Requisitos éticos en los proyectos de investigación. Otra oveja negra

The ethical issues involved in clinical studies are usually an underprepared element in research proposals. This is often due to time pressures when designing projects, to insufficient importance being granted to these issues, or to an assumed self-sufficiency concerning ethical issues among researchers. The European Commission has considerably tightened up the ethical requirements for research applications to the 7th Framework Programme. Currently, once their scientific content has been approved, many proposals - and especially those involving human research - must be reviewed for ethics approval before gaining funding. The present article emphasizes the ethical aspects evaluated by Ethics Review Committees when assessing research projects and which are frequently overlooked, thus delaying approval of proposals or even resulting in their rejection. These points are crucial for European projects but should also be considered when applying for national and regional funding. In summary, researchers must pay greater attention to ethical issues from now on.