Indiana University—Moi University Academic Research Ethics Partnership EMM, EW, DA); 1S07TW008850-01. Fogarty International Center/NIH (Building a Joint International IRB for Moi University and Indiana University) EMM, EW, DA)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University Center for Bioethics, School of Medicine, 410 West 10th Street, Suite 3100, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Eric M. Meslin Ph.D.

  2. Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

    Edwin Were MBChB, MMed, MPH & David Ayuku Ph.D.

  3. Indiana University-Moi University Academic Research Ethics Partnership, 410 West 10th Street, Suite 3100, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Eric M. Meslin Ph.D., Edwin Were MBChB, MMed, MPH & David Ayuku Ph.D.

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  1. Eric M. Meslin Ph.D.
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  2. Edwin Were MBChB, MMed, MPH
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  3. David Ayuku Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Eric M. Meslin Ph.D..

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Meslin, E.M., Were, E. & Ayuku, D. Taking Stock of the Ethical Foundations of International Health Research: Pragmatic Lessons from the IU–Moi Academic Research Ethics Partnership. J GEN INTERN MED 28 (Suppl 3), 639–645 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-013-2456-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-013-2456-7

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