Bioethics

The specific interests of students are identified and addressed through library research and/or field work, tutorials, and case discussions. Permission of the instructor is required.

This course examines the responsible and ethical conduct of research and prepares students to participate i n research that protects the rights and welfare of subjects. The course material presents basic concepts, principles, and issues related to the protection of research participants. Students will study independently and also attend workshops on the Institutional Review Board (JRB) procedures and social justice. This course provides an introduction to biomedical research with a focus on the protection of hu ma n subjects. Historic and current information on regulatory and ethical issues important to the conduct of research involving human subjects will be covered . The course will also cover the principles of data protection, focusing on the healthcare-related privacy and information security requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Additionally, students will explore themes related to social justice and health equity. The course will examine how population health is influenced by social and economic conditions of environments where people are born, live and work .

This course orients students to the MSc in Bioethics (MScB) programme and introduces foundational content and skills. Course activities nurture critical thinking about fundamental topics (scientific integrity, the responsible conduct of research, and the bioethics principles and theories) while facilitating student-student and studentfaculty communication that builds relationships that will support student learning throughout the programme. Instructional activities using the online learning platform provide experience using technologies and software essential to the programme and that are unfamiliar to students. During the course students strengthen their communication and critical thinking skills through intensive discussion of the responsible conduct of research (RCR) and the technology, methodology and history of bioethics and research ethics. Students apply methods of bioethical analysis to cases and articulate regional, national, international concerns involving bioethics. The course provides foundational knowledge, skills, relationships, and opportunities to enhance critical thinking; and initiates the programs' spiral curriculum which reinforces and strengthens students' knowledge and skills by distance learning.

This 3 credit course is unique in focusing exclusively on the responsible conduct of research (commonly referred to by the acronym RCR). Through asynchronous interactive online sessions, videos lectures, and case studies, students explore the roles and responsibilities of researchers, IRBs, LACUCs, and institutions, governments, and regulatory bodies involved in research. Topics addressed include scientific integrity and the ethics of research design, data management, peer review, scientific misconduct, and others. RCR involves education about all aspects of the research endeavor and all fields of research as well as the promotion and adjudication of misconduct. Knowledge and understanding of these issues, and skills with which to critically analysis cases from the perspective of different guidelines and frameworks, are essential to develop expertise in bioethics. The critical thinking and communication skills obtained in this course will be useful to students in any discipline or profession.