Theorising the 'human subject' in biomedical research: international clinical trials and bioethics discourses in contemporary Sri Lanka.

Journal article

The global spread of clinical trials activity is accompanied by a parallel growth in research governance and human subject protection. In this paper we analyse how dominant ideas of the 'human subject' in clinical trials are played out in countries that are deemed to be scientifically under-developed. Specifically, we show how rhetorics of individualism, rationality and autonomy implicit in international ethical guidelines governing human subject research are operationalised and localised. We...

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Authors: Sariola, S; Simpson, B

• Journal: Social science and medicine (1982)
• Volume: 73
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 515-521
• Publication date: 2011-08-01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.11.024
• EISSN: 1873-5347
• ISSN: 0277-9536
• Language: English
• Keywords: Physician-Patient Relations; Sri Lanka; Internationality; Humans; Research Subjects; Informed Consent; Biomedical Research; Paternalism; Clinical Trials as Topic; Qualitative Research