Routledge
268 pages
The globalisation of research has resulted in the increased location of research involving humans in developing countries. Countries in Africa, along with China and India, have seen research grow significantly. With emerging infectious diseases, such as Ebola and Zika, emphasising the risk of public health crises throughout the world, a further increase in health research, including clinical research in developing countries, which are often the sites of these diseases, becomes inevitable. This growth raises questions about domestic regulation and the governance of health research.
This book presents a comprehensive and systemic view of the regulation of research involving humans in African countries. It employs case studies from four countries in which research activities continue to rise, and which have taken steps to regulate health research activity: South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt. The book examines the historical and political contexts of these governance efforts. It describes the research context, some of the research taking place, and the current challenges. It also looks at the governance mechanisms, ranging from domestic ethical guidelines to legal frameworks, the strengthening of existing regulatory agencies to the role of professional regulatory bodies. The book analyses the adequacy of current governance arrangements within African countries, and puts forward recommendations to improve the emerging governance systems for health research in African and other developing countries. It book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers working in the areas of health research, biomedical ethics, health law and regulation in developing countries.
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Governance as an Analytical Framework for Health Research Involving Humans
Chapter Three: Components of Health Research Governance Systems
Chapter Four: Health Research Needs in African Countries: A Prelude to the Case Studies
Chapter Five: Health Research Governance in South Africa
Chapter Six: Health Research Governance in Nigeria
Chapter Seven: Health Research Governance in Kenya
Chapter Eight: Health Research Governance in Egypt
Chapter Nine: Health Research Governance in Africa: Here to Stay But How Best?
Scientific and clinical advances, social and political developments and the impact of healthcare on our lives raise profound ethical and legal questions. Medical law and ethics have become central to our understanding of these problems, and are important tools for the analysis and resolution of problems – real or imagined.
In this series, scholars at the forefront of biomedical law and ethics will contribute to the debates in this area, with accessible, thought-provoking, and sometimes controversial ideas. Each book in the series will develop an independent hypothesis and argue cogently for a particular position. One of the major contributions of this series is the extent to which both law and ethics are utilised in the content of the books, and the shape of the series itself.