Healthcare research in developing countries: ethical issues

Background: Over the past few years, companies and organizations from Western countries have increasingly used developing countries as sites for clinical trials.Ethical concerns arise when human subjects are involved in healthcare research, particularly when their culture and socio-economic status are lower than those of Western countries.Method and Material: This systematic review of documents related to ethics in clinical trials involving human subjects. Particular emphasis was placed on the developing world.Result: The most critical areas of concern are the informed consent issue, the subjectsAAC/AaAA, compensation, standard of care, and the presence of Research Ethics Committees (in developing countries) as well as the question of what happens to the research after it is finished.Conclusion: While many ethical issues remain unclear and there is always the possibility of human subjectAAC/Aa!AA exploitation, Western-funded research should be continued in developing countries. The potential benefits far outweigh the risks.