Ethical considerations in the conduct of electronic surveillance research.
The extant clinical literature indicates profound problems in the assessment, monitoring, and documentation of care in long-term care facilities. The lack of adequate resources to accommodate higher staff-to-resident ratios adds additional urgency to the goal of identifying more cost-effective mechanisms to provide care oversight. The ever expanding array of electronic monitoring technologies in the clinical research arena demands a conceptual and pragmatic framework for the resolution of ethical tensions inherent in the use of such innovative tools. CareMedia is a project that explores the utility of video, audio and sensor technologies as a continuous real-time assessment and outcomes measurement tool. In this paper, the authors describe the seminal ethical challenges encountered during the implementation phase of this project, namely privacy and confidentiality protection, and the strategies employed to resolve the ethical tensions by applying principles of the interest theory of rights.
Bharucha
Ashok J
AJ
Advanced Center in Interventions and Services Research for Late-Life Mood Disorders, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, USA.
London
Alex John
AJ
Barnard
David
D
Wactlar
Howard
H
Dew
Mary Amanda
MA
Reynolds
Charles F
CF
D000368:Aged; D002961:Civil Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D008318:Malpractice; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods; D009014:Morals; D019212:Multimedia; D017008:Negotiating; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics*; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards*; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D018907:Privacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States; D014743:Videotape Recording / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence