Redman Barbara, Caplan Arthur
Division of Medical Ethics, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA,
Sci Eng Ethics. 2015 Aug;21(4):813-9. doi: 10.1007/s11948-014-9570-8. Epub 2014 Jun 17.
Whistleblowers remain essential as complainants in allegations of research misconduct. Frequently internal to the research team, they are poorly protected from acts of retribution, which may deter the reporting of misconduct. In order to perform their important role, whistleblowers must be treated fairly. Draft regulations for whistleblower protection were published for public comment almost a decade ago but never issued (Dahlberg 2013). In the face of the growing challenge of research fraud, we suggest vigorous steps, to include: organizational responsibility to certify the accuracy of research including audit, required whistleblower action in the face of imminent or grave harm to subjects, strengthened legal protections against retaliation including prompt enactment of Federal whistleblower protections and consideration of criminalizing the most egregious cases of research misconduct.
举报人在研究不当行为指控中作为投诉人仍然至关重要。他们通常来自研究团队内部，却缺乏对报复行为的有效保护，这可能会阻碍不当行为的举报。为了发挥其重要作用，举报人必须得到公平对待。近十年前就已发布举报人保护条例草案以供公众评论，但从未正式颁布（达尔伯格，2013年）。面对研究欺诈日益严峻的挑战，我们建议采取有力措施，包括：组织有责任通过审计等方式确保研究的准确性；在受试者面临迫在眉睫或严重伤害时，举报人必须采取行动；加强针对报复行为的法律保护，包括迅速颁布联邦举报人保护法，并考虑将最恶劣的研究不当行为定为犯罪。
