Research partnerships between high and low-income countries: are international partnerships always a good thing?

BMC Medical Ethics

Simon D Taylor-Robinson¹  Nimzing G Ladep¹  John D Chetwood¹ 

[1] Department of Hepatology, 10th Floor QEQM Building,St Mary’s Hospital, London W2 1NY, UK

关键词: Global Partnership;    Collaborative research;    Nigeria;    Development;    International Health;   

Others  :  1207599
DOI  :  10.1186/s12910-015-0030-z

 received in 2014-10-17, accepted in 2015-05-13,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

International partnerships in research are receiving ever greater attention, given that technology has diminished the restriction of geographical barriers with the effects of globalisation becoming more evident, and populations increasingly more mobile.

Discussion

In this article, we examine the merits and risks of such collaboration even when strict universal ethical guidelines are maintained. There has been widespread examples of outcomes beneficial and detrimental for both high and low –income countries which are often initially unintended.

Summary

The authors feel that extreme care and forethought should be exercised by all involved parties, despite the fact that many implications from such international work can be extremely hard to predict. However ultimately the benefits gained by enhancing medical research and philanthropy are too extensive to be ignored.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Chetwood et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]A guide to postgraduate specialty training in the UK. 346. MMC, The Gold Guide, London; 2007.
• [2]Broadening your horizons: a guide to taking time out to work and train in developing countries. BMA, London; 2009.
• [3]Tomorrow’s doctors: outcomes and standards for undergraduate medical education. GMC, London; 2009.
• [4]The ethics of research related to health care in developing countries. Nuffield Council on Bioethics, London; 2002.
• [5]Saxena S, Paraje G, Sharan P, Karam G, Sadana R. The 10/90 divide in mental health research: trends over a 10-year period. Br J Psychiatry. 2006; 188:81-2.
• [6]Røttingen JA, Regmi S, Eide M, Young AJ, Viergever RF, Ardal C et al.. Mapping of available health research and development data: what’s there, what’s missing, and what role is there for a global observatory. Lancet. 2013; 382(9900):1286-307.
• [7]The Wellcome Trust: an unsung hero in health research (editorial). Lancet. 2008;371(9612): 531. The reference is available at: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(08)60242-1/fulltext?version=printerFriendly
• [8]McCoy D, Kembhavi G, Patel J, Luintel A. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s grant-making programme for global health. Lancet. 2009; 373:1645-53.
• [9]Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI). 2014.
• [10]Jamison DT, Breman JG, Measham AR, Alleyne G, Claeson M, Evans DB, et al. Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition. 2nd ed. 2006 Washington (DC): World Bank.
• [11]King CH, Dickman K, Tisch DJ. Reassessment of the cost of chronic helmintic infection: a meta-analysis of disability-related outcomes in endemic schistosomiasis. Lancet. 2005; 365(9470):1561-9.
• [12]Annual SCI accounts final AF web req annual accnt. 2012.
• [13]Giving What We Can. Schistosomiasis Control Initiative. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/top-charities/schistosomiasis-control-initiative [Accessed 03 October 14]
• [14]Neglected tropical diseases. World Health Organisation, Geneva; 2015.
• [15]Richards T. The great medicines scandal. BMJ. 2006; 332(7554):1345-6.
• [16]Beyoğlu D, Idle JR. The metabolomic window into hepatobiliary disease. J Hepatol. 2013; 59(4):842-58.
• [17]Shariff M, Gomaa AI, Cox IJ, Patel M, Williams HR, Crossey MM et al.. Urinary Metabolic Biomarkers of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in an Egyptian Population: A Validation Study. J Proteome Res. 2011; 10(4):1828-36.
• [18]Ladep N, Dona AC, Lewis MR, Crossey MM, Lemoine M, Okeke E et al.. Discovery and validation of urinary metabotypes for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in West Africans. Hepatology. 2014; 60(4):1291-301.
• [19]Lee K, Mills A. Strengthening governance of global health research. BMJ. 2000; 321:775-6.
• [20]Edejer TT. North–south research partnerships: the ethics of carrying out research in developing countries. BMJ. 1999; 319(7207):438-41.
• [21]Benatar S. Reflections and recommendations on research ethics in developing countries. Soc Sci Med. 2002; 54:1131-41.
• [22]Fund TG. Making a difference: sub-Saharan Africa. regional results report 2011. The Global Fund, Geneva; 2011.
• [23]The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Fourth Replenishment (2014–2016). Update on Results and Impact. The Global Fund, Geneva; 2011.
• [24]Aronson B. Improving Online Access to Medical Information for Low-Income Countries. New Engl J Med. 2004; 350:966-8.
• [25]Bayry J. Journals: Open-access boom in developing nations. Nature. 2013; 497:40.
• [26]Research and development expenditure (% of GDP). 2014.
• [27]2012 Global R & D Funding Forecast: R & D Spending Growth Continues While Globalization Accelerates. 2011.
• [28]Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Malawi. World Health Organisation, Geneva; 2014.
• [29]Mayor S. Doctor-population ratio grows in UK but is still short of that in France and Germany. BMJ. 2008; 336(7640):353.
• [30]Mullan F. The metrics of the physician brain drain. N Engl J Med. 2005; 353:1810-8.
• [31]World health report. World Health Organisation, Geneva; 2006.
• [32]King DA. The Scientific Impact of Nations. Nature. 2004; 430:311-6.
• [33]Costello A, Zumla A. Moving to research partnerships in developing countries. BMJ. 2000; 321(7264):827-9.
• [34]Emanuel A, Wendler D, Killen J, Grady C. What Makes Clinical Research in Developing Countries Ethical? The Benchmarks of Ethical Research. J Infect Dis. 2004; 189(5):930-7.
• [35]Magrath IT. African Burkitt’s Lymphoma. History, biology, clinical features and treatment. Am J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 1991; 13(2):222-46.
• [36]Ferguson G. The global spread of English, scientific communication and ESP: questions of equity, access and domain loss. Ibérica. 2007; 13:7-38.
• [37]Salager-Meyer F. Scientific publishing in developing countries: Challenges for the future. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 2008; 7(2):121-32.
• [38]Lurie P, Wolfe SM. Unethical Trials of Interventions to Reduce Perinatal Transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Developing Countries. N Engl J Med. 1997; 337(12):853-6.
• [39]U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA; 2013.