Title Child’s assent in research: Age threshold or personalisation? /
Authors Waligora, Marcin ; Dranseika, Vilius ; Piasecki, Jan
DOI 10.1186/1472-6939-15-44
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Is Part of BMC medical ethics.. London : BioMed Central Ltd. 2014, vol. 15, art. no 44 [p. 1-7].. ISSN 1472-6939
Keywords [eng] Children ; Research ; Paediatrics ; Assent ; Vulnerable subjects
Abstract [eng] Background Assent is an important ethical and legal requirement of paediatric research. Unfortunately, there are significant differences between the guidelines on the details of assent. Discussion What often remains unclear is the scope of the assent, the procedure for acquiring it, and the way in which children’s capacity to assent is determined. There is a general growing tendency that suggests that the process of assent should be personalised, that is, tailored to a particular child. This article supports the idea of personalisation. However, we also propose placing limits on personalisation by introducing a suggested requirement of assent starting at a school-age threshold. In some situations RECs/IRBs and researchers could reduce the suggested threshold. Summary A recommended age threshold is likely to serve the interests of children better than ambiguous and flexible criteria for personalised age determination.
Published London : BioMed Central Ltd
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2014