Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Essentials, Inc
Ethical Concepts in Case
Report Writing
Beth Vowell, PT, MPH, Ed.D
In This Course We Will Learn and
Review:
o Standards of Research Writing
o Human Subjects Research /Institutional
Review Boards
o Accomplishing Research and Report Writing
with Fairness
o Accomplishing Research and Report Writing
with Accuracy
o Legal Implications and Other Consequences
Why Is an Ethical Writing Course
Needed?
There is considerable variation world‐wide with levels
of ethical training, ethical practices and ethical
standards
New technology
Even experienced writers are often unaware of ethical
standards in writing
A clear understanding and practice of ethical
standards can improve the quality of a case study
To prevent misunderstandings that could prevent
capstone completion, graduation or publication
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Developing Our Own
Personal Standard
For Writing a Fair,
Accurate and
Ethical Report Is
Problematic
Some Basic Ethical Problems
• 1‐Ethical principles vary with backgrounds in
religion and culture
Some Basic Ethical Problems
• 2‐Ethical principles vary
widely with application
(for example when
business ethics are
compared to medical
ethics)
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Some Basic Ethical Problems
• 3‐Gray Areas?
4. The Problem With Relativism
Our pluralistic society is accepting and tolerant
of many types of cultures, religious views and
other practices
There is a general idea leads us to believe that
societal standards cannot be agreed upon
By extension, there is a tendency to believe that
medical and research ethics cannot be agreed
upon.
Can Ethics Be Defined?
Doing the Right Thing ?
Right Thing for Whom?? Me? You???
Right for the Most People???
Do No Harm?
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Who Loses When Research and
Writing is Unsound or Unethical?
Me the writer?
The patient/subject?
The physical therapy community at large?
Case and Point
In 1998 Dr Andrew Wakefield
authored report that linked
MMR vaccine and autism in
BMJ
12 years later paper
retracted and Dr. Wakefield
lost his medical license for
falsifying data
As result vaccine rate is
down and disease rate is up
Godlee F et al. BMJ 2011;342:bmj.c7452
The Ethical Bar for Medical Research Writing is
Very High
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Autonomy ‐patients have the right to make
informed choices about healthcare including
choice to be involved in a research study or case
report.
Justice ‐must uphold existing laws and shared
resources for all patients
Beneficence‐all treatment provided should have
the intent of doing good for the patient involved.
Non‐maleficence – “Do no harm”‐ Requires that a
procedure does not harm the patient involved or
others in society.
Working Definition of Research Ethics
Ethics in human research is about recognizing a
clear duty towards our patient not only to
protect them from harm, but to reason, make
choices and conduct ourselves with the patient’s
best interest in mind.
Important Principles for Research and
Writing
Patient Should Not Be Harmed
We Should Not Lie or Exaggerate What
Happened When Writing the Case
Report
We Should Not Mislead Patients
We Should Provide Informed Consent
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Important Principles For Research and
Writing
Right to Confidentially and
Privacy
Written Informed Consent for
Research
Right to Refuse to Participate in
Treatment and /or Research
Process
Respect Religious Wishes
Rewards Generally Not Acceptable
Plagiarism
Nearly 70% of American Students Admit to It
(Quan: The Ottawa Citizen 16 Feb. 2001)
Test Your Own Knowledge of Plagiarism
https://www.indiana.edu/~tedfrick/plagiarism/
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Legal Implications and Consequences
Harming the Patient
Delay or Eliminate Possibility of Graduation
Loss of Publication Potential
Loss of Peer Respect
Civil Damages
Human Subjects Research and
Institutional Review Boards
Fairness and Accuracy In Research and
Writing
1. Use multiple sources
2. Use only full‐text articles
3. Present both sides
4. Literature review should be broad
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Frequently Asked Questions
What if my patient drops out ?
What if my patient is non‐compliant?
What if I forgot to do something really
important?
What if my outcomes are subjective?
What is my results don’t match my initial
hypothesis?
I have already started my case report have
been collecting data about my patient but I
never got informed consent. What should I
do now?
References/Resources
APTA Code of Ethics, American Physical Therapy
Association, July 2010.
The Belmont Report. US Dept. of Health and Human
Services 1979.
http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/belmo
nt.html. accessed October 5, 2012
McEwen, Irene. Writing Case Reports 2nd edition. APTA
2001
HIPPA ( The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996) http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/ accessed
OPctober 10, 2012
References/Resources
University of Montana Plagiarism Resources
http://libguides.lib.umt.edu/content.php?pid=3
860&sid=22703
University of Montana Writing Resources
http://www.umt.edu/writingcenter/instructors/
resourcesforteaching.php
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Resources/References
• Images/art used under PowerPoint 2010
licensed agreement with Microsoft
Corporation‐used with permission from
Microsoft.
Time For Your Exam!
Good Luck!