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Schonfeld TL, Brown JS, Amoura NJ, Gordon BG. Strength through Structure: Defending a Structured Approach to Contraceptive Mandates in Clinical Research. Ethics Hum Res 2019; 41:33-35. [PMID: 31108572 DOI: 10.1002/eahr.500018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Joseph S Brown
- Professor of psychology at the University of Nebraska Omaha
| | - N Jean Amoura
- Associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center
| | - Bruce G Gordon
- Assistant vice chancellor for regulatory affairs at the University of Nebraska Medical Center
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Sullivan KA, Little MO, Rosenberg NE, Zimba C, Jaffe E, Gilbert S, Coleman JS, Hoffman I, Mtande T, Anderson J, Gross MS, Rahangdale L, Faden R, Lyerly AD. Women's views about contraception requirements for biomedical research participation. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0216332. [PMID: 31067273 PMCID: PMC6505940 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The scientific and ethical importance of including women of reproductive age in biomedical research is widely acknowledged. Concerns about preventing fetal exposure to research interventions have motivated requirements for contraception among reproductive aged women in biomedical studies-often irrespective of risks and benefits or a woman's actual potential for pregnancy, raising important questions about when such requirements are appropriate. The perspectives of women themselves on these issues are largely unexplored. We conducted 140 interviews, 70 in the U.S. and 70 in Malawi, with women either living with or at-risk for HIV, exploring their views about the practice of requiring contraception in clinical trials. A majority of women interviewed from both countries indicated overall support for the practice, with seven themes characterizing advantages and disadvantages raised: reproductive control, health effects, prevention of fetal harm, burden on women, deferral to authority, autonomy regarding enrollment and birth control method, and relationship concerns. While women in the US frequently raised prevention of fetal harm as a key advantage, many other positives noted by women in both countries were related to contraception use in general, not specific to a trial context. With regard to disadvantages, U.S. women tended to focus on biomedical risks such as side effects and impact on fertility, whereas Malawian women focused on the social risks of contraception requirements, including violations of trust in marital relations and suspicions of potential infidelity. Given the potential benefits and burdens highlighted, contraception in research should be sensitive to actual fetal risk assessments; directed where justified at optimizing effective pregnancy prevention; responsive to women's reproductive preferences; and made available as an ancillary benefit even where risk thresholds do not justify requirement-in order to facilitate trials that are both ethical and robustly oriented around the interests and lives of women who will participate in them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen A. Sullivan
- Center for Bioethics and Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Margaret Olivia Little
- Kennedy Institute for Ethics, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., United States of America
| | - Nora E. Rosenberg
- Department of Health Behavior, University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | | | - Elana Jaffe
- Center for Bioethics and Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Sappho Gilbert
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Jenell S. Coleman
- Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Irving Hoffman
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | | | - Jean Anderson
- Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Marielle S. Gross
- Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Lisa Rahangdale
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Ruth Faden
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Anne Drapkin Lyerly
- Center for Bioethics and Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
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van der Zande ISE, van der Graaf R, Browne JL, van Delden JJM. Fair Inclusion of Pregnant Women in Clinical Research: A Systematic Review of Reported Reasons for Exclusion. RESEARCH ETHICS FORUM 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-26512-4_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Schonfeld T. The perils of protection: vulnerability and women in clinical research. THEORETICAL MEDICINE AND BIOETHICS 2013; 34:189-206. [PMID: 23686729 DOI: 10.1007/s11017-013-9258-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Subpart B of 45 Code of Federal Regulations Part 46 (CFR) identifies the criteria according to which research involving pregnant women, human fetuses, and neonates can be conducted ethically in the United States. As such, pregnant women and fetuses fall into a category requiring "additional protections," often referred to as "vulnerable populations." The CFR does not define vulnerability, but merely gives examples of vulnerable groups by pointing to different categories of potential research subjects needing additional protections. In this paper, I assess critically the role of this categorization of pregnant women involved in research as "vulnerable," both as separate entities and in combination with the fetuses they carry. In particular, I do three things: (1) demonstrate that pregnant women qua pregnancy are either not "vulnerable" according to any meaningful definition of that term or that such vulnerability is irrelevant to her status as a research participant; (2) argue that while a fetus may be vulnerable in terms of dependency, this categorization does not equate to the vulnerability of the pregnant woman; and (3) suggest that any vulnerability that appends to women is precisely the result of federal regulations and dubious public perceptions about pregnant women. I conclude by demonstrating how this erroneous characterization of pregnant women as "vulnerable" and its associated protections have not only impeded vital research for pregnant women and their fetuses, but have also negatively affected the inclusion of all women in clinical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toby Schonfeld
- Center for Ethics, Emory University, 1531 Dickey Drive, 1st Floor, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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Schonfeld TL, Amoura NJ, Stoner JA, Gordon BG. Women and contraception in research: a pilot study. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2009; 18:507-12. [PMID: 19361318 DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2008.0899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND There are no data on women's willingness to participate in clinical trials as a function of real or perceived reproductive risk. Further, it is unknown whether the requirement for contraception or the common practice of limiting women's contraceptive choices influences their willingness to participate in research. The uncertainty about women's preferences on these matters remains a barrier for recruiting women to and retaining women as subjects in clinical trials. METHODS We developed a pilot study to determine women's willingness to participate in research with contraceptive requirements by looking at the three most common types of reversible contraceptives: hormonal contraception, barrier contraception, and intrauterine contraception. This study tested the hypotheses that restrictions on contraceptive choice impact women's willingness to participate in research and that the impact of contraceptive choice differs depending on women's perception of risk. RESULTS Women's willingness to participate in the proposed study decreased overall as reproductive risk increased. In addition, requirements for specific contraceptive methods negatively impacted women's reported willingness to participate in the research studies in our survey. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that requirements for specific contraceptive methods negatively impacted women's reported willingness to participate in research. If confirmed in a larger sample, the negative effect of contraceptive limitations on women's willingness to participate in research would be of importance to clinical investigators and to institutional review boards (IRBs), as most adult biomedical research has as an explicit goal the equitable recruitment of women of childbearing potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toby L Schonfeld
- University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6075, USA.
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Schonfeld TL, Amoura NJ, Kratochvil CJ. iPLEDGE allegiance to the pill: evaluation of year 1 of a birth defect prevention and monitoring system. THE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS : A JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS 2009; 37:104-117. [PMID: 19245607 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-720x.2009.00355.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with pharmaceutical manufacturers, have recently implemented a heavily revised risk-management program for patients on isotretinoin (Accutane), a drug with known and pronounced teratogenic effects. This revised risk management plan places significant burdens on both providers and patients in the hopes of achieving its goal of reducing fetal exposure to isotretinoin. The main focus of this paper is to discuss the burdens of various aspects of the program in relationship to potential corresponding benefits. In particular, we evaluate the pregnancy rates of women on isotretinoin therapy compared with that of the general population and the rate changes based on the risk management programs. Additionally, we investigate whether the benefits of the program for women have increased as the benefits have risen. We devote special attention to the ethical implications of the intent of the program and to an analysis of the ethical justification of the restrictions placed on women of childbearing potential (WCP) as it compares to the risk-benefit relationship of using isotretinoin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toby L Schonfeld
- Health Promotion, Social and Behavioral Health Department, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA
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McCullough LB, Coverdale JH, Chervenak FA. Preventive ethics for including women of childbearing potential in clinical trials. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2006; 194:1221-7. [PMID: 16647904 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2005.10.818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2005] [Revised: 09/12/2005] [Accepted: 10/27/2005] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We present a preventive ethics approach for including women of childbearing potential in clinical trials. STUDY DESIGN We explain the concept of preventive ethics and identify its implications for study design, the informed consent process, and study management. RESULTS We identify and address ethically significant questions for investigators and institutional review boards to address, to responsibly enroll women of childbearing potential in clinical trials. These questions concern preventive ethics for study design, for the informed consent process, and for study management. Distinctive components of this preventive ethics approach include the distinction between directive and nondirective counseling, the recognition of the concept of moral risk for women as research subjects, and the distinction between professional and individual conscience. We identify ethical considerations for physicians considering referral of their patients to clinical trials. CONCLUSION A comprehensive, preventive ethics approach to the ethical challenges in clinical trials related to the prevention and occurrence of pregnancy is essential for responsibly enrolling women of childbearing potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence B McCullough
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
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