Declaration of Helsinki: History & Summary

Chapter 2 /  Lesson 12

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Instructor: Yolanda Williams

Yolanda has taught college Psychology and Ethics, and has a doctorate of philosophy in
counselor education and supervision.

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The Declaration of Helsinki is one of the world's most important research ethics documents
related to medical research. In this lesson, we will learn about the Declaration of Helsinki, its
purpose, and its history.

Introduction
The Declaration of Helsinki is a formal statement developed by the World Medical Association
that provides ethical guidelines that physicians and other medical research participants should
adhere to when conducting research that uses human subjects. A human subject is any living
person that a researcher obtains data from, including data obtained through interacting with
the person and identifiable information about the person or their opinion. The Declaration of
Helsinki was first adopted in Helsinki, Finland by the 18th World Medical Association General
Assembly in June, 1964.
World War II and the Nuremberg Trials
Prior to World War II, there was no internationally accepted statement of ethical principles
governing research with human subjects, although Germany, Russia, and other nations had
their own policies. After World War II, the Nuremberg Trials were held in Nuremberg,
Germany, with the sole purpose of prosecuting Nazi war criminals. There were thirteen trials
that were carried out between 1945 and 1949. From December, 1946 until August, 1947
the Doctors Trial was held, during which 23 individuals faced accusations of committing crimes
against humanity. These crimes included the horrific medical experimentation on concentration
camp victims. As a result of these trials, the 1947 Nuremberg Code emerged, which is a set of
ten ethical principles that govern research with human subjects.

Brief summary of the ten ethical principles of the Nuremberg Code.

The Declaration of Helsinki

The Declaration of Helsinki was heavily influenced by the Nuremberg Code. Like the Nuremberg
Code, the goal of the Declaration of Helsinki was to prevent human subjects from being
mistreated. The Declaration of Helsinki provided guidance for physicians who were conducting
clinical research and focused on researchers' roles and responsibilities when it comes to
protecting human subjects. The Declaration of Helsinki is seen as the first major attempt of the
medical community to police itself. It also provided the foundation for later research ethics
developments and statements.
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