REACTION PAPER

THE BELMONT REPORT

SUMMARY
In 1970s, due to the unjust use of humans as a subject in research experiments such as
the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare created
a special commission that would identify the basic ethical principles that should underlie the
conduct of biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects and to develop
guidelines which should be followed to assure that such research is conducted in accordance
with those principles. Thus, in 1979 the concise summary of principles and guidelines to govern
human research which is The Belmont Report was published.
The Belmont Report defines and emphasized the 3 Basic Ethical Principles that would
guide researcher regarding use of humans as a subject in the research experiments. This
includes;
1. Respect for person
2. Beneficence, and
3. Justice.
Whereas, it has identified the possible recognitions of the risks, benefits and obligations
of a researcher towards every individual participants within the experimentation.
It sighted historical examples on conducting unjust experiments on humans for the sake
of improved medical treatment.
Belmont Report also emphasizes the applications for comprehensive ethical principles in
research involving human participants, which includes;
1. Informed consent - A critical component of respecting human participants is the
informed consent process.
2. Risks and Benefits - Assessing risks and benefits means the researcher needs to
assemble all data that explains why the research will obtain the benefits that are
sought by the research project.
3. Subject Selection - There must be fair procedures and outcomes in the selection of
research participants.


REACTION
Research as defined is activity designed to test a hypothesis; contributes to generalized
knowledge where the outcome permits a conclusion to be drawn. However, research has come
to its boundaries specially when it comes to usage of humans as the subject.
During the World War II, Nazi researchers tend to use their prisoners as their human
subjects for their researches. This either provides the subject gained the effective treatment or
have it their worst nightmare.
The Belmont Report now, correlates to the Nuremberg Code of 1949, where it held to
provide some degree of accountability for the crimes against humanity committed during the
war. In the Nuremberg war trials after the World War II, the Code helps the victims of
inhumane crimes and abusage done by the Nazi biomedical researchers be accounted. The
code had served as the guide of every regulation regarding the use of human as a subject in the
research experiments.
The Belmont Report does not only serve as a guide for researchers throughout their
experiments which includes humans as their subjects, but this report opens every individuals
eyes towards their rights once selected.
The Belmont Report gives us the idea to be more cautious in using humans as subjects.
Thus, the Belmont Report emphasizes to every researcher their obligations on their
clients/subjects. Their limitations once theyve started the experiment and most importantly
the consistency of use on the three basic ethical Principles.
Its principles emphasize a profound respect for the voluntary nature of research
participation, the idea of true informed consent, and the personal ethical responsibilities of the
investigator to ensure human welfare.
In research, respect for persons demands that participants enter into a research
program voluntarily and with good information about the research goals.
In the Belmont Report, beneficence is understood in a stronger sense, as an obligation.
As an example, the Do no harm is a Hippocratic principle of medical ethics though its
extension into research implies that one should not injure one person regardless of the
benefits that might come to others. But sometimes you cannot know that something is
harmful until you try it and in the process of trying, or experimentation, persons may be
exposed to risk of harm. The Hippocratic oath also requires that physicians benefit patients
according to their best judgment, but again learning what will benefit may mean exposing a
person to risk.
In application, as nurses and one of the medical health team, we are bound to reassure
that before any of the health team does something on the client, the client must be able to
understand the procedures needed to be done through an informed consent. Whereas, in this
proceedings, the physician will be the one to explain every procedures and the situation of the
client. In research, the Belmont Report gives the client a chance to understand and could
decide whether he shall or shall not be one of the subjects on the research experiment.
The Belmont Report is a set of guidelines, but it is also kind of a key to history as well.
Most importantly we are able to use these Belmont guidelines to see what methods were
incorporated back in time.

CONCLUSION
As to what we have seen and heard from the short film, I have come to a conclusion
that The Belmont Report is far greater than just a set of guidelines. It is a helpful key for us to
understand research better without risking lives for the benefit of others.

RECOMMENDATION
With this helpful knowledge, I strongly suggest and recommends the adaptation of the
report not just merely a publicized guidelines but be a law in the country. For we have seen that
even these days at present there were some who uses humans as their subjects that do not
care on the risks they may apply to the individual, as long as it would help them prove new
technology.






























Reacti on Paper
I n
Research
Submitted by:
Jamie D. Manuel