Dauda Bege, Dierickx Kris
J Med Ethics. 2017 Jun;43(6):417-421. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2015-102858. Epub 2016 Oct 18.
The ethics of benefit sharing has been a topical issue in global health research in resource-limited countries. It pertains to the distribution of goods, benefits and advantages to the research participants, communities and countries that are involved in research. One of the nuances in benefit sharing is the ethical justification on which the concept should be based. Extensive literature outlining the different principles underlying benefit sharing is available. The purpose of this paper is to examine the proposed principles using Aristotelian principles of justice. The paper assesses the central idea of Aristotelian justice and applies and evaluates this idea to benefit sharing in research, especially when commercial research sponsors conduct research in resource-limited countries. Two categories of Aristotelian justice-universal and particular-were examined and their contribution to the benefit-sharing discourse assessed. On the one hand, benefit sharing in accordance with universal justice requires that for-profit research sponsors obey the legal regulations and international standards set for benefit sharing. On the other hand, benefit sharing in accordance with particular justice transcends obeying legal requirements and standards to a realm of acting in an ethically accepted manner. Accordingly, the paper further examines three perspectives of particular justice and develops ethical justification for benefit sharing in global health research. As Aristotelian justice is still relevant to the contemporary discourse on justice, this paper broadens the ethical justifications of benefit sharing in global health research.
利益分享的伦理一直是资源有限国家全球卫生研究中的一个热门话题。它涉及向参与研究的研究参与者、社区和国家分配物品、利益和优势。利益分享中的一个细微差别是该概念应基于的伦理依据。有大量文献概述了利益分享背后的不同原则。本文的目的是使用亚里士多德的正义原则来审视所提出的原则。本文评估了亚里士多德正义的核心思想，并将这一思想应用于研究中的利益分享并进行评估，特别是当商业研究赞助商在资源有限的国家开展研究时。研究了亚里士多德正义的两类——普遍正义和特殊正义——并评估了它们对利益分享讨论的贡献。一方面，按照普遍正义进行利益分享要求营利性研究赞助商遵守为利益分享制定的法律法规和国际标准。另一方面，按照特殊正义进行利益分享超越了遵守法律要求和标准，进入以道德上可接受的方式行事的领域。因此，本文进一步研究了特殊正义的三个视角，并为全球卫生研究中的利益分享提出伦理依据。由于亚里士多德正义在当代正义讨论中仍然具有相关性，本文拓宽了全球卫生研究中利益分享的伦理依据。
