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12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243MEETING OF THE HUMAN SUBJECTS SUBCOMMITTEE OF THENATIONAL BIOETHICS ADVISORY COMMISSIONMonday, February 24, 19978:12 a.m.The Holiday Inn Bethesda8120 Wiscons<strong>in</strong> AvenueVersailles 1 Room, Mezzan<strong>in</strong>e LevelBethesda, MarylandEBERLIN REPORTING SERVICE14208 Piccadilly RoadSilver Spr<strong>in</strong>g, Maryland 20906(301) 460-8369


12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243I N D E XOPENING REMARKS AND UPDATE BY SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRAND STAFF 1CONTINUATION OF DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH INVOLVINGCOGNITIVELY IMPAIRED SUBJECTS AND BROADER ISSUESIN HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCH 6JACK SCHWARTZ, J.D., CHIEF COUNSEL, OPTIONSAND ADVICE, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,STATE OF MARYLAND 8DR. JONATHAN MORENO, HUMANITIES IN MEDICINE,SUNY AT BROOKLYN, AND HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICSGROUP, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA CENTERFOR BIOETHICS 19DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT OF THE TUSKEGEE SYPHILISSTUDY LEGACY COMMITTEE 110FEDERAL AGENCY REPORTS ON HUMAN SUBJECTSPROTECTIONS (DR. WILLIAM RAUB, JOEL MANGEL, J.D.,AND MS. EMILY FEINSTEIN, NBAC STAFF) 134DISCUSSION OF TOPICS FOR POSSIBLE PAPERS BYCOMMISSIONERS, STAFF, OR CONTRACTORS:VULNERABILITY, JUSTICE CHANGING CONTEXTS ANDPARADIGMS OF RESEARCH, COMMUNITY, ET CETERA 174VULNERABILITY GUEST DISCUSSANT--DR. CELIAB. FISHER, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTOF PSYCHOLOGY 176JUSTICE GUEST DISCUSSANTS--DR. JEFFREY KAHN,UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CENTER FORBIOMEDICAL ETHICS; ANNA C. MASTROIANNI,J.D., UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OFLAW; DR. JEREMY SUGARMAN, DUKE UNIVERSITYMEDICAL CENTER 212CHANGES IN RESEARCH 253


123456COMMUNITY 274DISCUSSION OF PLANS FOR NEXT MEETING AND BEYOND 281PUBLIC COMMENTS 288


112345678910111213141516171819202122232425P R O C E E D I N G SOPENING REMARKS AND UPDATE BYSUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR AND STAFFDR. CHILDRESS: I would like to call the meet<strong>in</strong>g to order.I am Jim Childress, chair<strong>in</strong>g this Human Subjects Subcommittee. Andthose of you who have looked at the agenda see that we have a very busyday so that is one reason <strong>for</strong> start<strong>in</strong>g as early as possible.I would like to welcome the Human SubjectsSubcommittee members, staff, and our visitors today, as well asmembers of the audience.One subcommittee member called me this morn<strong>in</strong>g,Laurie Flynn, to <strong>in</strong>dicate that she had come down with food poison<strong>in</strong>gyesterday and would have to miss the meet<strong>in</strong>g today. So she sends herregrets and a few thoughts about the first subject we will talk about,cognitively impaired subjects of research.I do look <strong>for</strong>ward to this discussion today because we dohave a wide range of important topics on our agenda and I hope we canmake progress on several of those <strong>in</strong> mov<strong>in</strong>g towards some report thatwe are th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about <strong>for</strong> the fall.Regard<strong>in</strong>g the members of the public, at previousmeet<strong>in</strong>g we have greatly benefited from your <strong>in</strong>put and if there issometh<strong>in</strong>g you would like to contribute to our discussion please sign upat the NBAC desk outside. We would like to schedule public commentsthis afternoon <strong>for</strong> 4:00 o'clock and how much time we can allow <strong>for</strong> eachperson will depend on the number who would like to speak.


21234567891011121314151617181920212223242526As you know, some changes occurred <strong>in</strong> NBAC staff. Weare all grateful to Bill Dommel who helped get us started and now he hasreturned to OPRR. I would like to welcome two members, Bill Raub, whois Act<strong>in</strong>g Executive Director, and Henrietta Hyatt-Knorr, who is AssistantDirector. I would like to <strong>in</strong>vite them to <strong>in</strong>troduce themselves more fullyand also to share with us any thoughts they have about where we areand where we are go<strong>in</strong>g, and how we are go<strong>in</strong>g to get there.DR. RAUB: Thank you very much, Jim. We are pleasedto have the opportunity to jo<strong>in</strong> you. We recognize the critical importanceof the work of the commission and are prepar<strong>in</strong>g to do everyth<strong>in</strong>g we canto facilitate its ef<strong>for</strong>ts.I will be serv<strong>in</strong>g as the Act<strong>in</strong>g Executive Director only aslong as necessary to complete the recruitment <strong>for</strong> a full-time ExecutiveDirector. We are now draft<strong>in</strong>g the position description <strong>for</strong> that. We havemade certa<strong>in</strong> requests with<strong>in</strong> the adm<strong>in</strong>istration <strong>for</strong> the authorities weneed. We have been <strong>in</strong> consultation with Dr. Shapiro and we are hopefulthat that advertisement will be public soon and we will have theopportunity of look<strong>in</strong>g at a number of candidates <strong>for</strong> that position.In the <strong>in</strong>terim, <strong>in</strong> addition to my part-time role here I haveasked Henrietta Hyatt-Knorr of the Office of Research Integrity to servefull-time as the Act<strong>in</strong>g Deputy Executive Director <strong>for</strong> the Commission.Henrietta is well experienced <strong>in</strong> these matters hav<strong>in</strong>g worked mostrecently with the Commission on Research Integrity as its ExecutiveDirector and has served with me and others with<strong>in</strong> the department as theExecutive Director of a number of <strong>in</strong>ternal groups, and so br<strong>in</strong>gs aconsiderable experience as well as her enthusiasm to these tasks, and


31234567891011121314151617181920212223242526we look <strong>for</strong>ward to work<strong>in</strong>g with you.Henrietta, any comments you would like to make?DR. HYATT-KNORR: I am certa<strong>in</strong>ly very pleased to behere and I will do my absolute best to help you <strong>in</strong> achiev<strong>in</strong>g the goalsthat you have laid out already and any other goals that will come upalong the way. I feel com<strong>for</strong>table that I am up to the job. I appreciateyour patience <strong>in</strong> the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g while we go through this transition.Thank you.DR. RAUB: May I just add a comment on the budgetfront. I know that many of your deliberations early on have been plaguedby considerable uncerta<strong>in</strong>ties about the availability of funds over andbeyond those orig<strong>in</strong>ally pledged by the <strong>National</strong> Institutes of Health. Inthe <strong>in</strong>terven<strong>in</strong>g months at the leadership of Dr. Philip Lee, the <strong>for</strong>merAssistant Secretary <strong>for</strong> Health, three other agencies of the Public HealthService have committed additional funds <strong>for</strong> a total of approximately$760,000 from with<strong>in</strong> HHS itself count<strong>in</strong>g the NIH contribution.Another $800,000 plus has been pledged by six otheragencies <strong>in</strong> other departments, that at the leadership of Dr. JackGibbons, the President's Science Advisor. The contacts are be<strong>in</strong>gestablished with those other agencies, agreements are be<strong>in</strong>g put <strong>in</strong>place, funds are start<strong>in</strong>g to flow. So it has given Dr. Shapiro the basis todo some longer term plann<strong>in</strong>g with respect to not only staff recruitmentsbut the k<strong>in</strong>d of array of contracts or other support arrangements thecommissioners might want and need as you proceed <strong>in</strong> develop<strong>in</strong>g youragenda.We have developed a prelim<strong>in</strong>ary budget with Dr.


41234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Shapiro. He is now review<strong>in</strong>g that. We are hopeful by the time of thenext commission meet<strong>in</strong>g to have that specified <strong>in</strong> much more detail and<strong>for</strong> him to have some thoughts to share with you about particularpriorities <strong>for</strong> expenditure <strong>for</strong> the rema<strong>in</strong>der of the fiscal year.DR. CHILDRESS: Well, thank you both very much andaga<strong>in</strong> welcome.Henrietta, would you like to say someth<strong>in</strong>g about justrem<strong>in</strong>d -- I mentioned to the commissioners the sheet you drew up thatwill guide us to whom we should call or place calls when we havequestions?DR. HYATT-KNORR: Yes. I th<strong>in</strong>k it is actually verymodest because at this po<strong>in</strong>t this is really all we can say because we arejust beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g to staff up. Primarily I would hope that most calls aredirected to me because I am <strong>in</strong> the office full-time and it helps me alsoto f<strong>in</strong>d out what your needs are and respond to them.Otherwise as this particular sheet outl<strong>in</strong>es <strong>for</strong> variousFederal Register notices, back up material, correspondence, responsesto <strong>in</strong>quiry, if I am not <strong>in</strong> the office certa<strong>in</strong>ly Pat Norris can answer thatand even when I am <strong>in</strong> the office you may want to talk to her directly aswell.Margaret does absolutely everyth<strong>in</strong>g as you well know.She cannot be here today because she is <strong>in</strong> the office. She isparticularly work<strong>in</strong>g on travel arrangements, reimbursements,procurements, papers, you know procur<strong>in</strong>g papers. So you can talk toher directly as well.You all know Joe Mangel and Emily Fe<strong>in</strong>ste<strong>in</strong>. They will


51234567891011121314151617181920212223242526particularly work with the agency responses on the Common Rule.And Mr. Emerson Randolph Hull, who we also call Randy.That is just about every other support <strong>for</strong> the moment. We have twoother people and a secretary at this time but they are brand new so Ith<strong>in</strong>k we first have to assign them responsibilities be<strong>for</strong>e you can talk tothem.DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you. And I noticed that RachelLev<strong>in</strong>son just arrived and there is a seat <strong>for</strong> you up here.Is there anyth<strong>in</strong>g you would like to say as we get started?DR. LEVINSON: No.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Welcome.CONTINUATION OF DISCUSSION OF RESEARCHINVOLVING COGNITIVELY IMPAIRED SUBJECTSAND BROADER ISSUES IN HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCHDR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Let's turn to the first matter <strong>for</strong>discussion today. A cont<strong>in</strong>uation of discussion of research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>gcognitively impaired subjects.We had this -- we started our discussion last time with thehelp of Bob Lev<strong>in</strong>e and Rebecca Dresser, and also a contribution <strong>in</strong> thepublic comment period from Dr. Shamoo (?) who also provided copies ofseveral papers he and colleagues had prepared.We want to cont<strong>in</strong>ue that discussion today with the hopeof decid<strong>in</strong>g by the end of our time on this exactly where we are and whatwe might do next to br<strong>in</strong>g this particular concrete matter fill<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a gap<strong>in</strong> the Common Rule to some conclusion.To help us <strong>in</strong> our reflections today we have two persons,


61234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Jack Schwartz, who is Chief Counsel of Op<strong>in</strong>ions and Advice Section ofthe Office of the Attorney General <strong>in</strong> the State of Maryland, and who hasbeen the key person <strong>in</strong> prepar<strong>in</strong>g the document that you received back <strong>in</strong>December, the Interim Report of the Attorney General's ResearchWork<strong>in</strong>g Group from Maryland, which is devoted specifically to research<strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g cognitively impaired subjects. So we are very pleased that hecould jo<strong>in</strong> us today <strong>for</strong> this discussion.And then we have Jonathan Moreno, a philosopher <strong>in</strong> theHumanities and Medic<strong>in</strong>e Program at SUNY, Brooklyn, but also <strong>in</strong>volvedwith the Human Research Ethics Group at the University of Pennsylvania,<strong>Center</strong> <strong>for</strong> Biomedical Ethics, which has prepared -- <strong>in</strong> the process ofprepar<strong>in</strong>g a document on research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g human subjects, and thedraft that we circulated earlier has several pages devoted to a possibledraft -- a draft of a possible way of handl<strong>in</strong>g cognitively impairedsubjects. I understand that is chang<strong>in</strong>g some <strong>in</strong> the report but at anyrate he will focus on that but we will also raise some larger questions.So we will start with Jack Schwartz who will <strong>in</strong>troduce --set the context <strong>for</strong> and <strong>in</strong>troduce the draft document that is be<strong>in</strong>gdeveloped <strong>in</strong> Maryland and then we will get Jonathan to focus on theissues as his group has seen <strong>in</strong> regard<strong>in</strong>g cognitively impaired subjectsand then we will engage <strong>in</strong> discussion with both of you.Thank you both <strong>for</strong> com<strong>in</strong>g.JACK SCHWARTZ, J.D., CHIEF COUNSEL, OPINIONSAND ADVICE, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,STATE OF MARYLANDDR. SCHWARTZ: Thank you, Mr. Childress.


71234567891011121314151617181920212223242526The Maryland Project began as th<strong>in</strong>gs sometimes do withwhat seemed like a straight <strong>for</strong>ward question to me. My job is basicallyto try and answer hard legal questions about Maryland law.Somebody asked me, "What does Maryland law have tosay about research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g people who cannot make their owndecisions about research participation?" Initially I thought, 'Well, thiswas go<strong>in</strong>g to be easy because surely federal law would answer thequestion and, there<strong>for</strong>e, I would be off the hook.' There would be noneed to address Maryland law. And then I discovered to my surprisethat, "No, federal law did not answer the question." Federal law beggedthe question.So the answer about Maryland law was an imperfect one,that is I advised that Maryland law to the extent it dealt with proxydecision mak<strong>in</strong>g on the cl<strong>in</strong>ical sett<strong>in</strong>g could be transferred to theresearch sett<strong>in</strong>g so long as the research<strong>in</strong>g question <strong>in</strong>volves someprospective direct medical benefit to the <strong>in</strong>dividual. But Maryland law,like federal law, left essentially wholly unaddressed the question ofparticipation by cognitively impaired people <strong>in</strong> no direct benefitresearch. There was not an answer to the question.That seemed to me to be an unsatisfactory state ofaffairs. Although I am a bureaucrat I do not really have a lust <strong>for</strong>regulat<strong>in</strong>g everyth<strong>in</strong>g that I see. But this seemed to be a problem area.It meant that a vulnerable population was to my m<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong>sufficientlyprotected because the basic <strong>for</strong>m of protection now is IRB review but theIRBs are given no particular guidance or standards here.It also seemed to me problematic from the perspective of


81234567891011121314151617181920212223242526researchers who whether they know it or not are fac<strong>in</strong>g a considerableliability risk. Every time somebody sticks a needle <strong>in</strong> somebody's armwithout legal consent that is a battery. One of these days somebody isgo<strong>in</strong>g to get hurt and there is go<strong>in</strong>g to be a lawsuit and that lawsuit willpotentially have a chill<strong>in</strong>g effect, and more parochially to the extent thatstate employees are <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> such research there is a risk of litigationunder federal civil rights laws as has <strong>in</strong>deed occurred <strong>in</strong> New York.So it seemed to me prudent as a matter of preventivelawyer<strong>in</strong>g to try and get a handle on the problem and rather thanattempt<strong>in</strong>g to educate myself and blunder ahead the Attorney Generalassembled a work<strong>in</strong>g group as we label it of about 15 folks compris<strong>in</strong>gresearchers, lawyers, ethicists, patient advocates to try and look at theproblem.This group began meet<strong>in</strong>g just about a year and a halfago, met on average every six or eight weeks to discuss the problem, andthose discussions culm<strong>in</strong>ated <strong>in</strong> the release of the <strong>in</strong>terim report <strong>in</strong>October of last year, the document that you have.That report was distributed to a lengthy, I do not know,75 or 80 organizations and <strong>in</strong>dividuals on a mail<strong>in</strong>g list. We held twopublic meet<strong>in</strong>gs plus another meet<strong>in</strong>g at Johns Hopk<strong>in</strong>s <strong>for</strong> folksparticularly <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> bioethics there. And the process now is thatthe work<strong>in</strong>g group is tak<strong>in</strong>g a look at the comments that were received <strong>in</strong>anticipation of another document and another round of publicparticipation which I will describe <strong>in</strong> a moment.In terms of its overall concept or structure the <strong>in</strong>terimreport divided research <strong>in</strong>to two familiar categories, direct benefit


91234567891011121314151617181920212223242526research and no direct benefit research. For direct benefit research thebasic approach is that decision mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g cognitively impairedpeople should parallel that which is followed now under Maryland law <strong>for</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ical decision mak<strong>in</strong>g. And hence the draft relies on devices likeadvanced directives, durable powers of attorney, and surrogate decisionmak<strong>in</strong>g.In general, the reaction of those who commented was toaccept this concept. There really was not very much disagreementamong those who commented with the notion of essentially carry<strong>in</strong>g<strong>for</strong>ward current law by hav<strong>in</strong>g the methodology on the cl<strong>in</strong>ical side applyto this category of research.There was a lot of attention paid to an anomaly <strong>in</strong>Maryland law which is to say that under current law surrogates, typicallyfamily decision makers, not agents under durable power but rathersurrogates are not empowered to make decisions related to treatment<strong>for</strong> a mental disorder, a broad remov<strong>in</strong>g of authority of surrogates. And<strong>in</strong> the draft document we simply carried <strong>for</strong>ward that exclusion to theresearch sett<strong>in</strong>g on the theory that one could not have differentialstandards. That attracted a lot of criticism. I th<strong>in</strong>k well groundedcriticism. I th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>in</strong> the next go-round we will attempt to <strong>for</strong>mulate somerestrictions on surrogates that are less sweep<strong>in</strong>g than that one.Other comments focused on the question or problem ofrandomized placebo controlled trials and the extent to which that canreally be captured with<strong>in</strong> the concept of direct benefit research, andasked us to focus on that which we have not.Now with<strong>in</strong> the category of no direct benefit research I


101234567891011121314151617181920212223242526th<strong>in</strong>k the basic approach taken by the work<strong>in</strong>g group <strong>in</strong> this <strong>in</strong>terimdocument is to attempt to correlate evidence support<strong>in</strong>g substitutedjudgment with degree of risk. That is to say if the question is, "Well,would the <strong>in</strong>dividual if capable of giv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med consent want toparticipate <strong>in</strong> this research?" Then the th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g was the greater the riskof the research then the more confidence one ought to have that theanswer to that question is yes.So with<strong>in</strong> this broad category of no direct benefitresearch the document essentially identifies three subcategories l<strong>in</strong>kedto risk. M<strong>in</strong>imal risk, m<strong>in</strong>or <strong>in</strong>crease over m<strong>in</strong>imal risk, and greater thanm<strong>in</strong>or <strong>in</strong>crease over m<strong>in</strong>imal risk. And the authority of proxies toconsent to a cognitively impaired <strong>in</strong>dividual's participation <strong>in</strong> researchshr<strong>in</strong>ks as the risk goes up.So to be specific, <strong>for</strong> m<strong>in</strong>imal risk research the <strong>in</strong>itialrecommendation would allow a research agent, that is somebody who isgiven authority <strong>in</strong> an advanced directive and the authority specificallyextends to research, but allow research agent to give consent, wouldallow a health care agent under ord<strong>in</strong>ary durable power of attorney,would allow a surrogate or would even allow a monitor where there is anadvanced directive to authorize research participation on the basis ofsubstituted judgment. That is <strong>for</strong> m<strong>in</strong>imal risk.For a category labeled <strong>in</strong> the document "m<strong>in</strong>or <strong>in</strong>creaseover m<strong>in</strong>imal risk," only research agents or under some circumstanceshealth care agents would be authorized to allow the participation of the<strong>in</strong>dividual <strong>in</strong> the research. And <strong>for</strong> protocols that <strong>in</strong>volved more than am<strong>in</strong>or <strong>in</strong>crease over m<strong>in</strong>imal risk only a research agent, that is


111234567891011121314151617181920212223242526somebody who is specifically empowered <strong>in</strong> an advanced directive toconsent to research participation would be authorized to do so withcerta<strong>in</strong> oversight by a monitor required.Not surpris<strong>in</strong>gly, most of the comments that we gotfocused on this mechanism. There were conceptual, I guess I wouldlabel them conceptual comments, at two polls. There were a fewcommentors who rejected the notion of proxy consent <strong>for</strong> researchparticipation by a cognitively impaired <strong>in</strong>dividual essentially under anycircumstances. For no direct benefit I am speak<strong>in</strong>g of now. The positionwas a perfectly straight <strong>for</strong>ward one, that is not what the NurembergCode says and, there<strong>for</strong>e, you should not do it.So that the other poll, there were objections that thelimitations, the proposed limitations on surrogate authority were tootight. That surrogates ought to be permitted to enroll a cognitivelyimpaired <strong>in</strong>dividual <strong>in</strong> greater than m<strong>in</strong>imal risk research <strong>for</strong> the sake ofthe scientific benefits that would accrue through wider researchparticipation. Indeed, there was a comment that IRBs alone <strong>in</strong> theabsence of any surrogate ought to be authorized to admit cognitivelyimpaired <strong>in</strong>dividuals <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>imal risk research.So there were critiques that there was too little attentionpaid to the value of the science that would emerge from some research<strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g cognitively impaired people and the restrictions were too tight.There were certa<strong>in</strong>ly, aside from these broader concerns,a number of specific comments or criticisms. One, not surpris<strong>in</strong>g, hadto do with this identification of subcategories, that is m<strong>in</strong>imal risk, m<strong>in</strong>or<strong>in</strong>crease over m<strong>in</strong>imal risk, greater than m<strong>in</strong>or <strong>in</strong>crease over m<strong>in</strong>imal


121234567891011121314151617181920212223242526risk. "What do you mean?", said several commentors. There is, ofcourse, a def<strong>in</strong>ition <strong>in</strong> the Common Rule of m<strong>in</strong>imal risk and theCommon Rule uses, the Children's Reg I believe, the concept of m<strong>in</strong>or<strong>in</strong>crease over m<strong>in</strong>imal risk but does not def<strong>in</strong>e it. Neither did we <strong>in</strong> the<strong>in</strong>itial document and we were, I th<strong>in</strong>k, rightly criticized <strong>for</strong> not do<strong>in</strong>g so.On the other hand, to do so will be no small task.We were criticized, aga<strong>in</strong> rightly, <strong>for</strong> not undertak<strong>in</strong>g anaccount of the role of assent <strong>in</strong> the process lead<strong>in</strong>g up to researchparticipation by a cognitively impaired <strong>in</strong>dividual. There was somecommentary over an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g, somewhat small but still <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>gpo<strong>in</strong>t, which is suppose the <strong>in</strong>dividual when competent had participatedwill<strong>in</strong>gly <strong>in</strong> a category of research. Now the <strong>in</strong>dividual is not competent.Let's say Alzheimer's has advanced to the po<strong>in</strong>t where the<strong>in</strong>dividual can no longer give <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med consent. What weight ought oneto give to the fact that the <strong>in</strong>dividual when competent had participated <strong>in</strong>a category of research?Should that be decisive evidence of the <strong>in</strong>dividual'spresumed desire to participate <strong>in</strong> that k<strong>in</strong>d of research after <strong>in</strong>capacity?Initially our thought was yes. We were criticized that is wrong, that thereis a major difference between somebody who has the capacitythemselves to change their m<strong>in</strong>d and hav<strong>in</strong>g agreed to participate <strong>in</strong>research and then decide not to, which is the state when they do havedecisional capacity versus their <strong>in</strong>ability themselves to withdraw.There was one specific commentor who criticized thework<strong>in</strong>g group <strong>for</strong> ignor<strong>in</strong>g what he judged to be an important area whichis the need <strong>for</strong> greater disclosure by IRBs as to this k<strong>in</strong>d of research.


131234567891011121314151617181920212223242526That is to say that there is a role <strong>for</strong> public accountability here that couldbe fostered by the sunsh<strong>in</strong>e of disclosure. And to the extent that wehave not <strong>in</strong>cluded provisions <strong>for</strong> anyth<strong>in</strong>g like that, which we have not,then that commentor thought that the document had gone awry.Let me end by tell<strong>in</strong>g you how we see th<strong>in</strong>gs go<strong>in</strong>g fromhere. We are at the po<strong>in</strong>t, that is the work<strong>in</strong>g group, of hav<strong>in</strong>g had now afew meet<strong>in</strong>gs to discuss the comments that we received and we will havea few more of those. We will be mak<strong>in</strong>g public and distribut<strong>in</strong>g to theorig<strong>in</strong>al set of people we sent the first report to and anybody else whowants it another report. Probably my guess is end of April, beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g ofMay.So the second document will be an account of whatchanges we made and why we made them. And it will conta<strong>in</strong> this timenot a policy document but a draft statute. As we see it if this process isgo<strong>in</strong>g to move to anyth<strong>in</strong>g like a conclusion it has got to move along. Sothe next th<strong>in</strong>g that we will ask people to react to is an actual statutorytext as opposed to a th<strong>in</strong>k piece.So that will be widely distributed. There will be aconference <strong>in</strong> Baltimore, an all day conference on May 28th to considerthis topic, research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g cognitively impaired people <strong>in</strong> general andthe Maryland proposal <strong>in</strong> particular. So then the work<strong>in</strong>g group will onceaga<strong>in</strong> consider the comments that will have been received <strong>in</strong> response tothe new document and issue, I hope, its f<strong>in</strong>al proposal <strong>in</strong> the fall of thisyear, the fall of '97.Assum<strong>in</strong>g that there is someth<strong>in</strong>g remotely likeconsensus with<strong>in</strong> our community about this then the Attorney General


141234567891011121314151617181920212223242526will seek to have this law enacted <strong>in</strong> the 1998 session of the MarylandLegislature which will be <strong>in</strong> session one year from now. If it wereenacted it would become effective October 1, '98. So that is the timel<strong>in</strong>e that we are on. That could get derailed, of course, and whether sucha law would actually be passed by the legislature is, of course, a whollyunpredictable matter. But that at least is our th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about what we arego<strong>in</strong>g to try to do.DR. CHILDRESS: Well, thank you very much. Let me justpause <strong>for</strong> a moment and see if there any questions <strong>for</strong> clarificationbe<strong>for</strong>e we turn to Jonathan.PROF. CHARO: Just one. Could you just briefly clarifythe limitations on surrogate decision mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the treatment context?You referred to that as the basis <strong>for</strong> the decision about the limitations <strong>in</strong>the research context.DR. SCHWARTZ: Yes. Under Maryland's Health CareDecisions Act, which is a general proxy decision mak<strong>in</strong>g statute, if an<strong>in</strong>dividual is <strong>in</strong>capable of <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med consent to cl<strong>in</strong>ical treatmentdecisions and has no advanced directive, there<strong>for</strong>e no health care agentor durable power of attorney, surrogates, typically family members, butalso potentially friends can make decisions. They are generallyempowered to make health care decisions on a substituted judgment orbest <strong>in</strong>terest basis. That <strong>in</strong>cludes life susta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g treatment decisionmak<strong>in</strong>g authority.However, one exclusion under current law from the powerof surrogates to make decisions is that they may not make a decision orgrant approval is the way it is phrased <strong>for</strong> treatment <strong>for</strong> a mental


151234567891011121314151617181920212223242526disorder. This provision has been on the books <strong>in</strong> Maryland s<strong>in</strong>ce themid '80s. It reflected, I th<strong>in</strong>k, at the time a fear of grant<strong>in</strong>g too muchpower to family members who might abuse it with respect to mentally illand mentally retarded children or other family members.So a decision was made back then to simply cut out fromthe power of family decision makers, surrogate decision makers,authority over treatment <strong>for</strong> a mental disorder. So assum<strong>in</strong>g peopleactually pay attention to the law which is not entirely clear, the route thatought to be followed is guardianship <strong>for</strong> ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g decisions abouttreatment <strong>for</strong> a mental disorder.I, myself, th<strong>in</strong>k that is overly sweep<strong>in</strong>g and that one couldidentify particular matters such as admission to a mental facility thatought to be restricted to a judicial process but that <strong>in</strong> other respects itmay well be appropriate <strong>for</strong> family members to have decision mak<strong>in</strong>gauthority about mental disorders but that is not how it is now.PROF. CHARO: Thanks.DR. CHILDRESS: Other questions or clarifications at thispo<strong>in</strong>t?All right. Let's get Jonathan <strong>in</strong>volved and then we willhave two models to talk about.DR. JONATHAN MORENO, HUMANITIES IN MEDICINE, SUNYAT BROOKLYN, AND HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS GROUP,UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA CENTER FOR BIOETHICSDR. MORENO: Thank you very much, Jim, and thanks tothe subcommittee <strong>for</strong> <strong>in</strong>vit<strong>in</strong>g me this morn<strong>in</strong>g, and my special greet<strong>in</strong>gas a <strong>for</strong>mer staff member on a federal advisory committee and


161234567891011121314151617181920212223242526expression of concern <strong>for</strong> the plight of the staff.I would like to start if I might by mak<strong>in</strong>g some personaland <strong>in</strong>dividual remarks and then shar<strong>in</strong>g with you where the group atPenn seems to be on this subject. I have been <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> the -- <strong>in</strong>participation of the mentally ill, the cognitively impaired, and research<strong>for</strong> a long time. In fact, I th<strong>in</strong>k my first experience was <strong>in</strong> 1962 when Iwas ten years old. I actually had some exposure to some psychotropicresearch. My father was a psychiatrist who had a small mental hospitalon the European model of sanitarium <strong>in</strong> the Hudson Valley. And I grewup about 80 yards from the hospital, about a 40 bed hospital.My father was a very <strong>in</strong>novative psychiatrist and one daya group of -- as often happened -- a group of patients got off a bus fromthe nearby state hospital, particularly recalcitrant to therapy apparently.And as I often did I started to play softball with them <strong>in</strong> the field next tothe hospital and I heard them talk<strong>in</strong>g. It turned out as I confirmed lateron that they were there to have psychotherapy with LSD as it was knownthen LSD-25. I later confirmed the fact that my father had a tax stampto use LSD <strong>in</strong> the context of his practice.For some reason these 15 or 20 young people, and theymust have been <strong>in</strong> their 20's and early 30's, stuck <strong>in</strong> my m<strong>in</strong>d and a fewyears later when down the road Dr. Timothy Leary started engag<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>his own LSD experiments, they dropped the 25 at that po<strong>in</strong>t, it struckme that this stuff had been around longer than people <strong>in</strong> the generalpublic perhaps had appreciated. And that it actually had been used <strong>in</strong>research experiments, we called them <strong>in</strong> those days, you do not call thisexperimentation anymore, you call it research, <strong>for</strong> quite a bit longer than


171234567891011121314151617181920212223242526people had appreciated.And when I grew up and became a bioethicist I learnedthrough my own work that as a matter of fact the psychiatric patients,the mentally <strong>in</strong>firmed, had been used <strong>in</strong> research <strong>for</strong> many -- <strong>in</strong> manyrespects, <strong>in</strong> many ways, even <strong>in</strong> my own particular <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>for</strong> nationalsecurity purposes start<strong>in</strong>g at least with the Second World War.With this long history it is <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to read ProfessorBonnie's excellent piece that you <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the material <strong>for</strong> thismeet<strong>in</strong>g. It is a wonderful survey of the subject and of the history, andyet it is strik<strong>in</strong>g that of all of the scandals, and research ethics is ascandal driven field as we often say, all the scandals <strong>in</strong> research ethicsover the last thirty or <strong>for</strong>ty years we had to wait until UCLA a few yearsago to get one <strong>for</strong> this population. We could have had one much earlier.Some of you know that <strong>in</strong> 1953 the tennis pro from theHudson River Club, Harold Blauer (?), died of a massive overdose ofmescal<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> the Psychiatric Institute of Columbia University as part of asecret Army Chemical Corps study. That was covered up until 1987when the Congress gave reparation to the Blauer family. But, <strong>in</strong> fact,there was no great driv<strong>in</strong>g scandal or expose <strong>for</strong> this population <strong>in</strong>research ethics.That, I th<strong>in</strong>k, helps to expla<strong>in</strong> why <strong>in</strong> the lats '70s and theearly '80s when the <strong>National</strong> Commission's <strong>in</strong>itiative to cover thispopulation more specifically fell short, but it helps to expla<strong>in</strong> why it did,<strong>in</strong> fact, fall short. The fact of scientific opposition is not enough toexpla<strong>in</strong> that phenomenon, I th<strong>in</strong>k.It is also, I th<strong>in</strong>k, a partial explanation to po<strong>in</strong>t out that


181234567891011121314151617181920212223242526this particular group of people we are talk<strong>in</strong>g about often have a differentsocioeconomic status from other research subjects. They tend to --there tends to be a correlation between poverty and mental illness.That, as a matter of fact, dist<strong>in</strong>guishes it even from some moresomatically based or identifiably somatically based cognitive impairmentor mental retardation.And today there is a further complication, just to f<strong>in</strong>ishthese <strong>in</strong>troductory remarks, <strong>in</strong> try<strong>in</strong>g to sort out these issues because I,at least, as an observer have perceived a split with<strong>in</strong> the advocacycommunity <strong>for</strong> the cognitively impaired, the mentally <strong>in</strong>firmed, howeverone wants to call them, between those who are representatives ofpsychiatric diseases that have more recently been brought under asomatic rubric, <strong>for</strong> example, such as Alzheimer's, and those who are<strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> advocacy <strong>for</strong> patients with diseases that have not beenbrought under a somatic rubric. The <strong>for</strong>mer group tends to be moresupportive of aggressive research <strong>in</strong> my perception and the latter groupless supportive of aggressive research.Well, these reflections have also led me to wonder whatthe difference is between a special population and a vulnerablepopulation. I have come to the follow<strong>in</strong>g operational def<strong>in</strong>ition which Iwill share with you, namely that a special population is a group that isrecognized as vulnerable <strong>in</strong> regulation. This group that we are talk<strong>in</strong>gabout this morn<strong>in</strong>g and that your subcommittee is talk<strong>in</strong>g aboutcurrently has not been recognized with great specificity anyway as agroup that is vulnerable with respect to regulation but I th<strong>in</strong>k ought tobe.


191234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Now with that -- all those editorial remarks hav<strong>in</strong>g beenaccomplished I will tell you a little bit now about the Human ResearchEthics Group at the <strong>Center</strong> <strong>for</strong> Bioethics at Penn and what this grouptried to do <strong>for</strong> the last couple of years.The group was funded by the Annenberg Public Policy<strong>Center</strong> at Penn. It has <strong>in</strong>volved about 25 colleagues from Penn and fromeight or ten other <strong>in</strong>stitutions <strong>for</strong> the last couple of years. We have methalf a dozen times <strong>for</strong> two days each. Both catch<strong>in</strong>g ourselves up onissues concern<strong>in</strong>g the so-called special populations and also try<strong>in</strong>g to getahead of the cutt<strong>in</strong>g edge as it were of some of the newer emerg<strong>in</strong>gissues.Now s<strong>in</strong>ce our report is not limited to this particularpopulation but is concerned with considerations of re<strong>for</strong>m of the use ofhuman subjects <strong>in</strong> general, our recommendations are go<strong>in</strong>g to bebroader than those that Jack Schwartz just discussed. He put moreflesh on the bones than we did.And our -- I guess the environment <strong>in</strong> which we operatedalso was a little different. We were a collegial group not <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong>draft<strong>in</strong>g legislation. We did not have to come up with any conclusions atall necessarily. I guess Annenberg would not have been too happy if wedid not but we did not have the same k<strong>in</strong>d of drive to address everydetailed problem <strong>in</strong> this area as one does when one is work<strong>in</strong>g with and<strong>for</strong> a governmental panel.There<strong>for</strong>e, what we came up with is what you might callphilosophically a k<strong>in</strong>d of overlapp<strong>in</strong>g consensus. We did not touch everyissue because many of them that we tried to touch we found we could


2012345678910111213not get agreement on. But I th<strong>in</strong>k that what -- one virtue of the processwe went through was that we had a very genetically diverse group <strong>in</strong> ourpanel rang<strong>in</strong>g from psychiatric researchers to civil rights orientedlawyers and yet we were able to come up with some conclusions. I saythis provisionally because not all the sign offs have taken place yet but Iam fairly confident that what I am about to tell you is a serviceablesummary of what turned out to be conclusions that represent anoverlapp<strong>in</strong>g consensus of the human research ethics group.First <strong>in</strong> most general terms we seem to be prepared toendorse the notion of expand<strong>in</strong>g durable power of attorney <strong>for</strong> healthcare statutes <strong>for</strong> research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g possible direct benefit to subjects.Interest<strong>in</strong>gly we did not get agreement on the various categories ofresearch that did not present a direct benefit to the subject even <strong>for</strong>14m<strong>in</strong>imal risk research.Aga<strong>in</strong> given the collegial nature of our process151617181920212223242526we did not attempt to push that beyond the po<strong>in</strong>t at which we thought itcould be pushed.But at least <strong>for</strong> research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g direct benefit there wasgeneral agreement that those durable power of attorneys <strong>for</strong> health carestatutes, however under utilized they might be, <strong>in</strong> fact, should beexpanded <strong>in</strong> this direction. Now <strong>for</strong> research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g cognitivelyimpaired persons <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g those who are currently impaired or thosewho are <strong>for</strong>eseeably impaired, or could <strong>for</strong>eseeably become impaired <strong>in</strong>the course of the study, our group seems to believe that the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal<strong>in</strong>vestigator should be required to <strong>in</strong>clude a written section <strong>in</strong> his or herprotocol that addresses the importance of the research and assesses itsrisks and benefits <strong>for</strong> the subjects.


211234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Now while this is often done <strong>in</strong> protocols <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g thispopulation it is not required and our perception is, and the experience ofthe group as an aggregate, is that this is not always done.For research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g cognitively impaired persons,whether currently impaired or <strong>for</strong>eseeably impaired <strong>in</strong> the course of thestudy, the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal <strong>in</strong>vestigator should be required to <strong>in</strong>clude a writtensection <strong>in</strong> the protocol that addresses the importance of the researchand an assessment of its risks and benefits. It seems reasonableenough.And to elaborate a bit on that, the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal <strong>in</strong>vestigatorshould also provide a written description of the anticipated subjectimpairment if it is go<strong>in</strong>g to take place <strong>in</strong> the course of the study. Andhow decision mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> the subject will proceed if the subject is nolonger competent. Now this, of course, is under circumstances <strong>in</strong> whichthere has been no prior arrangement <strong>for</strong> a surrogate or agent <strong>for</strong> thesubject. If there has been such an arrangement then that should berecognized or noted by the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal <strong>in</strong>vestigator <strong>in</strong> the protocol.DR. CASSELL: Would you say the last requirement onceaga<strong>in</strong>?DR. MORENO: Sure. If the subject is rendered<strong>in</strong>competent <strong>in</strong> the course of the study the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal <strong>in</strong>vestigator shouldprovide a written description of the nature of subject impairment, that isto say if a degree of impairment is anticipated that should be <strong>in</strong>dicated,the nature of the impairment to the best of the <strong>in</strong>vestigator's ability, itsduration, and how the decision mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> the subject will proceed if thisoccurs, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> example and most pert<strong>in</strong>ent how decisions will be


221234567891011121314151617181920212223242526made to withdraw the subject from the study if the subject is no longerable to make that judgment himself or herself.We also wanted to say someth<strong>in</strong>g about IRBresponsibilities. In particular that IRBs should be required to determ<strong>in</strong>ethat the risks are justified as described by the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal <strong>in</strong>vestigator andthat alternative decision mak<strong>in</strong>g arrangements as <strong>in</strong>dicated <strong>in</strong> theprotocol are both ethically and legally adequate.Now those were the recommendations, seemed to be therecommendations specifically <strong>for</strong> the cognitively impaired but there aresome other recommendations that will probably appear <strong>in</strong> the draft thatalso relate to this population and other special populations.For example, the Research Ethics Group strongly believesthat a higher IRB priority <strong>for</strong> this and other populations should be directmonitor<strong>in</strong>g of consent processes, that ways must be found, and we havesome suggestions <strong>for</strong> do<strong>in</strong>g this, to rearrange the way <strong>in</strong> which papercompliance is assured so that more IRB energy and resources can beengaged <strong>in</strong> direct monitor<strong>in</strong>g of consent processes, perhaps a k<strong>in</strong>d ofaudit<strong>in</strong>g of consent processes. We did not recommend consent auditorsrout<strong>in</strong>ely because there were objections with<strong>in</strong> the group concern<strong>in</strong>g thepracticalities <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> such a process.Clearly that means, sort of parenthetically, to do that k<strong>in</strong>dof -- <strong>for</strong> an IRB to do that k<strong>in</strong>d of audit<strong>in</strong>g we're talk<strong>in</strong>g about ratchet<strong>in</strong>gup the IRB system considerably particularly <strong>in</strong> terms of the resourcesthat <strong>in</strong>stitutions have to -- would have to <strong>in</strong>vest <strong>in</strong> these bodies, and wehave a lot to say about that <strong>in</strong> the f<strong>in</strong>al report or will have.Also not limited to this population but <strong>in</strong> general the


231234567891011121314151617181920212223242526report will urge that IRBs be <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med of potential f<strong>in</strong>ancial conflicts of<strong>in</strong>terest on the part of <strong>in</strong>vestigators, a grow<strong>in</strong>g problem potentially asthere is more privately sponsored research as more of it is capitated.In the regulations currently those IRBs that consider a lotof protocols with vulnerable subjects are already required to <strong>in</strong>clude asconsultants at least people knowledgeable about the needs of thatsubject population but we believe that this should be more specific, thatthis should be specific with respect to the cognitively impaired and othervulnerable populations.And f<strong>in</strong>ally we have a job <strong>for</strong> NBAC to do. Actually wehave several jobs <strong>for</strong> NBAC to do you will be happy to hear. Inparticular, NBAC should consider the research group, the researchethics group recommends whether some <strong>for</strong>m of national review shouldbe required <strong>for</strong> especially sensitive research perhaps on theRecomb<strong>in</strong>ant DNA Advisory Committee model.I guess one example that I had <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d at least withregard to this recommendation <strong>for</strong> especially sensitive research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>gthe cognitively impaired could well be research that <strong>in</strong>volves no directbenefit to the subject but some degree of <strong>in</strong>vasiveness or constra<strong>in</strong>t onthe subject's movement or behavior and I'm th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g here -- along withsome risk.I'm th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g here, <strong>for</strong> example, of so-called wash outstudies that are comb<strong>in</strong>ed with the use of spec imag<strong>in</strong>g and otherimag<strong>in</strong>g devices that <strong>in</strong>volve some restra<strong>in</strong>ts, some physical restra<strong>in</strong>t <strong>for</strong>the subject, as well as the risk that some symptoms will return <strong>in</strong> orderto do very important research scientifically on the function<strong>in</strong>g of


241234567891011121314151617181920212223242526dopam<strong>in</strong>e receptors <strong>in</strong> schizophrenics.So there are some k<strong>in</strong>ds of research such as researchthat is sensitive enough perhaps to argue <strong>for</strong> some k<strong>in</strong>d of large scalepublic, perhaps even national review process.That is it.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Thanks, Jonathan.Be<strong>for</strong>e we move <strong>in</strong>to the substantive question are thereany questions <strong>for</strong> Jonathan to clarify?PROF. CAPRON: I do not know the reason that Eric askedyou to repeat the part that you did but both that part and your earliercomment raised a question <strong>in</strong> my m<strong>in</strong>d that I did not know if I wasunderstand<strong>in</strong>g you correctly.You said the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal <strong>in</strong>vestigator should have a sectionof the protocol describ<strong>in</strong>g the importance of the research and assess<strong>in</strong>gthe risks and benefits. I wonder how you see that as different thanpresent requirements. What puzzled me about it was it sounded to melike you were read<strong>in</strong>g from the Common Rule or you presented it asthough it --DR. MORENO: Risk and benefits specifically <strong>for</strong> thesubject with respect to the problems of cognitive impairment. Myimpression is that this is not always addressed as clearly as it should be.So this is not a recommendation to change the Common Rule. It is arecommendation as it were that IRBs and the research community paymore attention to this requirement.PROF. CAPRON: I see. And when you say it is yourimpression, what research did your work<strong>in</strong>g group do?


251234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. MORENO: The study that I th<strong>in</strong>k is really decisive onthis score is the research proposal review project from the AdvisoryCommittee on Human Radiation Experiments, which found that therewere some significant lapses with respect to this k<strong>in</strong>d of <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation <strong>in</strong> aproposal.PROF. CAPRON: And the other was follow<strong>in</strong>g up aga<strong>in</strong> onthe po<strong>in</strong>t that Eric asked you to repeat. You said if a subject is rendered<strong>in</strong>competent, I th<strong>in</strong>k that was the phrase --DR. MORENO: Right.PROF. CAPRON: -- <strong>in</strong> the study and it is the pronoun "<strong>in</strong>"which I was not clear about.DR. MORENO: Yes.PROF. CAPRON: Do you mean by the study?DR. MORENO: By some <strong>in</strong>tervention, by somemanipulation or procedure <strong>in</strong> the study.PROF. CAPRON: So you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about research <strong>in</strong>which it would be anticipated that a person who is not now <strong>in</strong>competentwould be rendered <strong>in</strong>competent?DR. MORENO: Yes.PROF. CAPRON: And could you give me some examplesof which ones you were th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about?DR. MORENO: Research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g drug holidays is onepossibility <strong>for</strong> schizophrenics.PROF. CAPRON: The wash outs?DR. MORENO: Yes. Another example that has come tomy attention is the use of Interleuk<strong>in</strong>-2 which often results <strong>in</strong> predictable


261<strong>in</strong>capacitation.234567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CAPRON: And -- okay. Well, I guess my otherquestions <strong>for</strong> you are more substantive. So that was just <strong>for</strong>clarification.DR. CHILDRESS: Any other clarification po<strong>in</strong>ts?DR. CASSELL: Well, how is that -- how -- I am curiousabout that rendered statement also. How does that differ from thepossibility that a subject will become -- will lose capacity dur<strong>in</strong>g thecourse of the research because of the operation of the disease, neverm<strong>in</strong>d the operation of the <strong>in</strong>vestigator? Is there a dist<strong>in</strong>ction made about--DR. MORENO: No. There is no --DR. CASSELL: -- prediction?DR. MORENO: No, from a moral standpo<strong>in</strong>t they areequally significant. But it did strike us that what was learned <strong>in</strong> theadvisory committee's research proposal review, it did not seem to be thecase that <strong>in</strong>vestigators were tak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to account the possibility thatprocedures that were part of the study itself could render the subjectlegally <strong>in</strong>competent.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. All right. Let's open it <strong>for</strong>discussion then. We have two models that have been presented andsome important areas of overlap but also some important differences.Be<strong>for</strong>e we -- I do have one actual clarification question.Could you tell us why you moved away from the fairlyspecific proposal <strong>for</strong> additional protections <strong>for</strong> cognitively impairedadults <strong>in</strong>volved as subjects <strong>in</strong> research to what I th<strong>in</strong>k is a much more


271234567891011121314151617181920212223242526modest statement now. You have summarized some of the th<strong>in</strong>gs thatare present <strong>in</strong> both. But why did the group move away from a morespecific statement?DR. MORENO: Well, what we tried to do was draft anadditional regulation or a subpart and when our lawyer colleagues got ahold of it, I as an editor found it impossible to manage the differences ofop<strong>in</strong>ion about the use of language and def<strong>in</strong>ition and so <strong>for</strong>th, and it wasa potential nightmare <strong>for</strong> the poor director of the project. There<strong>for</strong>e, Ithought there are very capable lawyers like Jack Schwartz, who can dothis so we will just tell them what to do. We will not tell them how to doit.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Alex?PROF. CAPRON: My first question <strong>for</strong> Jack is to try to getan understand<strong>in</strong>g of how you fit what you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about under anynotion of substituted judgment. As I understand it, the orig<strong>in</strong>al use ofsubstituted judgment was to describe a situation <strong>in</strong> which the personact<strong>in</strong>g on behalf of someone else was entitled to make the decisionswhich that person would have made which would have caused no harmto the person and the limitation <strong>in</strong> substituted judgment.For example, <strong>in</strong> its orig<strong>in</strong>al use was that the estate of aperson who had become <strong>in</strong>competent to make decisions, which thatperson was him or herself us<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> the benefit of others, send<strong>in</strong>g a nieceto college or someth<strong>in</strong>g, that that should be cont<strong>in</strong>ued to be permitted ifit was clearly the person's wish. But if the person's f<strong>in</strong>ancialcircumstances had changed <strong>in</strong> some way so that cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g to bebeneficent <strong>in</strong> this way, benevolent <strong>in</strong> this way to this niece, <strong>in</strong> any way


281234567891011121314151617181920212223242526endangered the prospect that the now <strong>in</strong>competent person would havemoney <strong>for</strong> her own care then it had to be cut off so that the fiduciaryresponsibility was to protect the <strong>in</strong>dividual.It seems to me with<strong>in</strong> that model no research to whichthe person has not actually consented which poses anyth<strong>in</strong>g more thanm<strong>in</strong>imal risk could be justified because the whole idea of substitutedjudgment was you were not to expose the person to any harm but if youhave a rich person who was capable of mak<strong>in</strong>g gifts without endanger<strong>in</strong>gher own welfare then that could be cont<strong>in</strong>ued.When this was brought <strong>in</strong>to decision mak<strong>in</strong>g about lifesusta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g treatment it was brought <strong>in</strong> as I understand it after sort of ageneral social consensus had arrived that it was not only not harmful tobut beneficial to people who are <strong>in</strong> permanent comas not to besusta<strong>in</strong>ed, that they had no -- they were deriv<strong>in</strong>g no value from theirtreatment. They were, <strong>in</strong> effect, <strong>in</strong> a situation <strong>in</strong> which they could not behurt or harmed except potentially that their memory and their estate andso <strong>for</strong>th was be<strong>in</strong>g harmed by be<strong>in</strong>g cont<strong>in</strong>ued <strong>in</strong> this position.Now people of reasonable m<strong>in</strong>ds differ whether that is anaccurate characterization of such a decision but the rationale whichallowed surrogates to make the decision under substituted judgment, Ibelieve, was articulated by the courts and by ethicists on that basis.So that even there, even though life support is <strong>in</strong>volved,the argument is you are not hurt<strong>in</strong>g the person by stopp<strong>in</strong>g life supportbecause they are not gett<strong>in</strong>g any benefit from the life support.Now I do not -- aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> other words <strong>in</strong> its orig<strong>in</strong>al use and<strong>in</strong> its bioethics/biomedical treatment use so far substituted judgment it


291234567891011121314151617181920212223242526seems to me has been limited to situations <strong>in</strong> which the person isexposed to no risk of harm. You seem to be us<strong>in</strong>g it to allow eitherm<strong>in</strong>or or more than m<strong>in</strong>or <strong>in</strong>crease if I understand.DR. SCHWARTZ: Not as to surrogates, no. In the schemeas proposed surrogate authority to permit research participation <strong>for</strong> nodirect benefit research would be limited to m<strong>in</strong>imal risk research.PROF. CAPRON: Yes. But the agent who operates --DR. SCHWARTZ: But the agent -- yes. The agent. Now Ith<strong>in</strong>k the th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g was that -- substituted judgment is an <strong>in</strong>accurate labelgiven its orig<strong>in</strong>s. But at any rate the th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g was that if someone, <strong>for</strong><strong>in</strong>stance, has written an advanced directive that is specific to research,somebody <strong>in</strong> the early stages of Alzheimer's let us say, who manifests <strong>in</strong>an advanced directive a desire to do everyth<strong>in</strong>g that she possibly can tofight this disease, and writes an essay on her will<strong>in</strong>gness, desire andfervor to do so, and appo<strong>in</strong>ts someone as an agent with authority toconsent to her participation <strong>in</strong> future research after <strong>in</strong>capacity, thatautonomy <strong>in</strong>terests seem particularly strong <strong>in</strong> that circumstance.So while, I guess nom<strong>in</strong>ally, the phraseology would bethat the research agent would enroll the <strong>in</strong>dividual on the basis of abelief that the <strong>in</strong>dividual would have wanted to participate, <strong>in</strong> fact theevidence would be quite strong <strong>in</strong> the <strong>for</strong>m of the document. So thatwhether it is labeled substituted judgment or not it seemed at leastprelim<strong>in</strong>arily that honor<strong>in</strong>g autonomy <strong>in</strong>terests, putt<strong>in</strong>g to one side theproblem of changes <strong>in</strong> personhood and those issues, but honor<strong>in</strong>g theadvanced directive suggested giv<strong>in</strong>g the agent authority <strong>in</strong> thosecircumstances.


301234567891011121314151617181920212223242526It is -- it was and is more controversial as to whether ahealth care agent ought to have that authority and that proposition didmeet criticism and will have to be revisited <strong>in</strong> part on the grounds thatyou are suggest<strong>in</strong>g, that the mere designation of someone as a healthcare agent does not really tell us much one way or another about the<strong>in</strong>dividual's desire of research participation.PROF. CAPRON: I guess -- and let me preface this bysay<strong>in</strong>g that I was very impressed not only with your description of yourwork but with the ef<strong>for</strong>t that has gone <strong>in</strong>to this.I th<strong>in</strong>k this is very commendable that you are do<strong>in</strong>g thisand it is <strong>in</strong> contrast to all of our usual approaches when we becomeconcerned, which is simply to set up procedures, that is to say <strong>in</strong> NewYork <strong>in</strong> the description of the case that you described drew this civilrights challenge and challenge to the use of the statute there, it wasbasically simply a procedural mechanism. And it is very hard work to dowhat you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about and I do not have a solution.I do have some further questions about what you havedone but I hope I can make clear that I am rais<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>in</strong> a collegialwhere we are all search<strong>in</strong>g here.I commend your comment on say<strong>in</strong>g that maybe youshould move away from the language which you use and which yourdocument has about substituted judgment because it does seem to methat it is possible to conceive of three different categories of consentbe<strong>in</strong>g offered on behalf of someone who cannot consent.One is you are simply implement<strong>in</strong>g what they quiteexplicitly said should happen here. You are not substitut<strong>in</strong>g judgment.


311234567891011121314151617181920212223242526They told you <strong>in</strong> this circumstance I want you to do this and you arecont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g to honor their wish even though they are not express<strong>in</strong>g it atthis moment.The major issue there seems to me to be do we know (a)whether they would still wish that, I mean because everybody changestheir m<strong>in</strong>d all the time about a lot of th<strong>in</strong>gs. And (b) how do you stopthe consent because usually the idea is that we can withdraw ourconsent and get out of the study, and how do you do that? How do youensure it?The second category is the substituted judgmentcategory.The third category is best <strong>in</strong>terest.Substituted judgment reflects more a sense of, well, thisis the k<strong>in</strong>d of th<strong>in</strong>g that the person would have wanted, never gave meany explicit directive. I know their values. I know how, you know, theyhave reacted to health care <strong>in</strong> the past, et cetera, et cetera.What you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about I gather <strong>in</strong> your researchagent is someone who is not just appo<strong>in</strong>ted but is given some k<strong>in</strong>ds ofdirections or not?DR. SCHWARTZ: That is right. That is how we envisionit. Now, of course, a problem is mesh<strong>in</strong>g the statement of direction withthe particular protocol that is at issue one or two, or three, or four yearslater post <strong>in</strong>capacity. The agent's job, and there would be I th<strong>in</strong>k somedegree of discussion <strong>in</strong>volved, would be to see that there is sufficientmatch. But essentially you are right that the research agentmethodology that we envision is essentially your Category 1. Your


321234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Category 2 of substituted judgment was <strong>in</strong>tended by us to be limited tom<strong>in</strong>imal risk with the exception controversial of health care agentauthority <strong>for</strong> m<strong>in</strong>or <strong>in</strong>crease over m<strong>in</strong>imal risk.PROF. CAPRON: It has always seemed to me that <strong>in</strong> theend of life area the <strong>in</strong>struction type directive is a less attractivedocument than the agent, the proxy directive because who knows all theth<strong>in</strong>gs that could happen as we get sick and die and you are much betteroff hav<strong>in</strong>g someone who knows well and whom you trust than tell<strong>in</strong>gthem I want -- this is why I do not like some of those documents that askyou to check off a million th<strong>in</strong>gs.DR. SCHWARTZ: Yes.PROF. CAPRON: That just seems to me it is confus<strong>in</strong>g.All of your work is only aimed from what you have said then at thosesituations, except the m<strong>in</strong>imal risk, those situations <strong>in</strong> which you have apresently capable person who is fac<strong>in</strong>g the prospect of deteriorationbecause these -- any time you <strong>in</strong>volve appo<strong>in</strong>tments you have got to --DR. SCHWARTZ: That is correct.PROF. CAPRON: -- you are not talk<strong>in</strong>g about courtappo<strong>in</strong>tment then.DR. SCHWARTZ: That is right.PROF. CAPRON: That would be guardianship.DR. SCHWARTZ: Court appo<strong>in</strong>tment is simply bracketed.PROF. CAPRON: Right. Okay.DR. SCHWARTZ: It happens or it does not but that isright. We are talk<strong>in</strong>g about nonjudicial appo<strong>in</strong>tments and, right,competency is of course a prerequisite to that designation. So, yes, we


331234567891011121314151617181920212223242526envision -- s<strong>in</strong>ce there -- with the possible exception of use at NIH thereis now no such th<strong>in</strong>g as a research advance directive. There are fewenough advance directives as there are let alone one that addressesone's desire to participate <strong>in</strong> research of a particular k<strong>in</strong>d.But the idea would be that if the law underwrote thatmechanism then people would be encouraged to use it <strong>in</strong> anticipation offuture <strong>in</strong>capacity. That is right.PROF. CAPRON: I guess what all of this raises <strong>for</strong> me <strong>for</strong>the commission to th<strong>in</strong>k about is what are our overall stance about thebalance between research and the advancement of knowledge on the onehand and the protection of subjects on the other.I th<strong>in</strong>k it might be wise if the -- if it were possible <strong>for</strong> us todistribute Hans Jonas' piece from the Daedelus Collection <strong>in</strong> 1968 or so,whenever that was, because I do not know whether any of those peoplewho raised objections, Jack, with you about any <strong>in</strong>crease over m<strong>in</strong>imalrisk.But Jonas' essential po<strong>in</strong>t is that scientific advance, theadvancement of knowledge is an optional goal, whereas the respect <strong>for</strong>human be<strong>in</strong>gs is not. And that when you present -- and I mean anybody-- any of us who have been <strong>in</strong> this position of try<strong>in</strong>g to come up withsometh<strong>in</strong>g practical take some com<strong>for</strong>t when we get an equal amount ofcriticism from the human subject protection side as from the you'reshackl<strong>in</strong>g research and, you know, stopp<strong>in</strong>g progress. We say, well, wemust be about right because we are attend<strong>in</strong>g -- we are com<strong>in</strong>g up withsometh<strong>in</strong>g which discom<strong>for</strong>ts both groups.And yet I th<strong>in</strong>k we have to ask the question of whether


341234567891011121314151617181920212223242526that is the right perspective <strong>in</strong> the end. I mean, it may well be that wewould be persuaded if we th<strong>in</strong>k hard about it that Jonas is right and thatthere may be some times when at least <strong>in</strong> any rapid way it is notpossible to advance research without violat<strong>in</strong>g some very importantconcerns and protections. And I th<strong>in</strong>k we ought to ask that question ofourselves and see where we as a commission come out.DR. SCHWARTZ: And <strong>in</strong> the ma<strong>in</strong> the proposal doesreflect the Jonas' po<strong>in</strong>t of view by its limitations contrary to the wishes ofsome researchers who commented its limitations on surrogate authority.So the debate about health care agents was essentially this: Does thechoice -- does an <strong>in</strong>dividual's choice of a health care agent reflect such arepos<strong>in</strong>g of trust <strong>in</strong> that <strong>in</strong>dividual that the health care agent'ssubsequent judgment, call it substituted or not, that the <strong>in</strong>dividual wouldhave wanted to participate <strong>in</strong> research, albeit at an <strong>in</strong>crement abovem<strong>in</strong>imal risk, was entitled to special respect or weight.The <strong>in</strong>itial conclusion was yes and we will have to seewhether that departs too far from the limits that we otherwiseestablished on substituted judgment which are limited to m<strong>in</strong>imal risk.DR. CHILDRESS: Alta and then Diane.PROF. CHARO: I second Alex's po<strong>in</strong>t about the fact thatthis is an area <strong>in</strong> which we know that there are go<strong>in</strong>g to be mistakes andso the question is which mistakes are you more will<strong>in</strong>g to tolerate, lossof <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation or an exploitation <strong>in</strong> the context of research.I do th<strong>in</strong>k, though, that as we heard last time it isimportant to keep <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d with this population that you have anenormous spectrum of conditions and you have a very early stage of


351234567891011121314151617181920212223242526medical understand<strong>in</strong>g of the conditions and great degrees of variability<strong>in</strong> the existence of any k<strong>in</strong>d of therapeutic <strong>in</strong>tervention that is givenmuch hope <strong>for</strong> success.So that we have here, I th<strong>in</strong>k, one of the examples. I donot th<strong>in</strong>k it is generally the case but I th<strong>in</strong>k we do really have one of theexamples of an area <strong>in</strong> which we need to be concerned both aboutprotect<strong>in</strong>g people from be<strong>in</strong>g used as research subjects and aboutprotect<strong>in</strong>g their access to research trials because that is the best placeto be.Secondly with regard to the Jonas' optional goal ofscientific advancement, we have got an area <strong>in</strong> which it is probablyimportant to be dist<strong>in</strong>guished between research that uses people whoare impaired <strong>for</strong> the advancement of general scientific knowledge <strong>for</strong> thebenefit of the entire population and research that is really aimed atadvanc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation that is relevant to their conditions even if it is notlikely to be of benefit to that particular subject.I mean, I th<strong>in</strong>k that there are subareas of knowledge thatare of real importance to these populations <strong>in</strong> the medium term. And sothe discussion about the option of, you know, the ability to go withoutsome of these scientific advances I th<strong>in</strong>k is more difficult because of thedesperate need <strong>for</strong> some k<strong>in</strong>d of advance.I mean, I th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>in</strong> some ways it may turn out that some ofthe ideas that have been percolat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the area of organ transplantationof all places about quid pro quos <strong>in</strong> which people who are will<strong>in</strong>g to beorgan donors are also the ones who will be recipients. I mean, this isunder discussion now as a new model <strong>for</strong> an element of distribution.


361234567891011121314151617181920212223242526We might provide th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g exercises <strong>in</strong> an area like this <strong>in</strong>which some people by some mechanism, and I do have some concernsabout the practicality of th<strong>in</strong>gs like durable powers, know<strong>in</strong>g how<strong>in</strong>frequently they are exercised <strong>in</strong> the therapeutic sett<strong>in</strong>g. But <strong>in</strong> somecontext <strong>in</strong> which some people themselves or through their surrogates,through their families, are identified as people who are will<strong>in</strong>g to beresearch subjects both <strong>for</strong> the k<strong>in</strong>d of basic research that goes to theirconditions and to the k<strong>in</strong>d of research that might actually be of benefit tothem. The so-called, you know, therapeutic model of research.And others will be <strong>in</strong> a much more conservative stance <strong>in</strong>which they are neither go<strong>in</strong>g to be research subjects <strong>for</strong> th<strong>in</strong>gs that arenot of benefit to them nor to th<strong>in</strong>gs that are <strong>in</strong>novative therapies exceptcom<strong>in</strong>g second <strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>e. In other words, the <strong>in</strong>dividual takes a stance visa-visthe research <strong>in</strong>stead of the regulations necessarily tak<strong>in</strong>g a stanceis an alternative way of go<strong>in</strong>g about it.It might be worth th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about because some of theseprocedural models are just try<strong>in</strong>g to take people who vary from milddepression whose competence is present. But under these rules aswritten, I know as a lawyer when they are written they are go<strong>in</strong>g to looklike somebody who is tak<strong>in</strong>g Prozac cannot consent, all the way up topeople who are psychotic, and it will be impossible to really capturethese th<strong>in</strong>gs properly.On the other hand I do have problems with the notion ofbe<strong>in</strong>g able to operationalize someth<strong>in</strong>g subtle because I agree with Alex.Everyth<strong>in</strong>g you said Jonathan is already required and what you aref<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the review is that the PI's and the IRB's review<strong>in</strong>g them were


371234567891011121314151617181920212223242526not operationaliz<strong>in</strong>g them.DR. MORENO: That is right, Alta. But I th<strong>in</strong>k that thatpo<strong>in</strong>ts to the fact that as we have learned repeatedly <strong>in</strong> the history of thisfield and others that unless the en<strong>for</strong>cement mechanisms are adequatethen regulations and pr<strong>in</strong>ciples fall short. So I would want to see thecommission not only consider <strong>for</strong>mulations of statutes among the l<strong>in</strong>esthat Jack is talk<strong>in</strong>g about. But also ways <strong>in</strong> which the regulatory systemitself can be improved.I do th<strong>in</strong>k that on site monitor<strong>in</strong>g, perhaps audit<strong>in</strong>g --drop <strong>in</strong> audit<strong>in</strong>g, unannounced visits to the cl<strong>in</strong>ical sett<strong>in</strong>g and so <strong>for</strong>that the recruit<strong>in</strong>g site are very -- would be a very important part of that.PROF. CHARO: Jonathan, just by way of clarification onthis. This is the -- I am po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g to someth<strong>in</strong>g you cannot see. This isthe research protocol review project that you have there. When you wentthrough these 125 protocols were they all from sites that are currentlyregulated because they were either us<strong>in</strong>g FDA --DR. MORENO: Yes.PROF. CHARO: So do you have any basis on which tocomment on the different experiences <strong>in</strong> unregulated sites and regulatedsites?DR. MORENO: Only anecdotal, unlike yours, my hunch isthat, you know, th<strong>in</strong>gs are at least as ragged <strong>in</strong> those places but it isanecdotal. By the way I would say that one of the concerns of theHuman Research Ethics Group also <strong>for</strong> -- perhaps <strong>for</strong> the advisorycommission would be to either undertake itself or to recommend asystematic study of the economy and extent of the current IRB system.


381234567891011121314151617181920212223242526That is to say how many IRBs are there? Where are they?Should they be registered and so <strong>for</strong>th? You have heardthis be<strong>for</strong>e I am sure from others who have visited you. But also howmuch is <strong>in</strong>vested <strong>in</strong> the system? With <strong>in</strong>stitutions charg<strong>in</strong>g up to what,62 percent overhead, it would be very <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to know how much theyactually spend <strong>in</strong> support of their human subjects review apparatus thatcould conceivably be fund<strong>in</strong>g that would facilitate k<strong>in</strong>d of more directmonitor<strong>in</strong>g that I was talk<strong>in</strong>g about be<strong>for</strong>e.DR. CHILDRESS: Diane?DR. SCOTT-JONES: I have a question, Jonathan, that isrelated to what you were just say<strong>in</strong>g and that is how IRBs function.When you were speak<strong>in</strong>g you mentioned that IRBs should be required todeterm<strong>in</strong>e whether the risks are justified and I just wanted you to say alittle bit more about the extent to which you actually mean that becausedo<strong>in</strong>g that to any great extent would mean that IRB members wouldneed to make judgments about the scientific merit of the study that theymay not be prepared to make.They may not be prepared actually to undertake a riskbeneficcalculus <strong>for</strong> the range of research that they would be required toreview. It seems to me that IRB members might not be prepared toth<strong>in</strong>k of alternative less risky research that might be done <strong>in</strong> lieu of astudy that is proposed to them and they would then rely on thepersuasiveness of the research or on the reputation of the researcher.Could you just say a little bit more about --DR. MORENO: Everyth<strong>in</strong>g you say is true. My experience<strong>in</strong> an IRB, and I believe this is not unusual, is that IRBs tend to fall back


391234567891011121314151617181920212223242526on the view that all we are here to do is worry about consent when theydo not th<strong>in</strong>k they have somebody <strong>in</strong> the room who can really speakauthoritatively about the substantive research. But that when they dohave somebody <strong>in</strong> the room who can speak substantively about theresearch that is be<strong>in</strong>g proposed they are quite prepared to get <strong>in</strong>tomethodological questions. And if that impression is accurate then itseems to me there ought to be some way to ameliorate this bounc<strong>in</strong>gback and <strong>for</strong>th.While it is certa<strong>in</strong>ly true that they must be concerned withconsent methodologically and adequate research is also bad research <strong>in</strong>some k<strong>in</strong>d of normative sense. So I th<strong>in</strong>k that aga<strong>in</strong> if the IRB systemwere better supported it would be more possible <strong>for</strong> the IRB to operate<strong>in</strong> a way <strong>in</strong> which it would have more expertise from either from its owncommunity or from another community to help it evaluate the risks andbenefits associated with the particular study.I do not th<strong>in</strong>k that the general public is go<strong>in</strong>g to besatisfied if the IRB community, whatever that is, says, "Gee, we are justtalk<strong>in</strong>g about consent here. We are really not <strong>in</strong> a good position todecide whether this pr<strong>in</strong>cipal <strong>in</strong>vestigator who has this multimilliondollar part of a multisite study perhaps, multimillion dollar contract orgrant, is really accurately represent<strong>in</strong>g what he or she has an <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong>see<strong>in</strong>g gets approved and gets further funded." I do not th<strong>in</strong>k that isgo<strong>in</strong>g to fly with the general public. I th<strong>in</strong>k the public expects that we asmembers of medical school faculties, the scientists and scholars are <strong>in</strong> aposition to do peer review which is what we are supposed to be do<strong>in</strong>g.So aga<strong>in</strong> I th<strong>in</strong>k that the nuts and bolts of the system


401234567891011121314151617181920212223242526itself, as unsexy as it is, compared to the philosophical problems reallyneed attention very badly.DR. CHILDRESS: Eric?DR. CASSELL: Well, but that last po<strong>in</strong>t is really -- that isreally crucial. You know, that is like say<strong>in</strong>g, "Well, it looks good <strong>in</strong> theorybut it does not work <strong>in</strong> practice." The theory is either right and it works<strong>in</strong> practice or the theory is wrong.One of the th<strong>in</strong>gs that I am brought to <strong>in</strong> all of this isback to the Hans Jonas' po<strong>in</strong>t. It is very hard -- I mean, <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mationseems to have a power of its own. It is as though it lies there under theground try<strong>in</strong>g to push its way through like grass through asphalt and youare just wait<strong>in</strong>g and it is such an essential th<strong>in</strong>g to go get that<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation because -- but that is not the case at all. In<strong>for</strong>mation is notdo<strong>in</strong>g any such th<strong>in</strong>g at all. The push is not <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation. Thepush is <strong>in</strong> the person's m<strong>in</strong>d who is out after it.The educational process required here to understand thatthe th<strong>in</strong>g you are after as a research person is second to your <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong>that subject's well be<strong>in</strong>g. No regulation <strong>in</strong> the world up until -- I mean wewould not be here if regulations alone solved that problem. We wouldnot need to be here. No regulation alone is go<strong>in</strong>g to change the difficultposition that we f<strong>in</strong>d when patients have vary<strong>in</strong>g capacity because thevery fact of the vary<strong>in</strong>g capacity is generally primarily known to theresearch person, not to anybody else. And that research person'sresponsibility <strong>for</strong> their subject has to be overrid<strong>in</strong>g.Regulation does not make that the case. Althoughregulation is absolutely essential and it sort of provides the subplat<strong>for</strong>m


411234567891011121314151617181920212223242526from which everyth<strong>in</strong>g else goes. Regulation is a k<strong>in</strong>d of <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mationitself. Regulation is a k<strong>in</strong>d of education itself. But <strong>in</strong> and of itself --venality is widespread and never gets solved by regulation. What we aretalk<strong>in</strong>g always about is the people who are do<strong>in</strong>g th<strong>in</strong>gs who are goodpersons <strong>in</strong> truth and ride over their subject's well be<strong>in</strong>g. That is ourprimary concern.So as I listen to this and th<strong>in</strong>k back over 25 years oflisten<strong>in</strong>g to this problem discussed and try<strong>in</strong>g to th<strong>in</strong>k what are we to dothat is go<strong>in</strong>g to be different, which I th<strong>in</strong>k I hear, you know, a difference<strong>in</strong> the Attorney General's conversation about this. There is a dist<strong>in</strong>ctdifference from 20 years ago and try<strong>in</strong>g to see it somewhat differentlyand try<strong>in</strong>g to understand --DR. SCHWARTZ: Better or worse?DR. CASSELL: Oh, I th<strong>in</strong>k it is a lot better. I mean, we allunderstand how difficult it is. But <strong>for</strong> us as a commission try<strong>in</strong>g tofigure out, well, what is the next step, I do not believe the next step isanother layer of people hover<strong>in</strong>g over the research site who are go<strong>in</strong>g tomake sure that, <strong>in</strong> fact, you just did what you are supposed to. Though<strong>in</strong> fact there may be times when that is necessary.I am not say<strong>in</strong>g -- I am not naive about what people do. Iam certa<strong>in</strong>ly not. But I just do not th<strong>in</strong>k that that is the fundamentallynew way to solve problems, is to put another -- to put another<strong>in</strong>vestigator on site to <strong>in</strong>vestigate the <strong>in</strong>vestigator's <strong>in</strong>vestigation of thesubject.PROF. CHARO: So what are you propos<strong>in</strong>g?DR. CASSELL: Well, as I hear it --


421234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. MORENO: I thought we were agree<strong>in</strong>g.DR. CASSELL: What?DR. MORENO: I thought we were agree<strong>in</strong>g at thebeg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of your remark.DR. CASSELL: No. We are agree<strong>in</strong>g about the problem.DR. MORENO: Okay.DR. CASSELL: We are not agree<strong>in</strong>g about the solution.You know, I have said from the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g that I believethat one of the th<strong>in</strong>gs we have to see differently is that we are not talk<strong>in</strong>gabout two oppos<strong>in</strong>g armies clash<strong>in</strong>g at night or <strong>in</strong> the daytime. We aretalk<strong>in</strong>g about people who have a common <strong>in</strong>terest and how to solve theproblem that one group aga<strong>in</strong>st -- that we are not always see<strong>in</strong>g versus.That we are try<strong>in</strong>g to solve the problem of -- I th<strong>in</strong>k the answer is actuallyan educational one. Then ultimately we are go<strong>in</strong>g to educate<strong>in</strong>vestigators not by some template that is stuck on the outside, theytake an hour course.We are go<strong>in</strong>g to end up truly mak<strong>in</strong>g it clear that part ofknowledge is the subject. Knowledge is not separate <strong>in</strong> the subject -- youknow, like a peanut with its hull. You take that and throw the hull awayand you get the knowledge. Knowledge and the subject are <strong>in</strong>separable.Respect <strong>for</strong> one is respect <strong>for</strong> the other.Now you can say, "Oh, you will never get that." Oh, yes,we will. I remember when people used to lie and cheat about theirconsent <strong>for</strong>ms all the time. Now they only do it about 10 or 15 percentof the time. So, yes, you get somewhere but you do not get somewhereby just say<strong>in</strong>g, you get somewhere by figur<strong>in</strong>g out how, <strong>in</strong> fact, are you


431234567891011121314151617181920212223242526mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>vestigators understand the nature of their research, just as thegeneral public has come to want to be a part where the action is.Alta, that is what you are really say<strong>in</strong>g. If you have got abad enough disease, particularly one that puts you outside thecommunity like these do, you want to -- you want to be part, you want tobe better even though the history of therapeutic research <strong>in</strong> psychiatricdisorders is hardly a history of outstand<strong>in</strong>g success.DR. MORENO: Can I just add there, Eric, I do not th<strong>in</strong>kthat what I was suggest<strong>in</strong>g was an adversarial process. It is highlyunlikely that my colleagues <strong>in</strong> the IRB would send an adversary down totheir colleague <strong>in</strong> the Department of Medic<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> an adversarial way. Butthe reality is that many times, <strong>in</strong> fact most of the time, the people whoare do<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>for</strong> example, the consents are a relatively low level <strong>in</strong> thehierarchy <strong>in</strong> the medical center, and they may not know what the hellthey are do<strong>in</strong>g and they may not know how to expla<strong>in</strong> the nature of thestudy <strong>in</strong> lay terms.It seems to me that those people do need some help. Ith<strong>in</strong>k we are probably closer together than I was able to articulatebe<strong>for</strong>e.DR. CASSELL: Well, then right away we might say thatthat is not the person to obta<strong>in</strong> consent from.DR. MORENO: Well --DR. CASSELL: Right off the bat we might say the consentprocess is like --DR. MORENO: Right.DR. CASSELL: -- medic<strong>in</strong>e --


441234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. MORENO: Right. I agree with you. Then the IRBshould be able to go back to the PI and say, "Look, you have got aproblem at this level <strong>in</strong> your process that we have identified. Just sitt<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> on two or three of your <strong>in</strong>terviews <strong>in</strong> one day we found it at your site."DR. CASSELL: Yes, I th<strong>in</strong>k that is correct. I do not th<strong>in</strong>kthat is quite what I -- I do not th<strong>in</strong>k that is be<strong>in</strong>g a --DR. MORENO: Right.DR. CHILDRESS: All right. We will take a couple morepo<strong>in</strong>ts on this and then I wanted to press us to where we go from here asa subcommittee. That is what we do next <strong>in</strong> this particular area s<strong>in</strong>cethis is one there is a general consensus there is a gap that needs to befilled.We have heard now <strong>in</strong> two different sessions from peoplewho -- last time from Lev<strong>in</strong>e and Dresser and Dr. Shamoo, whoaddressed certa<strong>in</strong> po<strong>in</strong>ts, and now <strong>in</strong> a more specific way two proposalsfrom two different groups. So I will be press<strong>in</strong>g us to move and decidewhat we are go<strong>in</strong>g to do next <strong>in</strong> order to br<strong>in</strong>g closure to this.Alta?PROF. CHARO: I f<strong>in</strong>d myself th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about Jonathan'ssuggestion that we th<strong>in</strong>k about the implications of a national IRB orregional -- collection of regional level bodies that take on topics like this<strong>for</strong> the follow<strong>in</strong>g reasons:Diane's observations about IRBs and what they do or donot feel free to do were quite at odds with my observation of the IRBs Ihave worked with, which only po<strong>in</strong>ts out the variability. But be<strong>in</strong>g on anIRB that actually does, <strong>in</strong> fact, try to do risk-benefit review <strong>for</strong> all of these


451234567891011121314151617181920212223242526we have run <strong>in</strong>to the difficulty of staff<strong>in</strong>g it with the appropriate levels ofexpertise, turnover. We have turned <strong>in</strong>to a place that now has prereviewby department heads and department groups <strong>for</strong> areas where we cannotget appropriate experts, da, da, da, da. We have been struggl<strong>in</strong>g to dothis.Now know<strong>in</strong>g how hard it has been at a place that is wellstacked with researchers from every field, we have been <strong>for</strong>tunate thatway because we have got a full fledged research center, and then hear<strong>in</strong>gabout how variable the experience has been at other places, the prospectof add<strong>in</strong>g on the need <strong>for</strong> education on this k<strong>in</strong>d of problem of how toapproach even suggest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> research to people whoseability to make decisions runs the gamut from almost completely <strong>in</strong>tactto virtually gone and are sporadically mov<strong>in</strong>g among those levels.It strikes me as a project that might succeed <strong>in</strong> the end,Eric. I will not tell you it will never happen but it is daunt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> theextreme. And it makes me th<strong>in</strong>k that there might be room <strong>for</strong> identify<strong>in</strong>gcerta<strong>in</strong> subtopics <strong>in</strong> which there is a need <strong>for</strong> a group that worries aboutcerta<strong>in</strong> th<strong>in</strong>gs more consistently and that there be certa<strong>in</strong> trigger factors,<strong>for</strong> example someth<strong>in</strong>g that is not likely to be of benefit to the subjecthimself or herself, or someth<strong>in</strong>g that does entail more than a m<strong>in</strong>or<strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>imal risk, whatever that turns out to mean, that wouldgenerate a presumption that it cannot be done until it has been clearedthrough a regional or group body, or someth<strong>in</strong>g like that.Now this could be unwieldy. It could be unga<strong>in</strong>ly. But itis someth<strong>in</strong>g that probably does deserve some discussion because theattempt of go<strong>in</strong>g at it substantively and protect both access to <strong>in</strong>novative


461234567891011121314151617181920212223242526therapy <strong>in</strong> the <strong>for</strong>m of research trials and protect people aga<strong>in</strong>st themuch more frequent problem of exploitation seems impossible becauseyou cannot write a s<strong>in</strong>gle set of rules that will cover both situations.They have to be handled <strong>in</strong> an ad hoc fashion.Decentralized, <strong>in</strong>dividual IRB ef<strong>for</strong>ts to implement that adhoc set of rules seems like it is dest<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>for</strong> difficulty <strong>in</strong>operationalization consider<strong>in</strong>g what we have got go<strong>in</strong>g now.DR. CASSELL: I agree with that. I th<strong>in</strong>k, <strong>in</strong> fact, what youare suggest<strong>in</strong>g is when you move up a level <strong>in</strong> an IRB you are mov<strong>in</strong>g upa level <strong>in</strong> expertise. The IRB represents an expertise <strong>in</strong> try<strong>in</strong>g to balancethe needs of both the <strong>in</strong>vestigator and what is to be done to protect. Andthat expertise is an educated expertise. So I th<strong>in</strong>k that is --PROF. CHARO: Well, more or less depend<strong>in</strong>g on how longthey have been serv<strong>in</strong>g. But you can imag<strong>in</strong>e, you know, special areas ofspecialty expertise. For example, imag<strong>in</strong>e you are <strong>for</strong>tunate enough tobe <strong>in</strong> a metropolitan area with multiple centers where when these k<strong>in</strong>dsof subjects are go<strong>in</strong>g to be enrolled there is a subcommittee made up ofpeople from IRBs from various <strong>in</strong>stitutions around the city. This is allconsistent with current regs anyway. It does not take any change. Whomeet periodically to work through these protocols only because of onlythis aspect of it and then serve to feed back <strong>in</strong>to the <strong>in</strong>dividual<strong>in</strong>stitutions and their IRB processes.DR. CHILDRESS: And we are go<strong>in</strong>g to come to the IRBs alittle later <strong>in</strong> this period be<strong>for</strong>e the break. This is one change <strong>in</strong> theagenda because Charles McKay has been able to jo<strong>in</strong> us but has to go toNIH as do both Jack Schwartz and Jonathan Moreno. That is why we


471234567891011121314151617181920212223242526have worked them <strong>in</strong> early this morn<strong>in</strong>g. So we will turn to IRB studiesand what else needs to be done <strong>in</strong> that particular area later <strong>in</strong> thissession.So if it is all right with the group I would like to push us tobr<strong>in</strong>g this to a close today as to what we want to do next <strong>in</strong> the area ofcognitively impaired subjects. And even that label, I th<strong>in</strong>k, is one thatneed some closer attention, whether decisionally impaired subjectswould be broader and encompass those who are suffer<strong>in</strong>g fromemotional rather than strictly cognitive problems. That may well be oneth<strong>in</strong>g that needs some attention.Laurie Flynn, who very much regretted she could not jo<strong>in</strong>us, <strong>in</strong>dicated two th<strong>in</strong>gs. One is that she very much likes the directionbe<strong>in</strong>g taken, not that she was accept<strong>in</strong>g every s<strong>in</strong>gle th<strong>in</strong>g, but verymuch likes the direction be<strong>in</strong>g taken by the draft report <strong>in</strong> Maryland.And, second, thought that Richard Bonnie's suggestion that we not try todevelop someth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> a variety of groups but rather decisionallyimpaired generally. That we try to work on that level. Those were twopo<strong>in</strong>ts that she wanted to underl<strong>in</strong>e.But my bit question is where do we go from here? Are weat the po<strong>in</strong>t where we could through a couple of members, presumablyLaurie and someone else, try to pull together what we have covered andsee if we can come up with someth<strong>in</strong>g that we would like to recommend?If so, at what level of generality or specificity should we operate? Orshould we try to go to a contractor on this? Or should we -- our staff maynot have evolved to the po<strong>in</strong>t where we have someone who could takethis on.


481234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Another th<strong>in</strong>g we are certa<strong>in</strong>ly go<strong>in</strong>g to need to do is hearfrom both researchers and patients <strong>in</strong> this area. Is that better done atthe po<strong>in</strong>t where we have a draft to work with and get feedback? Or isthat better done earlier?Those are just some of the questions we need to addressbut this is one area given our consensus that there is a gap that we needto close where I hope we can make some progress over the next coupleof months.Alex and then Eric?PROF. CAPRON: I have raised with you be<strong>for</strong>e a question,which as I said to you then I was not clear because I have my ownreference library of materials, whether we had had distributed to us as acommission the 1978 report and the draft HHS regulations, HEW then,regulations which were not implemented?DR. CHILDRESS: I am not sure we have. I have -- likeyou, I have a copy and I suspect some others do. But I do not --PROF. CAPRON: And it would seem to me that at am<strong>in</strong>imum we ought to carefully review and perhaps with the aid of thememories of those people who were directly <strong>in</strong>volved, Charles McCarthywas probably one of them, if he is available to aid us <strong>in</strong> that, what thatprocess was and some depth <strong>in</strong>to what the objections were. Obviouslywe would reach our own conclusions about the merits of thoseregulations. But this is not a process, as Richard Bonnie rem<strong>in</strong>ds us,that we start at ground zero on and we might as well not go throughsometh<strong>in</strong>g that has already been gone through.So I would suggest that those be distributed as soon as


491234567891011121314151617181920212223242526possible if they have not already been.DR. CHILDRESS: Let me just thank both Jack Schwartz,who is leav<strong>in</strong>g the room, and Jonathan Moreno <strong>for</strong> jo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g us. And youare welcome to stay, Jonathan, as long as you like. But thank you bothvery much <strong>for</strong> this helpful discussion.DR. SCHWARTZ: Thank you.DR. CHILDRESS: All right. Alex's suggestion has been, Ihope, duly noted on provid<strong>in</strong>g those two and then also the suggestionabout hav<strong>in</strong>g some discussion perhaps with Charles McCarthy about theprocess.PROF. CAPRON: That is just one name. There may beother people who are equally appropriate.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay.PROF. CHARO: Follow<strong>in</strong>g along with that, this rem<strong>in</strong>dsme of where we were when we were end<strong>in</strong>g up last time because we didhave a discussion of what the objections were at that time. I remember<strong>in</strong>quir<strong>in</strong>g what the problems were now because we need to know whatthe obstacles are now to mov<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong>ward. So if what I am hear<strong>in</strong>g is asuggestion of tak<strong>in</strong>g those old regs, the old draft of the regs, as astart<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t and then say<strong>in</strong>g what is wrong, what is good, what needsto be amended, et cetera, it would seem to me that it would be valuableif we could at this po<strong>in</strong>t elicit whether it is written or <strong>in</strong> the <strong>for</strong>m of, youknow, verbal testimony.Comments from the people who are <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the majororganizations of both researchers and patient groups and their familieson those regs -- I mean, essentially it is a recreation of what happens


501234567891011121314151617181920212223242526when you publish a Federal Register notice and you <strong>in</strong>vite commentbecause unless we get a handle on why people today do or do not likethose regs we are not likely to be successful at steer<strong>in</strong>g through them toa solution that is acceptable.DR. CHILDRESS: I th<strong>in</strong>k that is right and I th<strong>in</strong>k we cancerta<strong>in</strong>ly do more with some of the participants <strong>in</strong>volved. I would notethat Robert Lev<strong>in</strong>e's work and also Richard Bonnie's work, both spend afair amount of their articles try<strong>in</strong>g to lay out what was problematic aboutthose, why they were considered controversial, and also what haschanged s<strong>in</strong>ce then, and why it is important to move beyond the k<strong>in</strong>ds ofcategories that were used at the time both because they werecontroversial at the time but also because th<strong>in</strong>gs have changed so muchs<strong>in</strong>ce then as to render them even less appropriate. So we have some ofthat already be<strong>for</strong>e us but there would be no reason why we could not domore with some of the participants <strong>in</strong>volved.Okay. But where else do we go from here?DR. CASSELL: I would like to hear what some of our owncommittee members, like Laurie, has to say be<strong>for</strong>e we go out, too farout, because of their experience <strong>in</strong> the whole issue.DR. CHILDRESS: Right.DR. CASSELL: I -- so we have a little more basis when webeg<strong>in</strong> to listen to contract people talk<strong>in</strong>g about what we want to actuallywrite.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. And I reported what she -- sheregretted she could not be here to amplify this morn<strong>in</strong>g.Alex?


511234567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CAPRON: Yes. On a substantive matter youreported her as say<strong>in</strong>g someth<strong>in</strong>g that was very different than what Altasaid a few m<strong>in</strong>utes ago and I agreed with Alta and I want to see if Iunderstood her comment, Laurie's comment <strong>in</strong> absentia.She -- <strong>in</strong> your version -- was say<strong>in</strong>g, "Let's not highlydifferentiate."DR. CHILDRESS: No. Let's not try to develop categories.Let's not try and develop guidel<strong>in</strong>es <strong>for</strong> -- well, basically Bonnie'sargument is let's th<strong>in</strong>k about decisional <strong>in</strong>capacity generally. Peoplewho suffer from that.PROF. CAPRON: And she was agree<strong>in</strong>g with that?DR. CHILDRESS: She was agree<strong>in</strong>g with that. That doesnot mean, though, that you would not then draw some l<strong>in</strong>es and talkabout people who have the capacity to consent or those who have thecapacity to assent or not consent and so <strong>for</strong>th, and there are l<strong>in</strong>esdrawn, but not to draw them <strong>in</strong> any k<strong>in</strong>d of disease or illness specificway.PROF. CAPRON: I mean, I did not take Alta to be say<strong>in</strong>gdisease by disease.DR. CHILDRESS: Right.PROF. CAPRON: But to recognize that we are talk<strong>in</strong>gabout a gradation of --DR. CHILDRESS: A gradation of decisionalcapacity/<strong>in</strong>capacity.PROF. CAPRON: Well, it may be -- there may bedifferences also between chronic conditions and episodic conditions.


521234567891011121314151617181920212223242526There may be differences between progressive conditions and <strong>in</strong>-bornconditions, et cetera. And one th<strong>in</strong>g that occurs to me, of course, is thatthe national commission's report and the HEW regulations dealt withthose <strong>in</strong>capacitated who were <strong>in</strong>stitutionalized.DR. CHILDRESS: Institutionalized.PROF. CAPRON: Which is yet another differentiation andobviously despite Jonathan's comment that this sort of began onlyrecently with the UCLA experience, many of the early horror stories ofthose be<strong>in</strong>g ill treated were precisely those who were <strong>in</strong>stitutionalized,the Willowbrook experiments on the mentally retarded, the -- even theJewish Chronic Disease hospital case, although it <strong>in</strong>volved cancerresearch, was on cognitively impaired, demented mostly, elderly people<strong>in</strong> the hospital. And so the exposure of people <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>stitutions,particularly total <strong>in</strong>stitutions, who are mentally <strong>in</strong>capacitated may bevery different than those who are ambulatory.DR. CHILDRESS: And aga<strong>in</strong> start<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> that general wayis --PROF. CAPRON: So these --DR. CHILDRESS: -- does not mean that one would fail toattend to that difference.PROF. CAPRON: Right. I just wanted to be clear that wewere not.DR. CHILDRESS: But that was one of the mistakes manyargued <strong>in</strong> retrospect that was made <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>itial was focus<strong>in</strong>g on the<strong>in</strong>stitutionalized, which may have been every more appropriate at thattime prior to the -- or at the time the HEW regulation was occurr<strong>in</strong>g. But


531234567891011121314151617181920212223242526at least now to focus on decisional <strong>in</strong>capacity and then deal with thesevariations start<strong>in</strong>g with one of the subsets and mak<strong>in</strong>g that the sole partof reference <strong>for</strong> policy and regulation.PROF. CHARO: Jim, go<strong>in</strong>g back aga<strong>in</strong> to what it is thatwe can be do<strong>in</strong>g. I feel like we are circl<strong>in</strong>g over and over aga<strong>in</strong> about themandate question. But we could be work<strong>in</strong>g at a very high level ofgenerality or we could be work<strong>in</strong>g at the level of almost regulatory detail.At the level of high generality we could choose to try toanswer the question that Alex put which had to do with the basicdirection that you want all regs to go however they are drafted and bywhom to err on the side of be<strong>in</strong>g protectionist aga<strong>in</strong>st exploitation to erron the side of generat<strong>in</strong>g knowledge with appropriate safety hatches <strong>in</strong>both directions so that you do not have a rule that is so rigid it shootsitself <strong>in</strong> the foot.Now you know that there is a great deal of merit to thenotion of -- that has been widely shared by a lot of the writers we havebeen read<strong>in</strong>g -- of presumptive prohibition on research that poses anyk<strong>in</strong>d of physical risk or emotional risk to people who are decisionallyimpaired simply because there is no basis on which we should bepermitted to judge them or judge ourselves as be<strong>in</strong>g appropriaterepresentatives to say, yes, <strong>for</strong> them.And then the question will be what k<strong>in</strong>d of escape hatchdo you create so that you do not have therapeutic orphans? So that youdo not have lack of access to th<strong>in</strong>gs that are of immediate personalbenefit? And that is where you would beg<strong>in</strong> to worry about nationalbodies or regional bodies or every IRB subject to certa<strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>ds of rules,


541234567891011121314151617181920212223242526et cetera. But that the level of generality at this commission level couldstart with, and I am not advocat<strong>in</strong>g it, but could start with a decisionabout whether or not to say whatever happens, whoever does it, theyought to start with a general prohibition followed by exceptions.That ought to be the model <strong>for</strong> work<strong>in</strong>g with decisionallyimpaired people because that is protectionist and if there is anyth<strong>in</strong>g weknow it is the history of abuse because -- or we could -- we can obviouslyhave the opposite and say scientific research here is so crucial that, <strong>in</strong>fact, it is the one area where you want to push <strong>for</strong>ward and you wouldwant to say the exception ought to be when you cannot do the research<strong>in</strong> each direction.We could be work<strong>in</strong>g at that level of generality and it isworth decid<strong>in</strong>g whether or not we th<strong>in</strong>k that has got any value toanybody be<strong>for</strong>e then mov<strong>in</strong>g to the -- because you cannot come and work<strong>in</strong> the middle. You immediately then work at the very detailed levelswhere I was talk<strong>in</strong>g about Federal Register notices, regulatory stuff,because the <strong>in</strong>termediate level of specificity gets <strong>in</strong>to questions ofwhether or not you could operationalize it and that then gets <strong>in</strong>toquestions of such empirical depth and with such change -- you know, f<strong>in</strong>etun<strong>in</strong>g of procedures that you w<strong>in</strong>d up work<strong>in</strong>g as a draft<strong>in</strong>g body.DR. CHILDRESS: I guess one question would be -- noticethat the Maryland group is now mov<strong>in</strong>g towards draft<strong>in</strong>g legislation andthey considered the document we received as a policy document. That Itake it is still too specific from the standpo<strong>in</strong>t that you were rais<strong>in</strong>gbecause it gets <strong>in</strong>to the operational questions.PROF. CHARO: For example -- yes. Because, <strong>for</strong>


551234567891011121314151617181920212223242526example, I would have great difficulty rais<strong>in</strong>g my hand <strong>in</strong> support of thenotion of durable powers of attorney <strong>for</strong> research. I f<strong>in</strong>d it a verytroubl<strong>in</strong>g operational detail. So I would hate to be <strong>for</strong>ced to have to sayyea.DR. CHILDRESS: No, I mean I was not recommend<strong>in</strong>gthe Maryland statement because obviously --PROF. CHARO: Right.DR. CHILDRESS: -- we would have to -- the question iswhether -- aga<strong>in</strong> try<strong>in</strong>g to determ<strong>in</strong>e the level we want to operate on and Iam just try<strong>in</strong>g to determ<strong>in</strong>e whether that is too specific <strong>for</strong> you becausea lot of these matters we will just have to hash them out as to whetherwe --PROF. CHARO: Yes.DR. CHILDRESS: -- get agreement on a particular area ornot.Other comments about how to proceed because I have afeel<strong>in</strong>g -- aga<strong>in</strong> I have -- from our previous conversation that this is anarea where we th<strong>in</strong>k we can do someth<strong>in</strong>g and the question is given ourtime frame, and you did receive a schedule of meet<strong>in</strong>gs though weobviously are go<strong>in</strong>g to meet as a subcommittee be<strong>for</strong>e that, but wheredo we go from here? What do we ask <strong>for</strong> next? We have already had acouple of suggestions. But what else?Aga<strong>in</strong> are we at the po<strong>in</strong>t where we could -- do we want totry to resolve this question that Alta has raised be<strong>for</strong>e we get peopleeither on the staff or outside or on the commission work<strong>in</strong>g on thesematters? Where do you want to go?


561234567891011121314151617181920212223242526I guess my sense was that there seemed to be enough towork on build<strong>in</strong>g on what has already existed that if we could settle someof the general th<strong>in</strong>gs just sort of establish<strong>in</strong>g the direction then we couldgo ahead and get, aga<strong>in</strong> one of the three, groups I mentioned work<strong>in</strong>g onsometh<strong>in</strong>g that we could discuss <strong>in</strong> more detail. But we are go<strong>in</strong>g toneed <strong>in</strong>put from actual researchers and patient groups along the wayeither be<strong>for</strong>e or as we engage <strong>in</strong> the process of draft<strong>in</strong>g some k<strong>in</strong>d ofstatement.My only po<strong>in</strong>t is that if we cannot move <strong>for</strong>ward <strong>in</strong> thisparticular area then I am not sure how much hope we have <strong>for</strong> a reportby October because this is one of the most thoroughly plowed areas <strong>in</strong>the last couple of years.PROF. CHARO: Jim, one possible th<strong>in</strong>g that we could dothat is very concrete is we could actually -- we have already got many ofthem, gather the exist<strong>in</strong>g specific drafts. If you want to try to work atthat level, right. We have got at least two that have been given to us.There are five or six that have actually been published, complete drafts,not policy statements. You can l<strong>in</strong>e them up. We can work throughthem. We can use them as the basis <strong>for</strong> the comments that we requestfrom other groups. We could choose to endorse one of the others ornone of the above and that would be the outcome.I do not know if you -- if I am sure that would actuallysatisfy what we are hop<strong>in</strong>g to do but it probably would come very close.How we evaluate them is still k<strong>in</strong>d of up <strong>for</strong> grabs because we do nothave a -- we do not have a consensus about direction. I personally amk<strong>in</strong>d of ambivalent about the direction. But even so it would be


571234567891011121314151617181920212223242526someth<strong>in</strong>g to start with that is concrete.DR. CASSELL: Alta, why are you ambivalent? I mean Iam too. But why are you ambivalent about direction?PROF. CHARO: Because I th<strong>in</strong>k we need the research <strong>in</strong>this area desperately but every time I get confident that we need it sodesperately we should go ahead and move <strong>for</strong>ward we have anotheroutbreak of some tremendously outrageous abuse of people's dignityand their rights that comes to light <strong>in</strong> some particularly <strong>in</strong>stitutionalizedsett<strong>in</strong>g. And my <strong>in</strong>troduction <strong>in</strong> this whole area, <strong>in</strong>deed, was theWillowbrook bus<strong>in</strong>ess which took place very close to my back yard.DR. CASSELL: But it is that same problem. Is theregulation to be based on the -- I am try<strong>in</strong>g to th<strong>in</strong>k of a good adjective<strong>for</strong> it -- bad behavior of a few or is it to move <strong>for</strong>ward <strong>in</strong> the largemajority of <strong>in</strong>vestigators who are not <strong>in</strong>herently --PROF. CHARO: I know. It is --DR. CASSELL: What do you th<strong>in</strong>k?PROF. CHARO: How many hamstrung <strong>in</strong>vestigatorsequals a group at Willowbrook that was just abused like crazy? I do notknow how to put numbers to those two th<strong>in</strong>gs.DR. CASSELL: Well, which do you th<strong>in</strong>k -- let me put itdifferently. Do you believe that if you can f<strong>in</strong>d a way to write it so thatthere will not be somebody who sneaks <strong>in</strong> and does bad th<strong>in</strong>gs to otherpeople who will have to be protected? Do you th<strong>in</strong>k you are go<strong>in</strong>g to beable to do that?PROF. CHARO: I th<strong>in</strong>k that a motivated person whowants to lie, cheat, steal and manipulate can always lie, cheat, steal or


581234567891011121314151617181920212223242526manipulate. You cannot write a procedure to prevent that. The crim<strong>in</strong>aljustice system gets as close as you can get and you see howcumbersome that has become as a result.However -- and this is why I was ask<strong>in</strong>g about generalitybe<strong>for</strong>e we talked about debat<strong>in</strong>g specific drafts. I do th<strong>in</strong>k that adifferent model other than the regulatory drafts that we have seen so farwhich attempt on substantive criteria to tackle the question of what canbe done, by whom and when based on the risk at hand and the benefit athand, et cetera. I th<strong>in</strong>k an alternative way of go<strong>in</strong>g is to say you cannotdo it on a more general basis like that. It has to be ad hoc.The system <strong>for</strong> ad hoc review we now have with the IRBsis probably not capable at this po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>for</strong> whatever reason ofoperationaliz<strong>in</strong>g this <strong>in</strong> a way that we are confident will preventWillowbrook. So the question becomes is there some alternative way ofhandl<strong>in</strong>g it through regional or national level review, through a differentbody that is devoted to this, that is made up of people who then take thison as their -- you know, as their purpose which is to make sure thatthese k<strong>in</strong>ds of protocols only go through when they are be<strong>in</strong>g doneproperly so that the <strong>in</strong>vestigators both can do the work that they want todo without a million IRBs handl<strong>in</strong>g it under different standards as they<strong>in</strong>terpret standard language.This is an alternative way of go<strong>in</strong>g about it. But it is thecreation of another level and another body and that has --DR. CASSELL: Yes. So the answer to the question of whyyou are ambivalent has to do with the occasion of Willowbrook. I am notm<strong>in</strong>imiz<strong>in</strong>g the importance of the Willowbrook. And your solution is if we


591234567891011121314151617181920212223242526put that aside you believe that we could address the question, directlyaddress the question of another level IRB or an equivalent, and that thatwould be a productive th<strong>in</strong>g to do.PROF. CHARO: I am throw<strong>in</strong>g it out <strong>for</strong> discussion. I amwill<strong>in</strong>g to be persuaded <strong>in</strong> either direction.DR. CHILDRESS: And that is the discussion we will haveto have but at another time.As I said what we have got to do now is decide on whatwe are go<strong>in</strong>g to do <strong>in</strong> order to have that and resolve that discussion. Soa couple more po<strong>in</strong>ts and then I will try to summarize where we are.Arturo?DR. BRITO: I agree with Alta's comment about youcannot prevent somebody that willfully wants to do harm from do<strong>in</strong>gharm. One of the th<strong>in</strong>gs that I would like to hear aside from thefamilies, et cetera, that have been the victims of scientific research is Iwould also like to hear from some of the researchers and this is possibleto have done.For <strong>in</strong>stance, from UCLA, that have also been the -- thathave not -- that have been perpetrators of abuse <strong>in</strong> these research, buthave maybe not felt at the time that they were do<strong>in</strong>g the researchbecause I would say 90 percent of the time even go<strong>in</strong>g back to theTuskegee Syphilis experiments the people do<strong>in</strong>g the research did not feelat the time that they were be<strong>in</strong>g abusive.And I th<strong>in</strong>k it is important -- it would be important to hearfrom that side and I th<strong>in</strong>k that would give us some direction on where wecan go because I th<strong>in</strong>k as a scientist -- scientists will sometimes feel that


601234567891011121314151617181920212223242526the acquisition of knowledge <strong>in</strong> an immediate manner, whether or not itwould be deceitful or whether it would be perceived to be deceitful ismore important at the time than the patient's rights. So I -- or thesubject's rights <strong>in</strong> research.So I would like to hear from that side <strong>in</strong> addition to thefamilies if it is possible to get the researchers <strong>in</strong> here.DR. CHILDRESS: Alex?PROF. CAPRON: I th<strong>in</strong>k we need someone to do ormaybe some ones to do a couple of th<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>for</strong> us. One is to explore <strong>in</strong>some detail and with an eye to what it would mean, along the l<strong>in</strong>es thatAlta has suggested and so <strong>for</strong>th, tak<strong>in</strong>g the different perspectives. Imean, the articles that we have seen from the Cleveland Pla<strong>in</strong> Dealer Iwas struck by a number of the comments there on the Veteran'sAdm<strong>in</strong>istration studies.And at the end of the article of February 16th by Bill Sloatand Keith Epste<strong>in</strong> there is a quote from a Kristy Ann (?) Teleson, apractic<strong>in</strong>g psychiatrist and director of <strong>for</strong>ensic psychiatry at theUniversity of Maryland, and this is along the l<strong>in</strong>es of what Arturo was justsay<strong>in</strong>g. She said that the ma<strong>in</strong> risk of withhold<strong>in</strong>g medications from amentally ill person is "that the symptoms can come back or relapse," andthen the authors go on and say she said, "Psychiatric researchers facecomplex ethical issues because 'you have to have a control group tostudy.'"I am sure that what she is, <strong>in</strong> effect, say<strong>in</strong>g is that thesepeople th<strong>in</strong>k they are do<strong>in</strong>g a good th<strong>in</strong>g and yet the requirements oftheir own scientific discipl<strong>in</strong>es push them to do someth<strong>in</strong>g which then


611234567891011121314151617181920212223242526results <strong>in</strong> what to those of us on the outside appears to be a scandal.I agree with Arturo. I th<strong>in</strong>k we should hear some of thejustification. But we need someone to th<strong>in</strong>k through the implications ofthe alternative perspective and put us <strong>in</strong> a position of then say<strong>in</strong>g to theworld if we were to say that research is always the secondary and neverthe primary objective <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>terest of the research community, anddespite the value to people who have the diseases themselves of hav<strong>in</strong>gfurther understand<strong>in</strong>g of those diseases that has to take a back seat andthat would mean the follow<strong>in</strong>g, and then put that out there sort of seewho shoots at it and what they can tell us, whether they are a researcheror a member of a family, or an <strong>in</strong>dividual who has been treated <strong>for</strong> one ofthe conditions that would be <strong>in</strong>volved, and really get some purchase onhow contentious and how troubled we would be <strong>in</strong> tak<strong>in</strong>g that strong aposition.So that is a conceptual work that we are go<strong>in</strong>g to needsome help with it seems to me. And obviously someone like Jay Katz orsomeone who has thought deeply about research could be the k<strong>in</strong>d ofperson one might th<strong>in</strong>k of turn<strong>in</strong>g to. There are others I am sure we canall suggest.I also th<strong>in</strong>k we need an analytic framework and someone -- and this is someth<strong>in</strong>g we need a staff person to develop or a contractstaff person to develop an analytic framework <strong>for</strong> us. We have heardsuggestions already that one way of break<strong>in</strong>g this down is by categoriesof the potential subjects.I want to ask first of all whether it makes any sense todist<strong>in</strong>guish between subjects and patient subjects. There has been


621234567891011121314151617181920212223242526argument here or use of the term "direct benefit research." I am veryskeptical about that term<strong>in</strong>ology. And this quote about the need <strong>for</strong> thecontrol group underlies it. I mean any time you have a study what youare say<strong>in</strong>g is this is research on your condition and the purpose of theresearch is to test out some method of treatment of your condition.Now whether that should be called direct benefit researchand dist<strong>in</strong>guished from nondirect benefit research is a basic questionparticularly if one of the ways we study your condition is to give some ofyou the known effective treatment and some of you the placebo to makeyou the control group or some of you someth<strong>in</strong>g else. I mean, <strong>in</strong> whatsense is that expected?The whole notion of the null hypothesis which starts offby say<strong>in</strong>g we do not know if this will do any good to you at all. Butmaybe there is some argument that there are maybe three categories,that which is directly implement<strong>in</strong>g a new research methodology where itis like try<strong>in</strong>g out AZT on patients with AIDS and people desperately th<strong>in</strong>kthis is the only available treatment and has shown some <strong>in</strong>itial good andthe only way I am go<strong>in</strong>g to get it is to be <strong>in</strong> the research.And then there is this category where you are do<strong>in</strong>g a truecontrolled group and you might or you might not. And then there arethose th<strong>in</strong>gs where it is just adventitious. You happen to be a mentally<strong>in</strong>competent person who is <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>stitution and we want to study yourcondition but there is no <strong>in</strong>tention of directly benefit<strong>in</strong>g you at all. It isjust that we need to know more about the condition or you are anavailable subject.So those -- I would like to have some exam<strong>in</strong>ation of that.


631234567891011121314151617181920212223242526I would also like to have us look at different categories <strong>in</strong> terms that youraised, Jim, of competency. Those who are presently competent. Andhere we could dist<strong>in</strong>guish between those who were <strong>in</strong>stitutionalized andthose who were not <strong>in</strong>stitutionalized. I am just suggest<strong>in</strong>g a rubric.Obviously anybody do<strong>in</strong>g this work will probably come up with morecategories.Group number two are those presently <strong>in</strong>competent butthose who are expected reasonably soon to be <strong>in</strong>competent. A personwith Alzheimer's is the paradigm here where one beg<strong>in</strong>s to th<strong>in</strong>k alongthe l<strong>in</strong>es of the Maryland group, can we get some advance direction fromthis person.The third group are those who are previously competentand there one might dist<strong>in</strong>guish between those who are capable ofassent<strong>in</strong>g now or withhold<strong>in</strong>g assent where it makes sense to talk about<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>m<strong>in</strong>g them of the research and so <strong>for</strong>th and they can say no eventhough their surrogate has said yes versus those who are not capable ofgiv<strong>in</strong>g any consent or assent at all. They cannot tell you to stop or tostart, or they do not want it.And with<strong>in</strong> each of these groups then there are those thatgave you directions be<strong>for</strong>e and those who did not give you directionsbe<strong>for</strong>e.F<strong>in</strong>ally there is the group of the never competent, thementally retarded who are never able to give consent. Now there toothere may be those who can assent and those who cannot assent. Sothese are just an example.I mean, I need an analytic framework and then with<strong>in</strong>


641234567891011121314151617181920212223242526that, Jim, it would seem to me there it would be useful to take thesedocuments from Penn or Maryland, or wherever and have someone plug<strong>in</strong> --PROF. CHARO: The proposed rule.PROF. CAPRON: -- proposal. In other words, theMaryland group suggests we deal with it this way. The Penn group saysthis way. Somebody else says this way. And we could see what thealternatives are so we can beg<strong>in</strong> to say what would we craft out of all ofthis. Okay. But this is not work we can do sitt<strong>in</strong>g around here aroundthe table until the preparatory work has been done.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Here is what I have heard so far -- does anyone want to add anyth<strong>in</strong>g -- and see if we have a consensusabout -- I would not say this direction, but these directions.One th<strong>in</strong>g we want to know is, <strong>in</strong> more detail, whether <strong>in</strong>written or oral <strong>for</strong>m, the problem -- people like Charles McCarthy andothers, why the <strong>in</strong>itial proposals from the national commission andDHEW were not implemented. What k<strong>in</strong>ds of factors were at work? Whathas changed s<strong>in</strong>ce then?Second, we are <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g conceptually <strong>in</strong>terms of develop<strong>in</strong>g an analytical framework about implications ofdifferent models <strong>for</strong> whether we go on -- <strong>in</strong> an ef<strong>for</strong>t to do some research<strong>in</strong> this area or work with -- if not a prohibition at least a strongpresumption aga<strong>in</strong>st research with cognitively impaired subjects.We want <strong>in</strong> an analytical framework to deal with thedifferent k<strong>in</strong>ds of categories that could be used whether we th<strong>in</strong>k aboutcategories of research or categories of risk, or categories of competence


651234567891011121314151617181920212223242526or <strong>in</strong>competence, or capacity or <strong>in</strong>capacity. And we would like to seethose dealt with <strong>in</strong> relation to the drafts of policy and regulation thathave been proposed by different groups. And then f<strong>in</strong>ally we would liketo hear from both researchers and patients/families about experiences<strong>in</strong> this particular area or arguments <strong>for</strong> or aga<strong>in</strong>st research.Have I -- is there a consensus that those are directions weought to take? And, if possible, have some of this ready <strong>for</strong> the nextsubcommittee meet<strong>in</strong>g. I mean, I have not heard how the next NBACmeet<strong>in</strong>g will be structured and whether there will be a subcommitteemeet<strong>in</strong>g as part of that but I am assum<strong>in</strong>g given the time frame that weare talk<strong>in</strong>g about a subcommittee meet<strong>in</strong>g after the March one be<strong>for</strong>e wecould have some of these th<strong>in</strong>gs put <strong>in</strong> manageable <strong>for</strong>m <strong>for</strong> us.Is that direction --PROF. CAPRON: The next one is only two weeks away.DR. CHILDRESS: That is right. So that is why I amsuggest<strong>in</strong>g it is impossible.DR. SCOTT-JONES: I have a quick question about --DR. CHILDRESS: Sure.DR. SCOTT-JAMES: The first item that you mentionedwas review<strong>in</strong>g why the regulations -- the proposed regulations were neveraccepted.DR. CHILDRESS: Make sure everyone has a copy of thoseand to talk about why they failed with <strong>in</strong>put from people who were<strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the discussion.DR. SCOTT-JAMES: Okay. I was just wonder<strong>in</strong>g is theremore to it than what we have already read? I am just try<strong>in</strong>g to wonder


661234567891011121314151617181920212223242526what value added we would get from what we have already read aboutthat. I believe we need to talk more about it.DR. CHILDRESS: I would like to talk more about thatpo<strong>in</strong>t but Alex is -- I would concur with you that I th<strong>in</strong>k we have heardfrom Lev<strong>in</strong>e, Bonnie and others <strong>in</strong> a way that I th<strong>in</strong>k we --PROF. CAPRON: I orig<strong>in</strong>ally just said have peoplereceived the regulation. I did not know -- have you read the regulations?DR. SCOTT-JAMES: Not the regulations themselves. So Iwas just propos<strong>in</strong>g that as a change to that first one. Maybe we need tolook at the regulations and given what we have heard about why theywere not acceptable, would we agree? Is there someth<strong>in</strong>g more to it? Itseems like step one is a repeat of what we have already done.PROF. CAPRON: I would agree with Diane and suggestthat <strong>in</strong> this analytic process that we are talk<strong>in</strong>g about, whoever wasdo<strong>in</strong>g that would plug the regulations <strong>in</strong>, the <strong>in</strong>dividual provisions of theregulations, <strong>in</strong>to this analytic description along with the Maryland andthe Penn, and other th<strong>in</strong>gs and say that was the way it was suggestedthere.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay.PROF. CAPRON: But there might be some value as weget to talk<strong>in</strong>g about it and get to our own po<strong>in</strong>t of say<strong>in</strong>g we are ready togo with X, Y or Z to be rem<strong>in</strong>ded by people who lived through thecomments on those regulations what problems and that is where Ithought of someone like McCarthy.DR. SCOTT-JONES: Then I have one more comment. Itseems that our discussion this morn<strong>in</strong>g so far has not only addressed


671234567891011121314151617181920212223242526the cognitively impaired but some much larger issues that apply to thecognitively impaired but apply more generally to the protection of peoplewho participate <strong>in</strong> research.And to give you just two examples that I th<strong>in</strong>k are veryimportant and that we should comment on at some po<strong>in</strong>t, and that iswhat Alta mentioned about at what level should a body function? Shouldthere be an IRB or a similar group at a level removed from the locallevel? I th<strong>in</strong>k that is a big issue that we really need to talk about at somepo<strong>in</strong>t. Is there value <strong>in</strong> it and why would we leave the local model thatmost people right now seem to at least value.And then the other issue is the one that Eric mentionedand that is the <strong>in</strong>tertw<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g of regulation and education <strong>in</strong> controll<strong>in</strong>g thebehavior of people who are researchers. I th<strong>in</strong>k we really need to talkmore about that and maybe have some sort of statement that comesfrom the commission on that issue.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Other po<strong>in</strong>ts? If people can --have we said enough about that then to work out <strong>for</strong> next time?If you could delay a break that was scheduled <strong>for</strong> aboutseven or eight m<strong>in</strong>utes ago I would like to be<strong>for</strong>e we take the break getCharles McCarthy who has to go back to -- I mean, sorry, Charles McKay.Sorry, Charles. We have been talk<strong>in</strong>g about Charles McCarthy <strong>for</strong> solong that I have <strong>for</strong>gotten to whom we are return<strong>in</strong>g now.But I would like to have Charles McKay be<strong>for</strong>e he has togo back to a meet<strong>in</strong>g at NIH to talk about the study that he is conduct<strong>in</strong>gand everyone should have received a copy of the first three <strong>in</strong>strumentsbe<strong>in</strong>g used I put at your desk this morn<strong>in</strong>g.


681234567891011121314151617181920212223242526So if you would jo<strong>in</strong> us at the table, Charles.DR. McKAY: I did not have some materials.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay.DR. McKAY: There are some materials that describeprecisely where we are.DR. CHILDRESS: Welcome.DR. McKAY: Thank you. I was present at the firstcommission meet<strong>in</strong>g and presented you with a little bit of background onthe <strong>in</strong>stitutional review board study and some <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation I haddeveloped on the history of IRBs. I am pleased to be here to tell youwhat progress we have actually been mak<strong>in</strong>g. That meet<strong>in</strong>g was back <strong>in</strong>December.As you can see from the little status report we have goneout as per scheduled with the first there questionnaires to IRB chairs,<strong>in</strong>stitution officials, and IRB adm<strong>in</strong>istrators, and our response rates withthe <strong>in</strong>itial mail<strong>in</strong>g, we have not done follow-up contact, have been quiteencourag<strong>in</strong>g. That is they are already over 70 percent. Correlat<strong>in</strong>g allof those across the board, however, we do not have yet a -- what I wouldconsider important response rate that touches those representativesfrom all <strong>in</strong>stitutions. So that is our major focus at the moment.The third focus is someth<strong>in</strong>g I will comment on brieflythis morn<strong>in</strong>g and I promise to make available to you with<strong>in</strong> a matter of aweek or two the actual questionnaires that will be sent out to IRBmembers and <strong>in</strong>vestigators. I contacted the contractor on Friday andthey did not have a good clean copy of the latest and it is not back fromthe pr<strong>in</strong>ters and they are still t<strong>in</strong>ker<strong>in</strong>g with word<strong>in</strong>g, and I thought it


691234567891011121314151617181920212223242526easier to wait. I will just tell you how those may differ from thequestionnaires you did receive.Overall we are study<strong>in</strong>g, just to rem<strong>in</strong>d you, the<strong>in</strong>stitutional environment, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g resources that are available. We arelook<strong>in</strong>g at questions of process and procedures that IRBs employ atseveral levels, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g such mechanisms as subcommittees, primaryreviewers, the way IRBs handle the paper flow, the way they divide tasksand look<strong>in</strong>g at exempt, expedited, completeness of materials, whatprelim<strong>in</strong>ary work they do with <strong>in</strong>vestigators to make the actual protocolpresented to the IRB as complete as possible because we want todevelop what looks like sound and good practices and have that<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation circulated.We are also look<strong>in</strong>g at more substantive processquestions of how they rank order their time and the priority, that is whatactually does happen. Do they spend all the time edit<strong>in</strong>g consent <strong>for</strong>ms?Or do, <strong>in</strong> fact, they wrestle with risk-benefit and justification issues? Andhow satisfied are the chair and the adm<strong>in</strong>istrator, and we will see later <strong>in</strong>the next set of surveys members and <strong>in</strong>vestigators with that process.Does it have a good outcome? How are they per<strong>for</strong>m<strong>in</strong>g? And then weare look<strong>in</strong>g at some demographic <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation about all of these groups,of course, but also some throughput and output <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation.We have pretty reliable <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation on the way the systemis now work<strong>in</strong>g and it is important to remember that IRB work loads havetripled s<strong>in</strong>ce the national commission study <strong>in</strong> 1974. At the same timeNIH success and fund<strong>in</strong>g rates have dropped precipitously fromsometh<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the neighborhood of 60 to 70 percent of applications to at


701234567891011121314151617181920212223242526some places less than 10. And major <strong>in</strong>stitutions, stellar <strong>in</strong>stitutions <strong>in</strong>the research field are lucky to be gett<strong>in</strong>g 20 percent to 25 percentsuccess rate.We have seen that the number of applications then go<strong>in</strong>gto other sources of fund<strong>in</strong>g -- and there is no way <strong>for</strong> us un<strong>for</strong>tunately totrack this. We tried <strong>in</strong> a pilot study with seven major <strong>in</strong>stitutions and itwas simply impossible. They do not have records to allow us to know ofthose that get funded from other sources how many were orig<strong>in</strong>allyturned down by NIH versus those that were submitted to NIH aga<strong>in</strong>. Sowe just <strong>for</strong>sook try<strong>in</strong>g to know that at this po<strong>in</strong>t. That is a specializedstudy and would dra<strong>in</strong> our resources. At any rate that gives you someidea of what we are look<strong>in</strong>g at <strong>in</strong> terms of the work load issues.Then we are look<strong>in</strong>g at outcome. The outcome not only <strong>in</strong>terms of ask<strong>in</strong>g specifically about subject compla<strong>in</strong>ts, <strong>in</strong>juries, problemsencountered, noncompliance of <strong>in</strong>vestigators, suspension of protocolsbecause of noncompliance, but we are also look<strong>in</strong>g at outcome measuresas to what they have observed <strong>in</strong> terms of changes <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>vestigatorbehavior or changes <strong>in</strong> protection of subjects as a result of theseprocesses that we impose on them. And outcome <strong>in</strong> terms of what goeson educationally with<strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>stitution to ensure better compliance,greater awareness, greater appreciation of subject rights andsafeguards.We will carry those out across <strong>in</strong>vestigators and IRBmembers. The change with the PI surveys, pr<strong>in</strong>cipal <strong>in</strong>vestigatorsurveys, that I th<strong>in</strong>k are major <strong>in</strong>terest, they will address specificprotocol issues.


711234567891011121314151617181920212223242526As I po<strong>in</strong>ted out <strong>in</strong> the material distributed orig<strong>in</strong>ally atthat phase a subset of <strong>in</strong>stitutions <strong>in</strong> the general survey, the first threephases of which we have done, a subset of those will have protocolsselected and divided equally between high risk, low risk research,behavioral research <strong>in</strong> biomedical <strong>in</strong>stitutions so that we at least havesome assurance that we are not look<strong>in</strong>g at only part of the picture. Andwe will see by a complicated algorithm four protocols that ought to havebeen implemented, <strong>in</strong>deed even completed by the time of this survey.We will approach those <strong>in</strong>vestigators ask<strong>in</strong>g them to tellus about the status, the fund<strong>in</strong>g source, so that will enable us to getsome idea of where the money is com<strong>in</strong>g from. What sort of subjects,especially those <strong>in</strong> the long list of vulnerable categories, women,pregnant women, children, m<strong>in</strong>orities, those who are ill chronically,acutely, those who have mental illness, those who may be economicallyand educationally disadvantaged and disenfranchised, the whole rangeso that they can identify where the subjects were <strong>in</strong> their protocol.This will not give us a huge number of classes of subjectsor protocols. This will only turn out to be about 1,100 to 1,200<strong>in</strong>vestigators. If we get the response rate we hope <strong>for</strong> it will be between900 and 1,000 responses.But we th<strong>in</strong>k with the random sampl<strong>in</strong>g and thestratification we have used we can draw some reliable conclusions thatwill suggest room <strong>for</strong> future studies. Some groundwork will be done andsometh<strong>in</strong>g can move from there.We will ask these <strong>in</strong>vestigators too about whether thestudies require hospitalization, whether there is payment <strong>for</strong>


721234567891011121314151617181920212223242526participation, the duration of specific parts and overall what is the periodof follow-up, longitud<strong>in</strong>al if these are cl<strong>in</strong>ical studies. Do you check backperiodically over time to see how the subjects are far<strong>in</strong>g? We are go<strong>in</strong>gto ask them about their research methodologies as well.Then we will ask the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal <strong>in</strong>vestigators what theirown estimates are of risk-benefit, the consent procedures, whether theyagreed with the IRB f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs or not, how much concordance there was.Now there is obviously a lot of room <strong>for</strong> soft <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mationthere because these will be th<strong>in</strong>gs recalled after time. We are aware ofthat but this method was selected as one that would get us some<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation across the board. Obviously if you could focus <strong>in</strong> on a fewselect <strong>in</strong>stitutions you could sharpen this considerably but we wanted abroad look at the IRB.And we will ask whether sponsors reflected similarconcerns to the IRB. Then we will ask <strong>in</strong>vestigators about theirperception of the whole IRB process, how thorough is it, how timely,what's the effect on the research, is it someth<strong>in</strong>g that they f<strong>in</strong>d as <strong>in</strong> the<strong>in</strong>itial survey of the national commission some 20 plus years ago, that <strong>in</strong>spite of f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g this an unbearable and <strong>in</strong>tolerable obstacle <strong>in</strong>vestigatorsgrudg<strong>in</strong>gly admitted that their protocols were improved as a result of theprocess. I expect we will f<strong>in</strong>d someth<strong>in</strong>g like that.With respect to members, and then I will draw this to aconclusion, we are go<strong>in</strong>g to ask about their experience as <strong>in</strong>vestigators,as IRB members, what orientation they have had, how their service onthe IRB is assessed by them, what they feel of the workload, what theysee of various -- how the procedures that I have described be<strong>for</strong>e,


731234567891011121314151617181920212223242526prereview, assigned review, primary, secondary review, subcommittees,and so <strong>for</strong>th, how they handle these th<strong>in</strong>gs. How they might affect theirworkload and effectiveness.We will ask them to assess the per<strong>for</strong>mance of the IRBand we have some questions <strong>in</strong> there which will allow them opportunityto express concordance or not with IRB f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs and how often thatoccurs.Of the members, we will purposefully always select thenon<strong>in</strong>stitutional member of the IRB. Of the others we will make ef<strong>for</strong>tsalways to have representatives of various discipl<strong>in</strong>es on there and ofgender, et cetera. But we cannot guarantee that because the algorithmthat we are us<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> this is a little harder to control on such a largescale. But it will always <strong>in</strong>clude the non<strong>in</strong>stitutional member because wefeel that is a critical variable here.We will ask them whether they spend too much time onthe wrong th<strong>in</strong>gs and enough time on the right th<strong>in</strong>gs, and how theyassess their role and what their estimate of the needs of the IRB. That isa common thread throughout. Do they need more staff or resources?How could we facilitate the process?The results will be cross tabulated <strong>in</strong> a very complexmatrix of variables where we will look at all of these diverse sources<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g document extraction and <strong>in</strong>dependent protocol review byexpert committees, some 215 separate variables will be looked at andthe sources of some of these will obviously overlap. So we should have apretty complete picture.Then of course the question is when? I have set a


741234567891011121314151617181920212223242526deadl<strong>in</strong>e of March which the contractor tells me is not realistic. We arefight<strong>in</strong>g that battle at the moment. There are some reasonable bases <strong>for</strong>delay and some that are unacceptable. But we are mov<strong>in</strong>g as rapidly aswe can and what encourages us is the enormous degree of cooperationwe are f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>in</strong>stitutions across the board at all the levels we haveso far touched.In fact we get phone calls frequently from Dr. WendyBaldw<strong>in</strong>, deputy director of extramural programs down through thecontractor, from <strong>in</strong>stitutional officials, IRB chairs say<strong>in</strong>g we want to bepart of that particular subsample. We rem<strong>in</strong>d them that is good newsbut it is go<strong>in</strong>g to be perfectly random and we cannot guarantee that theywill get a place and that will not even give them priority <strong>in</strong> selection. Butat least there will be someth<strong>in</strong>g there <strong>for</strong> them.I am happy to answer questions, Jim. I once aga<strong>in</strong> wantto thank all of you <strong>for</strong> your <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> the study and <strong>for</strong> ask<strong>in</strong>g me tospeak this morn<strong>in</strong>g.DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you very much. That was veryhelpful. Let me pursue the tim<strong>in</strong>g question aga<strong>in</strong>.Under your revision of the realistic time table you wouldhope to have all the surveys <strong>in</strong> now by, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the two <strong>in</strong>strumentsthat have not yet been circulated, by when? Late April, early May?DR. McKAY: I would say we are go<strong>in</strong>g to have to fish orcut bait on those. We are just go<strong>in</strong>g to have to maybe accept that we willnot get as good a response rate as we would like by go<strong>in</strong>g back two orthree times and simply cut off. So I th<strong>in</strong>k we will do an <strong>in</strong>itial and afollow up. We would like to pursue it. There may be opportunity to


751234567891011121314151617181920212223242526pursue it but that would have to be a separate contract and a separatefund<strong>in</strong>g. We simply cannot go on under this study any longer.DR. CHILDRESS: And then once you complete -- you havethe surveys back how long do you anticipate it will take you to analyzethe data?DR. McKAY: Well, some data entry has already beenaccomplished and I pressed the contractor to see what we could comeup with. But as I discussed with you most of this falls <strong>in</strong>to a largelydemographic area, the very simplest of entry, and so it would have beenreally not very mean<strong>in</strong>gful to go over where degrees are, and gender, etcetera, at this po<strong>in</strong>t.DR. CHILDRESS: Right.DR. McKAY: The analysis is probably go<strong>in</strong>g to take a littlebit longer. I expect we should have key questions by June. I th<strong>in</strong>k thisgroup could help enormously if they exerted pressure on me to exertpressure on the contractor to target specific issues. We are ask<strong>in</strong>g aboutth<strong>in</strong>gs with vulnerable subjects, <strong>for</strong> example, if that is important to you.We are ask<strong>in</strong>g about various k<strong>in</strong>ds of IRB procedures. We are target<strong>in</strong>gareas.And I th<strong>in</strong>k some of those when we get the next return orresponse from <strong>in</strong>stitutions, those are not questions that are specific tomembers or <strong>in</strong>vestigators, we can learn from IRB staff and chair and<strong>in</strong>stitutional officials about some of those areas, about revis<strong>in</strong>goperations and procedures, and resources, <strong>for</strong> example.DR. CHILDRESS: Good. Thank you.Alex?


761234567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CAPRON: I asked that we have some updat<strong>in</strong>g onthis and I am glad to have the questionnaires, Charles. I had <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>dthat we would receive a copy of the protocol, the study design, and yourecited a number of items of it as you go along. I am just not quickenough to keep up with you so it would be useful to have that so I wouldhave a better sense of --DR. McKAY: Absolutely. I apologize <strong>for</strong> that. I will makeit available.DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you.PROF. CAPRON: We had plenty to read.From your knowledge of that already is there anyth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>your design that will yield responses on the IRB's sense of -- the extent towhich the justice criterion is be<strong>in</strong>g exam<strong>in</strong>ed by the -- just selection, fairselection of subjects <strong>for</strong> research? It is one of the long stand<strong>in</strong>g issues <strong>in</strong>research that the question has always been can they do that, do they dothat. I did not see it listed <strong>in</strong> the list of considerations where they werebe<strong>in</strong>g asked. This is the questionnaire to the chair and it is Section C on<strong>in</strong>stitutional review board operations on page CH20. Protocols reviewedby the IRB present an array of deficiencies and then there are fourcategories given, consent <strong>for</strong>m, consent process, risk-benefit, andscientific design.Under scientific design it says, "Numbers of subjects and<strong>in</strong>clusion criteria may make results equivocal or <strong>in</strong>valid." That is thescientific aspect. But I did not see the justice aspect, the fairness aspectteased out here. Is it somewhere else? Because obviously I do not knowthis document well.


771234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. McKAY: No. It is -- I th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>in</strong>directly approachedthere is a couple of areas. One, it is part of the member and <strong>in</strong>vestigatorsurvey.PROF. CAPRON: Oh, it is?DR. McKAY: It is. That will not give us as full a picture asI th<strong>in</strong>k you are ask<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong>. Secondly, we are ask<strong>in</strong>g all the categoriesabout the difficulties and advantages and the process <strong>for</strong> determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gwhether <strong>in</strong>clusion of women and m<strong>in</strong>orities is work<strong>in</strong>g. We feel that thatis a new policy and we have not a chance to evaluate it. So <strong>in</strong>directly weare gett<strong>in</strong>g at some of that.But we made a cut <strong>in</strong> the questions. I should say cutswere made <strong>for</strong> us because at each stage we <strong>in</strong>teracted with quite a largenumber of groups and un<strong>for</strong>tunately that was just not sufficient priority.But I th<strong>in</strong>k it is someth<strong>in</strong>g we will try to get at <strong>in</strong>directly. It had been <strong>in</strong>there as a featured item and it just -- because of the length we were toldyou will not get cooperation from our <strong>in</strong>stitution --PROF. CAPRON: Yes, I get the picture. Yes. Now youheard a lot of discussion here this morn<strong>in</strong>g on the question of whetherIRBs do a good job on assess<strong>in</strong>g risk-benefit ratio and the way the designaffects them. And we had statements from the Penn group that sort ofsuggested, gee, they ought to attend to that and then other people weresay<strong>in</strong>g not only do they attend to it but it is part of the presentregulations they have to attend to it. And then Diane commented, well,some IRBs f<strong>in</strong>d that they do not have the expertise to do it.Will that question you th<strong>in</strong>k be <strong>in</strong> a fairly detailed andnuanced way answered by this study? Will you be able to give a good


781234567891011121314151617181920212223242526picture on that one obviously crucial question.DR. McKAY: Yes, I th<strong>in</strong>k we will get a very good picture.We are not only triangulat<strong>in</strong>g. We are sort of com<strong>in</strong>g at it from an<strong>in</strong>dependent po<strong>in</strong>t of view, too. We will get IRBs, <strong>in</strong>vestigators, and thenwe will have our <strong>in</strong>dependent panel look<strong>in</strong>g at the risk-benefit. So we willbe ask<strong>in</strong>g overall IRB chairs, adm<strong>in</strong>istrators, and members how muchtime they spend on that, what priority they associate with it, and howmuch material comes <strong>in</strong> relevant to answer<strong>in</strong>g questions <strong>in</strong> that area.We will be ask<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal <strong>in</strong>vestigators how muchthought they have given to it, how their thought concordat with the IRBon that. Did they ga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>sight <strong>in</strong>to risk-benefit and the proceduralsafeguards that could be put <strong>in</strong> place apart from consent as a result ofthe IRB review? And we will be look<strong>in</strong>g at a subset of those protocolsbl<strong>in</strong>dly with a panel of experts to identify were there po<strong>in</strong>ts missed, whatwould be the gold standard of look<strong>in</strong>g at these protocols, are there risksand benefits that were overlooked by the IRBs and the <strong>in</strong>vestigators <strong>in</strong>the course of this. So I th<strong>in</strong>k we will get pretty solid answers.PROF. CAPRON: Will your <strong>in</strong>dependent panel have anyway of know<strong>in</strong>g how the IRB deliberated on a particular protocol? Inother words, if it looks at it and says, "Boy, there was a risk here. I amsurprised this protocol got through with this k<strong>in</strong>d of a risk here." Willthey have any way of know<strong>in</strong>g whether the IRB very carefully grappledwith that as a risk and comes to a different conclusions, reasonablem<strong>in</strong>ds may differ, or was it just bl<strong>in</strong>d to it or it was ten times as bad <strong>in</strong>the first version but they got it down to this level? I mean, will they haveany way of know<strong>in</strong>g that?


791234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. McKAY: They will have some idea of that becausethey will through the process of document extraction be able to see them<strong>in</strong>utes regard<strong>in</strong>g those protocols. That is it will sort of be we will followthese protocols through the review system.PROF. CAPRON: Okay.DR. McKAY: The expert panel will not make anycomment on what the IRB has done. Those will just sort of bejuxtaposed because we do not want to put people <strong>in</strong> the uncom<strong>for</strong>tableposition of try<strong>in</strong>g to judge <strong>in</strong> retrospect what people may have judged <strong>in</strong>the course of a rushed meet<strong>in</strong>g with all k<strong>in</strong>ds of other pressures.PROF. CAPRON: Yes. Well, of course, the question --DR. McKAY: But the world can see.PROF. CAPRON: The question about the rushed meet<strong>in</strong>gsis the very issue at hand. Do the constra<strong>in</strong>ts prevent -- I had two morequestions. They are both very small. One of them is just simplyunderstand<strong>in</strong>g this th<strong>in</strong>g that you passed out to us. Where you say thatthere will be at 300 IRBs a sample of four <strong>in</strong>vestigators sentquestionnaires <strong>for</strong> a total of 1,176. Now I just do not understand whathappened to those 24 people who I would have expected to exist if youwent and asked 300 times four. I just -- it is just --DR. McKAY: It beats me.PROF. CAPRON: Okay.DR. McKAY: Our statistician handed me the numbers andafter I had gotten a lot of grief question<strong>in</strong>g their methodology because ofmy ignorance of some of it I just said, "That is close enough."PROF. CAPRON: Right.


801234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. McKAY: For government work.PROF. CAPRON: Now speak<strong>in</strong>g of close enough and so<strong>for</strong>th, one of the concerns we have with our budget is to the extent towhich we could ever, assum<strong>in</strong>g that we exist beyond October, engage <strong>in</strong>any empirical work ourselves. I wanted to get a sense from you what hasbeen the total budget <strong>for</strong> this study because it was announced a fewyears ago and it has, I gather, just sort of got underway <strong>in</strong> terms of thequestionnaires now. But I am sure there have been designs <strong>in</strong> all thisprocess. What was the total budget <strong>for</strong> your study?DR. McKAY: The orig<strong>in</strong>al budget <strong>for</strong> the two year periodwas $972,000.PROF. CAPRON: And that is the external costs, not yourtime and other people, whatever.DR. McKAY: Right. And -- well, it does <strong>in</strong>clude time <strong>for</strong>the consultants that work with the contractor.PROF. CAPRON: Right. But not -- not your --DR. McKAY: Not NIH time.PROF. CAPRON: Not NIH time.DR. McKAY: As we encountered a number of delays wehave had to <strong>in</strong>crease the budget another $500,000. So it is just under amillion-and-a-half dollars.PROF. CAPRON: Okay. Thank you.DR. CHILDRESS: Any other questions?Well, I guess on the tim<strong>in</strong>g issue we would love to have athorough analysis as soon as possible.DR. McKAY: I agree.


811234567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CAPRON: Charles, though, raised <strong>for</strong> us aquestion which is could we identify <strong>for</strong> the analysts those questions thatwe would like to have analysis of first. I thought it was a very generousoffer.DR. CHILDRESS: I th<strong>in</strong>k that is where we need theprotocol <strong>in</strong> particular, I guess, to --PROF. CAPRON: Yes.DR. McKAY: That, <strong>in</strong> part, but briefly let me state Alexhas mentioned risk-benefit and we could very well target that. Someearlier discussion talked about what is done educationally by way ofresources provided to <strong>in</strong>vestigators <strong>in</strong> orientation, tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, materials,models, <strong>for</strong>ms, handbooks, consultation with IRB members and staff. If,<strong>for</strong> example, you wanted a more thorough picture of what are the bestpractices out there, what prevails <strong>in</strong> terms of how much IRBs devote tothis part of the process, we could get that.I th<strong>in</strong>k questions of how much time it takes <strong>for</strong> protocolsto go through are of less <strong>in</strong>terest to you, though. They are of more<strong>in</strong>terest to some other groups. If it takes someone six months andseveral iterations to go through there may be problems there. But thatis a piece of <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation that we would want to analyze <strong>for</strong> you. Butthose others are potential targets it seems to me.And Alex has mentioned the justice. As I said,un<strong>for</strong>tunately, we will have to approximate that by some surrogatemeasures but at least we can get a focus on how it is be<strong>in</strong>g thought of,what additional measures of safeguard, procedural or otherwise are<strong>in</strong>volved, and maybe some <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation, <strong>for</strong> example, the number of


821234567891011121314151617181920212223242526compla<strong>in</strong>ts, <strong>in</strong>juries, harm, and th<strong>in</strong>gs of this sort can be focused on. Ith<strong>in</strong>k we can get that <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation.So if you -- I will supply you with all of that and so if youcan get back to me with particular areas of priority I will try to get evenprelim<strong>in</strong>ary <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation that is even be<strong>for</strong>e we have our f<strong>in</strong>al round up ofresponse. We could do someth<strong>in</strong>g at a partial level because I th<strong>in</strong>k oncewe get passed the 60-65 percent across <strong>in</strong>stitutions results can be prettymean<strong>in</strong>gful and relied on. But I am a little afraid with 52 percent anddifferent people answer<strong>in</strong>g with different degrees of <strong>in</strong>tensity. It is notgo<strong>in</strong>g to be clear enough <strong>for</strong> your direction.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Wait just a moment if you wouldlike. There may be some other questions from a couple of others. Iwould like briefly to report on Anna Miller's study that is now be<strong>in</strong>gdeveloped. Some of you met her when she was here at the last meet<strong>in</strong>g.She is a project leader <strong>for</strong> DHHS, Office of Inspector General, Office ofEvaluation and Inspections, and develop<strong>in</strong>g a study of IRBs.I have talked with her twice this past week about thestudy. The second time follow<strong>in</strong>g a meet<strong>in</strong>g that she and her group hadon Friday. They are still design<strong>in</strong>g the study and they would like to haveour <strong>in</strong>put regard<strong>in</strong>g tim<strong>in</strong>g -- they would like it soon, preferably byAugust if possible -- the direction of the study and the methodology. Sogiven what we have already heard presented and the <strong>in</strong>struments youhave let me say a word about this projected study.First, I have mentioned <strong>in</strong> terms of tim<strong>in</strong>g they would liketo get the results to us <strong>in</strong> August. I wonder whether that would be asufficient time to be helpful to us. Second, the direction of the study,


831234567891011121314151617181920212223242526the study will focus on hospital IRBs and will be specifically concernedwith the challenges hospital IRBs face <strong>in</strong> their ef<strong>for</strong>ts to effectivelyensure human subject protection <strong>in</strong> the research they oversee.The study will consider several challenges <strong>in</strong> a chang<strong>in</strong>genvironment of research. First changes <strong>in</strong> the health care market. Forexample, hospital mergers and hospital care. What k<strong>in</strong>ds of challengesemerge from these changes? Second, the challenges emerg<strong>in</strong>g from<strong>in</strong>creases <strong>in</strong> private commercial fund<strong>in</strong>g of research. Third, thechallenges emerg<strong>in</strong>g from shifts <strong>in</strong> the nature of the research. Forexample, genetics research or new technologies, or newly def<strong>in</strong>eddisease, diseases such as AIDS. And, fourth, the challenges emerg<strong>in</strong>gfrom <strong>in</strong>creases <strong>in</strong> multisite trials.The study will ask as it is currently be<strong>in</strong>g designed, andthere will not be a f<strong>in</strong>al decision about the design <strong>for</strong> a couple of weeks,which of these changes present the most significant challenges to IRBseffective function<strong>in</strong>g. What strategies have IRBs designed to meet thesechallenges? And what implications do these challenges have <strong>for</strong> federalef<strong>for</strong>ts to protect human subjects?Now one question she raised <strong>for</strong> the Human SubjectsSubcommittee is are these the most important challenges to highlight?Are there others that should be added?Third, tim<strong>in</strong>g and direction, we have questions aboutmethodology. The group had considered a broad based IRB survey butdecided aga<strong>in</strong>st it <strong>for</strong> two reasons. One is what you have already heardtoday, Charles McKay's IRB study. Second, it would take too long toconduct and thus the results might not be available to meet our needs


841234567891011121314151617181920212223242526given our time pressures.The prelim<strong>in</strong>ary proposal of method is that it wouldconsist primarily of <strong>in</strong>terviews. A number of IRB chairs andadm<strong>in</strong>istrators would provide the core. The group would be especially<strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> experienced chairs and adm<strong>in</strong>istrators s<strong>in</strong>ce they wouldhave had a chance to observe the changes over time and the challengesthat have emerged. A few IRBs <strong>in</strong> more depth, elites and experts, that isvery knowledgeable people who have followed this discussion over time,commercial sponsors, agents <strong>for</strong> contract research organizations, keypeople at NIH and FDA, and perhaps even utiliz<strong>in</strong>g the IRB chat group <strong>in</strong>some way.Another question is what k<strong>in</strong>ds of suggestions might weoffer regard<strong>in</strong>g the method that is be<strong>in</strong>g considered.Any responses at this po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> light of what you haveheard about Charles McKay's study?PROF. CAPRON: The <strong>in</strong>-depth exam<strong>in</strong>ation would beconducted by who? I was not clear if you were say<strong>in</strong>g they were go<strong>in</strong>g toturn to outsiders who were <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the IRB process at other<strong>in</strong>stitutions that were expert <strong>in</strong> the IRB process or all --DR. CHILDRESS: The <strong>in</strong>terviews would <strong>in</strong>volve -- would bedirected at all of those groups. There would be <strong>in</strong>terviews conducted.This would not be a survey but rather <strong>in</strong>terviews.PROF. CAPRON: I understand <strong>in</strong>terviews would beconducted. Who was -- I mean, it -- <strong>for</strong> the overall <strong>in</strong>terviews, maybe Imisunderstood part of the design, but I thought there were go<strong>in</strong>g to bean <strong>in</strong>terviews at a number of <strong>in</strong>stitutions. But I thought you went on and


851234567891011121314151617181920212223242526at one po<strong>in</strong>t said someth<strong>in</strong>g about an <strong>in</strong>-depth exam<strong>in</strong>ation at a few<strong>in</strong>stitutions.DR. CHILDRESS: That is my impression of what she said,right.PROF. CAPRON: Well, I would be very <strong>in</strong>terested becauseof a recommendation that the President's Commission made <strong>for</strong> ageneral methodology of us<strong>in</strong>g a peer process. We thought there was --s<strong>in</strong>ce we did not th<strong>in</strong>k there was enough known about IRBs and that thiswas a chronic condition <strong>for</strong> the federal government not to know what wasgo<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>in</strong> IRBs except on paper, that a process of site visits of IRBs byteams assembled from people who were on IRBs at other places, thesame way is true when an <strong>in</strong>stitution is apply<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> a center grant andgets a site visit or the like from peers. It would be a good idea.And I would be <strong>in</strong>terested if it were feasible with<strong>in</strong> theirdesign not only to use people from the Inspector General's office toconduct the <strong>in</strong>terviews but that at a few selected <strong>in</strong>stitutions they wouldtry us<strong>in</strong>g the site visit method. We used it. We pilot tested it. It seemedto work and then the idea did not go anywhere.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Charles?DR. McKAY: Part of our orig<strong>in</strong>al design did <strong>in</strong>clude sitevisits but given the length of time and the need to harbor resources wediscont<strong>in</strong>ued that plan. But we th<strong>in</strong>k it is a very good one and I wouldsort of second Alex's recommendation that people work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> someperiod of time <strong>in</strong> the IRB community be <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> those site visit<strong>in</strong>terviews. It is essential.It has been my experience that the type of <strong>in</strong>terview<strong>in</strong>g


861234567891011121314151617181920212223242526that is done by federal <strong>in</strong>vestigative bodies is very <strong>in</strong>cisive but they donot have the prospective that comes from work<strong>in</strong>g with<strong>in</strong> that systemand I th<strong>in</strong>k it would also make the responses more productive <strong>for</strong> them ifthere were colleagues of the people they were <strong>in</strong>terview<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>volved.DR. CHILDRESS: Any other suggestions regard<strong>in</strong>gmethod or the challenges that have been identified?(No response.)DR. CHILDRESS: We will come back at the end of the day<strong>in</strong> light of these two particular studies and see whether there issometh<strong>in</strong>g else you want to do now or th<strong>in</strong>k about later <strong>for</strong> further studyof IRBs and the whole process surround<strong>in</strong>g them.But anyth<strong>in</strong>g else you would like me to pass on to AnnaMiller?(No response.)DR. CHILDRESS: Because they would welcome our <strong>in</strong>putas they are design<strong>in</strong>g this study. Well, if someth<strong>in</strong>g crosses your m<strong>in</strong>dbe<strong>for</strong>e the end of the day.Let's take a quick five to seven m<strong>in</strong>ute break s<strong>in</strong>ce we areobviously already beh<strong>in</strong>d schedule.[A break was taken from 10:46 a.m. until 11:04 a.m.]DR. CHILDRESS: Well, we will get started even thoughsome of our members have been deta<strong>in</strong>ed by those who are follow<strong>in</strong>gmedia <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> sheep clon<strong>in</strong>g and s<strong>in</strong>ce the subcommittee has takena position on this we have designated a few members who would bewill<strong>in</strong>g to go talk to the television crews about that topic.We want to turn our attention now to a discussion of the


871234567891011121314151617181920212223242526report of the committee look<strong>in</strong>g at the Tuskegee Syphilis experiments,turn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> particular to look at issues of legacy and what might be done<strong>in</strong> response to an experiment that cont<strong>in</strong>ues to raise a lot of questions.An HBO movie was telecast Saturday night, <strong>for</strong> example, "Ms. Evers'Boys," deals with that topic. And it is one that rema<strong>in</strong>s very importantparticularly <strong>in</strong> the views of African Americans about research as well assome other issues like organ donation and the like.I have asked Professor Rhetaugh Dumas to kick off thediscussion <strong>for</strong> us.DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT OF THE TUSKEGEESYPHILIS STUDY LEGACY COMMITTEEDR. DUMAS: Okay. Let me just briefly review the po<strong>in</strong>tsthat I th<strong>in</strong>k are salient po<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>in</strong> the report of this committee.This is a group that was <strong>for</strong>med last year at a meet<strong>in</strong>g atTuskegee Institute and they are a <strong>for</strong>um to keep alive the legacy of thesyphilis studies at Tuskegee and to try to counter the negative impact ofthat legacy which they believe has come to stand as a metaphor <strong>for</strong>racism <strong>in</strong> medic<strong>in</strong>e and health care and ethical misconduct <strong>in</strong> humanresearch.They did po<strong>in</strong>t out a number of implications <strong>for</strong> thedelivery of health care, <strong>for</strong> organ donations, and <strong>for</strong> the generalsuspicion that is often referred to <strong>in</strong> African American communities ofthe health care enterprise, and they are hop<strong>in</strong>g that by theirrecommendations they can lead an ef<strong>for</strong>t that would provide publiceducation and opportunities <strong>for</strong> scientists to understand more about theimpact of a suspicion <strong>in</strong> the Black community that is aroused by such


881234567891011121314151617181920212223242526<strong>in</strong>cidents as the Tuskegee Syphilis study.Specifically they are recommend<strong>in</strong>g that the President ofthe United States makes an apology <strong>for</strong> this event, that he apologize <strong>for</strong>the suffer<strong>in</strong>g or whatever the consequences has been <strong>for</strong> the people whowere <strong>in</strong>volved, and that that apology be made at a public -- at a meet<strong>in</strong>gof this -- of the biomedical -- the -- our committee, the Biomedical andEthics Advisory Committee.And, also, they are recommend<strong>in</strong>g some other remediesto establish a museum and a way of preserv<strong>in</strong>g records, a number ofrecords that they feel are <strong>in</strong> jeopardy, and have a center at Tuskegee <strong>for</strong>the study of issues that would be related to ethical conduct <strong>in</strong> research.Then there are two or three other <strong>in</strong>itiatives that they arerecommend<strong>in</strong>g be undertaken by the government, a program similar toan office to be established similar to the one that is currently exist<strong>in</strong>g onwomen's health.Now when I thought about this I thought, you know, theirrecommendations sounded good to me and I wondered whether or notthis committee would be amenable to endors<strong>in</strong>g the recommendations.But then on second thought I thought that the Tuskegee Syphilis study isof sufficient import <strong>for</strong> the work that we are undertak<strong>in</strong>g as acommission that maybe we ought to give more serious attention to amore thorough analysis of the ethical issues that were <strong>in</strong>volved so thatwe could have some lessons that we can pass on from this event andother similar events like the radiation experiments.So I wonder, also, whether or not it would be preemptive,not preemptive but -- what is the word that I want? It would be too early


8912345678to make a decision about endorsement prior to understand<strong>in</strong>g the natureof the ethical issues and get some ideas about what measures might berecommended to ensure that these k<strong>in</strong>ds of problems could be<strong>for</strong>estalled <strong>in</strong> the future.So I am ask<strong>in</strong>g you to th<strong>in</strong>k about, one, the implicationsof the Tuskegee Syphilis study <strong>for</strong> the work of the commission <strong>in</strong> generaland whether there is sufficient import there to warrant a more detaileddiscussion or at least a more detailed written analysis of the various9perspectives on this issue.And then, secondly, whether or not the1011121314151617181920212223242526commission is amenable to gett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> recommend<strong>in</strong>g orsupport<strong>in</strong>g remedies.I th<strong>in</strong>k that those to me are the key issues that are raised<strong>in</strong> my m<strong>in</strong>d when I read the report.DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you very much. It might bepossible as we th<strong>in</strong>k about this to consider work<strong>in</strong>g on two levels.DR. DUMAS: Mm-hum.DR. CHILDRESS: One might well be, if the subcommitteewishes, to recommend to the adm<strong>in</strong>istration or to NBAC to recommendto the adm<strong>in</strong>istration at least an apology but that is the sort of th<strong>in</strong>g thatis currently under discussion. For example, the head of CDC last weeksaid <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>terview that the government is consider<strong>in</strong>g that and theywould anticipate an apology from the President but they do not whattime that would happen. So it is someth<strong>in</strong>g currently be<strong>in</strong>g discussedand one question would be whether it would be useful or not if thesubcommittee wishes to endorse this direction to consider this without<strong>in</strong> any way underm<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g support <strong>for</strong> draw<strong>in</strong>g substantive procedural


901234567891011121314151617181920212223242526lessons from the experiment, that is to say what can we learn aboutprevention, what can we learn -- what should we do about remedies?So we might consider at least both levels. What k<strong>in</strong>d ofimmediate response and another that would <strong>in</strong>volve us <strong>in</strong>corporat<strong>in</strong>gissues as we cont<strong>in</strong>ue to th<strong>in</strong>k about the whole area.What other thoughts do we have?Arturo?DR. BRITO: Well, I def<strong>in</strong>itely th<strong>in</strong>k it is important to goalong with this recommendation <strong>for</strong> the public apology, et cetera, andalso maybe concurrently to even have a meet<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Tuskegee at somepo<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> the future or maybe dur<strong>in</strong>g that public apology.I th<strong>in</strong>k it is a great example of how -- we are go<strong>in</strong>g to getto the subject later about vulnerable populations, et cetera. We are nottalk<strong>in</strong>g about persons that were cognitively impaired and yet they werevulnerable enough to be <strong>in</strong>cluded and be victims of this research. So Idef<strong>in</strong>itely feel that we need to look at that and see what it was that madethe scientists <strong>in</strong> the research believe that they were do<strong>in</strong>g the right th<strong>in</strong>gand so that those can be avoided <strong>in</strong> the future with our futureexperimentation.I <strong>for</strong>got. There was another po<strong>in</strong>t I was go<strong>in</strong>g to make butI will come back to it <strong>in</strong> a second.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Other --DR. DUMAS: What about the other recommendations?One recommendation is the apology. And I gather that that is a morepress<strong>in</strong>g area <strong>for</strong> decision at this particular time, whether or not thisgroup would endorse that recommendation <strong>for</strong> the public apology. But


911234567891011121314151617181920212223242526then there is the issue of whether or not the meet<strong>in</strong>g would be held andthe apology would be made at the time of our meet<strong>in</strong>g, and that issometh<strong>in</strong>g that I guess this subgroup would have to recommend to thebroader body, the committee.DR. BRITO: The only question I have on that is how doesit fit <strong>in</strong> with our time l<strong>in</strong>e that right now we are concentrat<strong>in</strong>g on thecognitively impaired and even though there are a lot of similaritiesbecause of the issue of vulnerability, so where would we want to put that<strong>in</strong> terms of time? But I th<strong>in</strong>k at some po<strong>in</strong>t we def<strong>in</strong>itely need to addressit and agree to those recommendations.I th<strong>in</strong>k concurrently hav<strong>in</strong>g it -- I th<strong>in</strong>k one of our jobs as acommission is to raise public awareness of some of the issues and thatdef<strong>in</strong>itely they could be advantageous to the public if we had itconcurrently with one of our meet<strong>in</strong>gs. So, you know --DR. CHILDRESS: Well, perhaps I was hasty <strong>in</strong> talk<strong>in</strong>gabout two levels, perhaps there are three.DR. DUMAS: Yes.DR. CHILDRESS: One might well be the apology which isthe most significant and symbolic act that the Legacy Committee isfocus<strong>in</strong>g on. But then closely related to but dist<strong>in</strong>guishable from thatwould be the other series of responses, preservation of documents,sett<strong>in</strong>g up of a center, and so <strong>for</strong>th, and that is someth<strong>in</strong>g that we mightwell commend <strong>for</strong> attention as dist<strong>in</strong>guished from recommend<strong>in</strong>g.DR. DUMAS: Recommend<strong>in</strong>g, yes.DR. CHILDRESS: And then there is a third level which Ith<strong>in</strong>k we are all very concerned about, too, and that is the lessons and


921234567891011121314151617181920212223242526that would be an important part of what we do over time, I th<strong>in</strong>k.DR. DUMAS: Well, it would also be very nice if this publicapology was go<strong>in</strong>g to be made at a meet<strong>in</strong>g of NBAC that we would havesome clear notion about the various issues that we would want tohighlight. So all of those th<strong>in</strong>gs k<strong>in</strong>d of l<strong>in</strong>k <strong>for</strong> me.DR. CHILDRESS: Right. Okay.DR. SCOTT-JONES: I would like to add someth<strong>in</strong>g.DR. CHILDRESS: Please.DR. SCOTT-JONES: I th<strong>in</strong>k that the suggestions thatArturo has made are great ones. I th<strong>in</strong>k the symbolism <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> ourhav<strong>in</strong>g a meet<strong>in</strong>g there would be really great and I do not know if it isappropriate <strong>for</strong> NBAC to send a letter to the persons work<strong>in</strong>g on thiscommission say<strong>in</strong>g that we will do these th<strong>in</strong>gs that we are discuss<strong>in</strong>g. Ith<strong>in</strong>k we could po<strong>in</strong>t out that many of the issues that we are discuss<strong>in</strong>gnow are relevant to the activities that happened dur<strong>in</strong>g the TuskegeeSyphilis experiment.And some of the new ways of th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about researchethics such as the community perspectives because certa<strong>in</strong>ly personsother than the <strong>in</strong>dividuals <strong>in</strong> Tuskegee were harmed by <strong>in</strong>dividuals'participation <strong>in</strong> Tuskegee. So I th<strong>in</strong>k some of the ideas that we are go<strong>in</strong>gto talk about related to community are ones that are really relevant thereand we could po<strong>in</strong>t these th<strong>in</strong>gs out <strong>in</strong> a letter to the persons who arework<strong>in</strong>g on this.DR. BRITO: I th<strong>in</strong>k the real importance of this -- aga<strong>in</strong>you touched on this a little bit, Rhetaugh -- is to ga<strong>in</strong> the trust of theAfrican American community <strong>in</strong> medic<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> this country because I know


931234567891011121314151617181920212223242526from personal experience, speak<strong>in</strong>g -- especially the grandmothers whoare tak<strong>in</strong>g care of children, particularly HIV positive children, haveexpressed to me that they do not trust when we make medicationchanges that have been shown to be beneficial to the children and I havehad one grandmother specifically tell me she is worried that what we aredo<strong>in</strong>g is experiment<strong>in</strong>g.This is com<strong>in</strong>g from this legacy of Tuskegee and othersuch experimentation. So I th<strong>in</strong>k there is a world of mistrust and themedical community is often very critical of poor m<strong>in</strong>ority groups notbe<strong>in</strong>g compliant with recommended management of certa<strong>in</strong> diseases, etcetera. And a lot of that comes from just mistrust. So I th<strong>in</strong>k that is thereal importance of rais<strong>in</strong>g this public awareness and mak<strong>in</strong>g -- be<strong>in</strong>gpart of this public apology to say we are ready to move <strong>for</strong>ward.In essence, what is happen<strong>in</strong>g is that m<strong>in</strong>orities and -- Ido not know if you agree with me on this -- the African American group <strong>in</strong>particular, the blood donations and tissue donations is a very lowpriority. And I wonder how much of that has to do with the trust of themedical community.DR. CHILDRESS: Yes. Would you <strong>in</strong>troduce yourself?DR. SNYDER: I am Dick Snyder, Director of Science atCDC.I just would like to make a few comments <strong>for</strong> clarification.First of all, though, I would like to say that I am very pleased that thesubcommittee is address<strong>in</strong>g this topic. It is someth<strong>in</strong>g that we <strong>in</strong> publichealth feel is very important and share the views that have already beenexpressed about the impact of the Tuskegee legacy on our ability to do


941234567891011121314151617181920212223242526public health <strong>in</strong> this country.When this meet<strong>in</strong>g was held, and it was orig<strong>in</strong>allysponsored by CDC and the Office of M<strong>in</strong>ority Health of the Department,although the committee itself is <strong>in</strong>dependent, the <strong>National</strong> BioethicsAdvisory Commission had not been established.So the idea really was to have a presidential apologyco<strong>in</strong>cide with the announcement of the nam<strong>in</strong>g of the members of thecommission. That obviously did not happen. We cont<strong>in</strong>ue to be <strong>in</strong>dialogue with the department and particularly with the White House nowwith regard to an apology and hope that we will be successful <strong>in</strong> thatregard.I believe one of the th<strong>in</strong>gs that we feel is very important isthat wherever the apology is done, although we th<strong>in</strong>k it would be nice if itwere done <strong>in</strong> Tuskegee, but wherever it is done that the Tuskegeesurvivors be present and other people who were associated with it.Insofar as the issues of what does one do to help makereparations <strong>for</strong> the harm that has been done, we have had somethoughts that we passed on. This -- one of the ma<strong>in</strong> th<strong>in</strong>gs that we feelwould be helpful <strong>in</strong> this regard is greater <strong>in</strong>volvement of the community<strong>in</strong> research. More significant <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> help<strong>in</strong>g design and monitorthe research and even translate it <strong>in</strong>to the community. And, <strong>in</strong> fact, <strong>in</strong>the behavioral and social sciences area at CDC we have a lot of goodexamples where that has proven to be very helpful.I th<strong>in</strong>k if the President were to make an apology one ofthe th<strong>in</strong>gs he would really have to do is to make some generalstatements on what k<strong>in</strong>d of th<strong>in</strong>gs have been done s<strong>in</strong>ce Tuskegee but


951234567891011121314151617181920212223242526what th<strong>in</strong>gs should be done <strong>in</strong> the future so that -- although I understandthe need to study this issue very carefully and make appropriaterecommendations -- some general statement, I th<strong>in</strong>k, from the Presidentwould be expected if an apology were <strong>for</strong>thcom<strong>in</strong>g.I hope those comments are useful.DR. CHILDRESS: I th<strong>in</strong>k they are very helpful and thankyou very much.Any questions that you would like to raise?Okay. Thank you.All right.DR. DUMAS: Well, it seems as if -- I -- from thediscussion so far that we should endorse the recommendation <strong>for</strong> thepublic apology and commend the committee's recommendations ofother ef<strong>for</strong>ts to --DR. CHILDRESS: For consideration?DR. DUMAS: For consideration. And then the third th<strong>in</strong>gis how can we <strong>in</strong> the short time frame that would be required pulltogether someth<strong>in</strong>g -- some <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation about what has been done, whatk<strong>in</strong>d of improvements have been done s<strong>in</strong>ce this happened. That oughtto be someth<strong>in</strong>g that we should be able to do.DR. CHILDRESS: Alex?PROF. CAPRON: Aga<strong>in</strong>, I have to ask whether we weregiven a copy of the Tuskegee Syphilis study report.DR. CHILDRESS: Does somebody --PROF. CAPRON: Is it one of the th<strong>in</strong>gs we were justgiven?


9612DR. CHILDRESS: He is not ask<strong>in</strong>g about the --PROF. CAPRON: I am not talk<strong>in</strong>g about -- I am talk<strong>in</strong>g3about --4567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. CHILDRESS: He is talk<strong>in</strong>g about the '73 report.PROF. CAPRON: Exactly. I do not th<strong>in</strong>k so.DR. CHILDRESS: No.DR. DUMAS: No, we do not have that.PROF. CAPRON: One of the ways that we could ensurewe are not simply issu<strong>in</strong>g platitudes would be to look at that report'srecommendations and say how many of those have been implementedbecause as the gentleman from CDC said, I th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>for</strong> the President tomake a statement on this, it would be natural <strong>for</strong> him to want to notethose advances which have occurred. But we ought to also be attentiveto those that have not occurred. And that panel made certa<strong>in</strong>recommendations which have not been acted on and it would beappropriate <strong>for</strong> us to return to those and exam<strong>in</strong>e them. So I th<strong>in</strong>k weare go<strong>in</strong>g to need to have a copy of that report. It is not a long report.DR. CHILDRESS: Right.PROF. CAPRON: It is longer than this. I th<strong>in</strong>k it wouldalso be useful to be brought up-to-date on what reparations were paid tothe <strong>in</strong>dividuals and families.DR. CHILDRESS: Right.PROF. CAPRON: I do not -- what struck me was I did notsee anywhere <strong>in</strong> this report any discussion of that.DR. DUMAS: There is just a mention that the surviv<strong>in</strong>gfamilies have had free medical care.


971234567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CAPRON: Well, more than that was gotten by theirattorney whose name suddenly escapes me.DR. SCOTT-JONES: At one of our previous meet<strong>in</strong>gs wewere given the report.PROF. CAPRON: Yes. Right.DR. SCOTT-JONES: It was close to $3 million <strong>in</strong> 1995,right?PROF. CAPRON: Right.DR. CHILDRESS: But it was spread out.PROF. CAPRON: What I am say<strong>in</strong>g is that this reportmakes no mention of that.DR. SCOTT-JONES: No, it dose not.PROF. CAPRON: So it is sort of curious. I am sure thatwhoever is advis<strong>in</strong>g the President would say there is great value <strong>in</strong>hav<strong>in</strong>g an apology. It is important to know that some compensation wasalready paid but that does not address the broader community issue oftrust or distrust.DR. CHILDRESS: Right.PROF. CAPRON: Which an apology might go some waytowards address<strong>in</strong>g.DR. CHILDRESS: Right. And this is just one documentthat fits <strong>in</strong> a larger context of discussion at CDC and elsewhere aboutappropriate k<strong>in</strong>d of response. But I quite agree with the po<strong>in</strong>ts whichhave been made.I guess one question is whether we would like torecommend -- given -- first of all, the desire that I have heard that we be


981234567891011121314151617181920212223242526more specific given what has been done and what has not been done byreference, <strong>for</strong> example, to the '73 report, that one possibility would be<strong>for</strong> us to recommend to NBAC and that we endorse this <strong>in</strong> the way youhave roughly suggested.But that as part of that we have <strong>for</strong> the next meet<strong>in</strong>g --that is the NBAC meet<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> March a couple of weeks from now -- thefurther <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation because we are not talk<strong>in</strong>g about a lot on the basis ofthe report. But someth<strong>in</strong>g that could be useful but a lot of that hasprobably already been done by CDC and elsewhere, but at least <strong>for</strong> ourrecommendation if we choose to make one we could go <strong>in</strong> that direction.What is your will?PROF. CHARO: Jim?DR. CHILDRESS: I am sorry. Alta?PROF. CHARO: If I can make a friendly amendment tothat suggestion. I have been <strong>for</strong>tunate that at my university is one of theco-chairs, Vanessa Gamble, who has been lead<strong>in</strong>g this ef<strong>for</strong>t. I urge thatwe <strong>in</strong>vite her to come and address the commission as the person whohas been <strong>in</strong>volved very much <strong>in</strong> both the draft<strong>in</strong>g of this and <strong>in</strong> work<strong>in</strong>gwith HHS, CDC, et cetera, on this question because it does not seem tome a difficult recommendation to make that an apology is appropriate.We have seen apologies used <strong>in</strong> a variety of other sett<strong>in</strong>gsnow with regard to radiation victims, victims of the Japanese <strong>in</strong>ternment,et cetera. And regardless of whether compensation was offered, theadmission that this was a bad th<strong>in</strong>g to do would not be a difficult th<strong>in</strong>gto recommend s<strong>in</strong>ce there is no lack of consensus on that po<strong>in</strong>t.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. So I th<strong>in</strong>k you are tak<strong>in</strong>g the


991234567891011121314151617181920212223242526earlier discussion and you are now <strong>for</strong>mulat<strong>in</strong>g it <strong>in</strong> terms of a bona fidemotion.PROF. CHARO: Sure, if you want to do it <strong>in</strong> that way.DR. CHILDRESS: Yes.PROF. CHARO: I would like to move that we recommendto the full commission that we endorse the request <strong>for</strong> an apology fromthe federal government to those people who were subjected to this. Tothe extent that it would be helpful <strong>in</strong> mov<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>for</strong>ward I would suggestalong with that motion that Vanessa Gamble be <strong>in</strong>vited to present if shewishes.DR. CHILDRESS: And that we exam<strong>in</strong>e the report andflush out this <strong>for</strong> the next --PROF. CHARO: Indeed, she can be asked specifically toaddress that <strong>in</strong> her presentation.PROF. CAPRON: Address?PROF. CHARO: Address that clarification that yourequest <strong>in</strong> her presentation.PROF. CAPRON: I do not disagree with what you aresuggest<strong>in</strong>g. I have the sense that given the noncontroversial nature ofthe recommendation that we probably do not need to have ProfessorGamble come and expla<strong>in</strong> it to us aga<strong>in</strong>. I mean, mostly it seems to me-- everyth<strong>in</strong>g I can see that we have been told is it is more or less amatter of tim<strong>in</strong>g and how quickly among the th<strong>in</strong>gs the President isprepared to do there is enough background presented by this committeeand by the CDC process to come up with language and an appropriatestatement. We ought to endorse that and urge that it happen.


10012PROF. CHARO: Right.PROF. CAPRON: But I do not need any more conv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>g3than --4567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CHARO: Right. I understand that completely. Ifwe were able to get Vanessa Gamble here I th<strong>in</strong>k that she <strong>in</strong> her area ofexpertise which cover the history of medic<strong>in</strong>e with special attention torace issues both from the po<strong>in</strong>t of view of patient populations andprofessionals. Is it a good position to talk about the broader significanceof the Tuskegee experience and the notion of the apology here.One of Professor Gamble's frequent po<strong>in</strong>ts made that Ihave heard is that the -- to the extent that there is distrust <strong>in</strong> somecommunities, particularly some ethnic and racial communities <strong>in</strong> theUnited States about the research endeavor, that that distrust is nottraceable to Tuskegee. It was not caused by Tuskegee.That distrust predated Tuskegee because of a variety ofother experiences and Tuskegee was an outgrowth of the k<strong>in</strong>ds of th<strong>in</strong>gsthat have generated that distrust. It was not an isolated <strong>in</strong>cident. Thatis the k<strong>in</strong>d of po<strong>in</strong>t that does tend to get lost so that an apology seemsto be part of the very isolated <strong>in</strong>cident with an isolated response. Andone of the values I see of br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g Vanessa Gamble here is that she canopen this open up and talk about the larger problem of trust <strong>in</strong> research.DR. CHILDRESS: And beg<strong>in</strong> to deal with the k<strong>in</strong>ds oflessons that --DR. DUMAS: Yes. I th<strong>in</strong>k that is very important becauseI th<strong>in</strong>k that hav<strong>in</strong>g the apology made and whatever the nature of theceremony is not the endpo<strong>in</strong>t of all of this. I th<strong>in</strong>k that we need to th<strong>in</strong>k


1011234567891011121314151617181920212223242526about cases like this <strong>in</strong> their broader context so that we can learnsometh<strong>in</strong>g from it and I would not want us to <strong>in</strong> any way give theimpression that we th<strong>in</strong>k that the problem would be resolved by thePresident mak<strong>in</strong>g an apology or even by the number of dollars that havebeen given to the families.I th<strong>in</strong>k more importantly we would want to be able totease out how these th<strong>in</strong>gs have happened. What safeguards are needed<strong>in</strong> order to ensure that they will not cont<strong>in</strong>ue to happen. And some<strong>in</strong>telligence on whether or not there are similar th<strong>in</strong>gs occurr<strong>in</strong>g rightnow.PROF. CAPRON: I agree with that and I th<strong>in</strong>k that if weare go<strong>in</strong>g to do that we ought to prepare to have some discussion withDr. Gamble and other people who are <strong>in</strong>volved --DR. DUMAS: Involved <strong>in</strong> that discussion.PROF. CAPRON: -- <strong>in</strong> some -- with some goodpreparation. I mean, if on the first anniversary of this commission,assum<strong>in</strong>g that we are go<strong>in</strong>g to have future years of life, we were to meet<strong>in</strong> Tuskegee and devote an entire day or two to the issues of populationsthat are vulnerable <strong>for</strong> racial, ethnic and economic reasons <strong>in</strong>stead ofonly <strong>for</strong> reasons of age or mental <strong>in</strong>capacity, and really have some <strong>in</strong>depthexam<strong>in</strong>ation of that.The national commission had a whole process, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>ga conference, on m<strong>in</strong>ority concerns about research. I mean, theyidentified that as an important set of issues. It would be worthwhilelook<strong>in</strong>g at what was said then and how adequately it has been respondedto. Aga<strong>in</strong>, as with the Tuskegee Syphilis Task Force report from '73, I


1021234567891011121314151617181920212223242526th<strong>in</strong>k we ought to look very carefully and say what th<strong>in</strong>gs did they saythat are still problems that need further attention.So I would be <strong>in</strong> favor of do<strong>in</strong>g this not just hear<strong>in</strong>g fromDr. Gamble but from a wider array of witnesses on a well planned day ortwo <strong>in</strong> which these issues would be looked at <strong>in</strong>-depth with as muchempirical <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation about what we know just the way we now have veryexcellent studies that show the differences <strong>in</strong> health care and healthoutcomes <strong>for</strong> m<strong>in</strong>ority populations which ought to be very high on thepublic agenda because they are a cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g shame <strong>for</strong> our country.DR. CHILDRESS: But I th<strong>in</strong>k we hear several th<strong>in</strong>gs. One<strong>in</strong> support <strong>for</strong> the action of the apology, a recommendation that someth<strong>in</strong>gs be explored <strong>in</strong> more depth <strong>in</strong> terms of possible reparations, butespecially importantly <strong>for</strong> our work an ef<strong>for</strong>t to th<strong>in</strong>k more systematicallyand empirically about the k<strong>in</strong>ds of lessons that we could ga<strong>in</strong> from this.I would like to br<strong>in</strong>g this to a close because we still have alot to do be<strong>for</strong>e noon. But, Eric, any comments?DR. CASSELL: I th<strong>in</strong>k I want to endorse what Alta justsaid and what you just said. The Tuskegee experiment was not done bypeople who were venal <strong>in</strong> that sense that we were talk<strong>in</strong>g about be<strong>for</strong>e.It was done by people who thought they were do<strong>in</strong>g a good th<strong>in</strong>g. That iswhat makes it so awful. When bad people do bad th<strong>in</strong>gs that is notparticularly <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g. It is when good people do bad th<strong>in</strong>gs. The levelof racism and disregard <strong>for</strong> people <strong>in</strong> other groups, both social andethnic, was pervasive and it is still pervasive --DR. DUMAS: It is.DR. CASSELL: -- <strong>in</strong> the aspect of society. So the problem


1031234567891011121314151617181920212223242526that we are talk<strong>in</strong>g about, the problem of the protection of humansubjects is, <strong>in</strong> part, a problem of the recognition of the need to protect.In that <strong>in</strong>stance the need to protect was a nonperson sitt<strong>in</strong>g oppositeand too many research subjects are still nonpersons. After all thepatient -- remember we used to talk only -- it is only <strong>for</strong>ty years ago thatwe spoke about the patient is a person, the patient is a person, that isthe language you use when the patient is not a person. You do not needthat language when the patient is a person. And so <strong>in</strong> that -- that is justa few years.So the essence of this commission's work is directlyrelevant to the experiments and to the lesson that it teaches not aboutan isolated group or that it is an African American community but, <strong>in</strong>essence, that the relationship of persons who do research are thepersons who are sitt<strong>in</strong>g opposite them, and I th<strong>in</strong>k we ought to m<strong>in</strong>e it<strong>for</strong> all it is worth both <strong>for</strong> the people who suffered from it <strong>in</strong> more thanone way as well as <strong>for</strong> the people who have not even yet been born.PROF. CHARO: Jim, I am not try<strong>in</strong>g to argue with Eric orwith Alex because I do not disagree with what they have said but I wouldlike to urge that hav<strong>in</strong>g someth<strong>in</strong>g done properly <strong>in</strong> some depth andgett<strong>in</strong>g back <strong>in</strong> the people who did do exactly the meet<strong>in</strong>g that you arediscuss<strong>in</strong>g, Alex, just this year at Tuskegee under the direction of peoplelike Vanessa and others, I do not th<strong>in</strong>k that any of those preclude hav<strong>in</strong>gDr. Gamble show<strong>in</strong>g up <strong>in</strong> March if there has been no action so far at thefederal level <strong>in</strong> order to give more prom<strong>in</strong>ence to the commission'sendorsement of the need <strong>for</strong> an apology if the commission goes <strong>in</strong> thatdirection because I th<strong>in</strong>k this is someth<strong>in</strong>g that easily could get buried


1041and lost.234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Although I agree with Eric about the orig<strong>in</strong>s of it I alsoth<strong>in</strong>k it is very important to never let the racial aspects of it get lost <strong>in</strong>the generalizability of some of the lessons because I th<strong>in</strong>k there is a veryspecial, special risk that m<strong>in</strong>orities have been runn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the UnitedStates over the years of be<strong>in</strong>g the subject of this k<strong>in</strong>d of disregard andwe should not let that get buried <strong>in</strong> the fact that a lot of people havesuffered the same problem.DR. CHILDRESS: So if I hear your motion I would like tobr<strong>in</strong>g it to a close. It is to recommend an apology and to commend <strong>for</strong>attention the other aspects, and to <strong>in</strong>vite Vanessa Gamble as part of ourrecommendation to NBAC at the March meet<strong>in</strong>g, and then f<strong>in</strong>ally todevelop <strong>in</strong> a way yet to be determ<strong>in</strong>ed more systematic exam<strong>in</strong>ation ofthe issue. Is that your motion? If you do not m<strong>in</strong>d, I am putt<strong>in</strong>g words --some words <strong>in</strong> your mouth.PROF. CHARO: It sounds like your motion now but I willgo <strong>for</strong> it.DR. CHILDRESS: Is there a second?DR. DUMAS: I second.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Any further discussion?DR. BRITO: The only th<strong>in</strong>g is <strong>in</strong> terms of once aga<strong>in</strong>tim<strong>in</strong>g I would def<strong>in</strong>itely like to see the report as Alex suggested be<strong>for</strong>ewe have any speakers, Dr. Gamble, and I am assum<strong>in</strong>g we can get thatdone be<strong>for</strong>e the March meet<strong>in</strong>g.DR. CHILDRESS: Yes.DR. BRITO: That would be helpful.


1051234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. CHILDRESS: We would like to get that outimmediately, yes.DR. SCOTT-JONES: And could we also ask the rest of thecommission members by E-mail or some way about send<strong>in</strong>g a lettersupport<strong>in</strong>g the request <strong>for</strong> an apology s<strong>in</strong>ce that may be more urgentthan the other th<strong>in</strong>gs?PROF. CAPRON: Is our notice of the March meet<strong>in</strong>ggeneral enough to allow us to take it up at the March meet<strong>in</strong>g?DR. HYATT-KNORR: There is always room at the end ofthe Federal Register notice and other issues as they come up or as theyemerge, or as they relate, and this certa<strong>in</strong>ly relates so I do not see aproblem.PROF. CAPRON: Perhaps, however, if this motion passes,Jim, you could send around a draft of what the motion that would bemade at that meet<strong>in</strong>g would be so that people who are not members ofthe subcommittee today could be well prepared <strong>for</strong> it.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Ready to vote? All <strong>in</strong> favor of themotion <strong>in</strong>dicate by say<strong>in</strong>g aye.(A chorus of ayes was heard.)DR. CHILDRESS: Opposed? Abstentions? Okay.DR. DUMAS: We usually communicate to the othersubcommittee the k<strong>in</strong>ds of th<strong>in</strong>gs that we are do<strong>in</strong>g and I th<strong>in</strong>k it wouldbe important to send that report to the other subcommittee as well.DR. CHILDRESS: Yes.DR. DUMAS: So that they would be prepared <strong>for</strong> theMarch meet<strong>in</strong>g.


1061234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. CHILDRESS: Good. Thank you. All right.In the short time be<strong>for</strong>e lunch we want to get started adiscussion of the agency review, one of our mandated tasks.I th<strong>in</strong>k, Bill, you are go<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>in</strong>troduce that discussiontoday?FEDERAL AGENCY REPORTS ON HUMAN SUBJECTSPROTECTIONS(Dr. William Raub, Joel Mangel, J.D., andMs. Emily Fe<strong>in</strong>ste<strong>in</strong>, NBAC Staff)DR. RAUB: Thank you, Jim. I will ask Joel Mangel andEmily Fe<strong>in</strong>ste<strong>in</strong> to perhaps come to the table here.We have a brief item of follow-up to your previousdiscussions. As you will recall Gary Ellis <strong>in</strong> the auspices of an<strong>in</strong>teragency committee that he chairs anticipated the needs of thecommission by request<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation from the several federal agenciesthat are covered by the Common Rule and some others as I understandit responded as well.The staff per<strong>for</strong>med some prelim<strong>in</strong>ary analysis that hasbeen the subject of discussion by this group already and we neitherpropose to revisit those discussions unless you have particular issuesbut did want to capture some ideas with respect to the next steps.I have asked Joel and Emily to distill the issues as theysee them that would be the basis <strong>for</strong> the next phase of this study whichwould be a staff based <strong>in</strong>quiry with the other agencies.In addition, we have been <strong>for</strong>tunate to negotiate theservices of Dr. Bill Friedman, who is over here on the side, who is with


1071234567891011121314151617181920212223242526the Indian Health Service. Bill has extensive experience <strong>in</strong> both thepr<strong>in</strong>ciples and the underground practice with respect to human subjectsprotection <strong>in</strong> general and IRBs <strong>in</strong> particular and, there<strong>for</strong>e, will be avaluable asset to the staff group <strong>in</strong> lead<strong>in</strong>g that ef<strong>for</strong>t to br<strong>in</strong>g the core of<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation together that I th<strong>in</strong>k the commission needs to make its nextdeliberative steps here.Joel?DR. MANGEL: Actually Emily will start off.DR. FEINSTEIN: This is mostly a progress report onwhere we have come to s<strong>in</strong>ce the last meet<strong>in</strong>g. We have begun aga<strong>in</strong> togo back <strong>in</strong>to the responses and to do an analysis <strong>in</strong> preparation <strong>for</strong>develop<strong>in</strong>g a f<strong>in</strong>al report and we have been hesitant to go ahead withouta project director but we have decided that our <strong>in</strong>itial approach ofagency by agency is perhaps misguided. And <strong>in</strong> a re-review of theresponses we feel that because they were more conclusionary and lesssubstantive we wanted to undertake face-to-face <strong>in</strong>terviews with theagency representatives <strong>in</strong> order to get the more detailed <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation weare look<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong>.So with that aim <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d we have developed a list ofgeneric questions that we can br<strong>in</strong>g to each agency at each <strong>in</strong>terview.They have been distributed to you. I do not know if you have read them.These generic questions were designed with the <strong>in</strong>tention of --DR. MANGEL: Has everybody gotten a copy?DR. FEINSTEIN: It says, "First draft of February 24,1997."PROF. CHARO: Oh, that was from you. I did not know


1081234567891011121314151617181920212223242526who that was from.DR. FEINSTEIN: "Questions <strong>for</strong> agency <strong>in</strong>terviews."PROF. CHARO: I did not know who that was from.DR. FEINSTEIN: This is from us. This is a generic list ofquestions with the <strong>in</strong>tention of go<strong>in</strong>g through the policies and proceduresof the Common Rule step by step at each agency and we feel it willdevelop a broader and more cont<strong>in</strong>uous base of data that we can workwith. And then <strong>in</strong> addition to that we can go over specific questions thatwe have that have come up <strong>in</strong> the agency responses.For example, certa<strong>in</strong> agencies claim that all the researchthey do is exempt from the Common Rule and that may be someth<strong>in</strong>g wewill want to discuss further.We have been hesitate to schedule these meet<strong>in</strong>gsbecause we have had staff<strong>in</strong>g issues but we feel that we can probablystart mov<strong>in</strong>g right ahead now that we have Bill Friedman with us and wewould be will<strong>in</strong>g to beg<strong>in</strong> as we have unless we have comments from thecommissioners or from Bill as to how we can further ref<strong>in</strong>e our proposal.Do you have anyth<strong>in</strong>g to add to that?PROF. CHARO: Is she ask<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> the comments now?DR. CHILDRESS: Are you want<strong>in</strong>g comments now?PROF. CHARO: Are you ask<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> comments now?DR. FEINSTEIN: If you have. I mean, I am assum<strong>in</strong>g atthis po<strong>in</strong>t you have read the responses.DR. MANGEL: Even the packages.PROF. CHARO: We have read the responses, yes. Butthese handouts only came today, right?


1091234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. FEINSTEIN: Yes.PROF. CHARO: So --DR. SCOTT-JONES: May I just raise a po<strong>in</strong>t aboutprocedure. In the future when we get documents like this could they bebetter labeled and could they be dated as well because the head<strong>in</strong>g is"<strong>National</strong> Bioethics Advisory Commission," which is us, yet we have not<strong>in</strong>put.DR. CHILDRESS: That is a different one.DR. SCOTT-JONES: This is not it? Oh. Okay.DR. FEINSTEIN: It says, "First draft, February 24th."DR. SCOTT-JONES: Oh, okay.PROF. CHARO: Yes, this is our's.DR. SCOTT-JONES: This is our's. Okay. All right. Letme f<strong>in</strong>d the right th<strong>in</strong>g. Let me see what it looks like.PROF. CAPRON: One page, two sides. "First draft."DR. SCOTT-JONES: Thank you. Okay.PROF. CAPRON: I wanted to understand the process alittle. These are go<strong>in</strong>g to be sent <strong>in</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g to them be<strong>for</strong>e you meet withthem and you are go<strong>in</strong>g to get written responses and then go talk tothem about their written responses? Or you are go<strong>in</strong>g to send them <strong>in</strong>writ<strong>in</strong>g and then go and talk responses orally?DR. FEINSTEIN: Probably the latter. I envision that wewill send the questions, that they will be prepared and know what we arebr<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g to the table, and that we will also request copies of any policiesor relevant materials, educational materials, and we will have thosebe<strong>for</strong>e the <strong>in</strong>terviews, and then we will go and speak. I am not


1101234567891011121314151617181920212223242526envision<strong>in</strong>g any more written correspondence be<strong>for</strong>e these <strong>in</strong>terviews.PROF. CAPRON: And you anticipate these will be with the<strong>in</strong>dividual or do you see a group of <strong>in</strong>dividuals <strong>in</strong> most places?DR. FEINSTEIN: I am envision<strong>in</strong>g a group of <strong>in</strong>dividuals.There is an agency representative that has been designated to speak tous. But probably we are go<strong>in</strong>g to want to speak to more of them and tosome people who have more day-to-day practical experience with theimplications of the Common Rule and anyone else that the agencyrepresentative feels would br<strong>in</strong>g someth<strong>in</strong>g to the conversation. I mean,this is not an <strong>in</strong>terrogation. We are try<strong>in</strong>g to share data and, you know,learn as much as we can.DR. CHILDRESS: And I have asked Alta and Alex both tolook careful at what was received and to th<strong>in</strong>k about how we might movefrom here <strong>for</strong>ward.PROF. CHARO: Yes. I th<strong>in</strong>k Diane's po<strong>in</strong>t is well takenbecause it has been hard to figure out what is com<strong>in</strong>g from whom. Butnow hav<strong>in</strong>g seen this only <strong>for</strong> the last 45 seconds while you were talk<strong>in</strong>g Ican tell you that we will be happy to send back comments after we havehad a chance to review it properly. So that is number one.Number two, already I can imag<strong>in</strong>e that you might wantto get some real basic <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation like how many protocols do theyadm<strong>in</strong>ister themselves? How many contracts do they have out that<strong>in</strong>volve a contractor tak<strong>in</strong>g on this task? How many human subjects havebeen enrolled under those various protocols? How many adverse eventshave ever been reported? How many requests <strong>for</strong> compensation haveever been received? How have those all been resolved?


1111234567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CAPRON: You are specify<strong>in</strong>g some time period?PROF. CHARO: There would have to be def<strong>in</strong>itely a timeperiod, yes. I had not even thought about that, but yes. In order to justget a handle on the magnitude of what is go<strong>in</strong>g on because theresponses we got were so variable and varied <strong>in</strong> their ability to do this.And I suspect that that is go<strong>in</strong>g to take them a long time to do becausemost of them have no audit procedure that they have gone through withthe exception, I th<strong>in</strong>k, of the CIA which clear did have an audit althoughwe did not get a chance to see the report.By the way can I put <strong>in</strong> a request that we get theInspector General's report to which the CIA response refers?And so that might be a great th<strong>in</strong>g to get even be<strong>for</strong>e weget <strong>in</strong>to the details of the procedures. It is just the magnitude of theactivities as well as the classes of activities as you have alreadyanticipated because some responses did focus on the fact that is moresocial science than biomedical.DR. MANGEL: Yes. One of the th<strong>in</strong>gs that came throughvery clearly from read<strong>in</strong>g the responses is that we were go<strong>in</strong>g to have tobe basic and so I agree with all of that.PROF. CHARO: Okay.DR. MANGEL: When you get a chance to look at thequestions I th<strong>in</strong>k you will see that we really did at least th<strong>in</strong>k we werestart<strong>in</strong>g at a very, very basic level.DR. DUMAS: I have just a suggestion <strong>for</strong> questionnumber n<strong>in</strong>e. In the other questions you ask them to expla<strong>in</strong> what theydo and <strong>in</strong> n<strong>in</strong>e you just ask whether or not they monitor IRB activities. I


1121234567891011121314151617181920212223242526th<strong>in</strong>k it would be useful to know how they monitor or what mechanismsthey have <strong>for</strong> monitor<strong>in</strong>g.PROF. CAPRON: We were also given a list <strong>in</strong> our placesof the agencies that have responded to Executive Order 12975. And I donot see the Department of Hous<strong>in</strong>g and Urban Development on there butI recall that they had a response which is only a lead <strong>in</strong> to my -- I wantedto make sure that I had recalled that correctly. Their response was tosay they sponsored no research. It was a one sentence response.DR. FEINSTEIN: Yes.PROF. CAPRON: That certa<strong>in</strong>ly was not once true of thedepartment. And I wondered as a generic matter if it would be helpful topeople to rem<strong>in</strong>d them of the def<strong>in</strong>ition of research so that you not go <strong>in</strong>and have a fairly fruitless <strong>in</strong>terview with any of them. Obviously some ofthem may admit to do<strong>in</strong>g some research but may not recognize all theth<strong>in</strong>gs that qualifies as research, particularly social policy sorts ofth<strong>in</strong>gs. And just -- and so you are <strong>in</strong> agreement that that is --DR. MANGEL: One suspects that Hous<strong>in</strong>g and UrbanDevelopment is not alone <strong>in</strong> the need to have that done.PROF. CAPRON: But the --DR. MANGEL: I agree.PROF. CAPRON: Yes, I mean one of the issues that alsocame up was about the prison system because they have had amoratorium or prohibition on biomedical research <strong>for</strong> a long time. Butwhen Professor Charo and I were talk<strong>in</strong>g about this last night. Sheraised the question of what happens to prisoners who happen to beenrolled <strong>in</strong> a biomedical experiment of some sort, they are gett<strong>in</strong>g a


1131234567891011121314151617181920212223242526research drug if they go <strong>in</strong>to the prison.I would suspect that the prison doctor becomes theirdoctor. They do not have an outside doctor com<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> to treat them butI do not know that that is the case. But then does the department haveany way or any responsibility vis-a-vis their cont<strong>in</strong>ued participation ifthey are now prisoners but are on a research protocol or do they getknocked off of research protocols automatically. You cannot be on one ifyou are <strong>in</strong> the federal prison. That would be an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g question tohave answered.There were also assertions <strong>in</strong> some of the publicationsthat we got, not the regulations themselves, that <strong>for</strong> some departments,research that they conduct <strong>in</strong>-house they regard as not covered and theScience magaz<strong>in</strong>e with a brief description of some of our work -- orexcuse me, of Senator Glenn's bill, I th<strong>in</strong>k, said someth<strong>in</strong>g along that l<strong>in</strong>ethat one of the th<strong>in</strong>gs the bill would do would assure that <strong>in</strong>-houseresearch was subject to these rules and not just research that isconducted outside.That astonished me because, of course, the orig<strong>in</strong>s of allthis were Surgeon General Stewart's policies which were built on theCl<strong>in</strong>ical <strong>Center</strong>'s own <strong>in</strong>ternal policy. So this began as someth<strong>in</strong>g thatwas applied to government scientists do<strong>in</strong>g work <strong>in</strong>-house. And I wantedto make sure that your questions teased out whether any of them<strong>in</strong>terpret the Common Rule or their application of the Common Rule? Isthat <strong>in</strong> there?DR. MANGEL: Well, yes. I th<strong>in</strong>k that <strong>in</strong> a couple of --PROF. CAPRON: The <strong>in</strong>tent of --


1141234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. MANGEL: -- <strong>in</strong> a couple of the questions we tried toget them to expla<strong>in</strong> some of the differences that their responses seem tolay out between <strong>in</strong>tramural and extramural. Some of the responses<strong>in</strong>dicated what you are say<strong>in</strong>g. Some of the responses <strong>in</strong>dicated perhapsa general misunderstand<strong>in</strong>g of the different -- of similarity of the two, notthe difference part of it.PROF. CAPRON: And the f<strong>in</strong>al th<strong>in</strong>g was one of the th<strong>in</strong>gsthat I had requested <strong>in</strong> talk<strong>in</strong>g with our chair last week, and that therewas not time to prepare, would be some k<strong>in</strong>d of a grid on which -- <strong>for</strong> thenext go around you would identify <strong>for</strong> us where you th<strong>in</strong>k there are issuesby lett<strong>in</strong>g us look at it graphically. I just f<strong>in</strong>d that <strong>for</strong> these complicatedth<strong>in</strong>gs we are try<strong>in</strong>g to follow a whole bunch of regulations through a lotof departments to see where you found problem areas with notations ofwhat those were but laid out on a number of pages by departments andagencies.I had thought that perhaps you were do<strong>in</strong>g this alreadybecause when you talked to us <strong>in</strong> January you mentioned that you foundsome of them more deficient and saw areas <strong>for</strong> follow-up. And I thoughtperhaps you had a work<strong>in</strong>g model of this sort. I gather you do not. But Iwould th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>in</strong> the future either you or the rest of the staff would preparesuch a document <strong>for</strong> the commission.PROF. CHARO: Yes. Aga<strong>in</strong> thanks very much <strong>for</strong> the listof questions. I have had a chance to scan them and they do cover a lotof th<strong>in</strong>gs that I agree need to be explored. So it is wonderful to see ameet<strong>in</strong>g of the m<strong>in</strong>ds because it is k<strong>in</strong>d of a reality check on your ownimpressions.


1151234567891011121314151617181920212223242526I might want to add a couple of th<strong>in</strong>gs, and <strong>for</strong>give me ifthey are there and I just did not catch them because I was read<strong>in</strong>g soquickly. When I went through the reports there are certa<strong>in</strong> themes thatemerged several times that might be worth some attention.One, there seems to be cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g confusion and/orfrustration regard<strong>in</strong>g survey research and the mean<strong>in</strong>g of surveyresearch and when it requires review of what type, and it comes up <strong>in</strong>several agency reports. And it struck me as the k<strong>in</strong>d of question that is aperfect segue <strong>in</strong>to the discussion about where the <strong>in</strong>terpretation of theCommon Rule's regulations should be located with<strong>in</strong> each agency andwhether, as does not exist now, there ought to be a def<strong>in</strong>itive office that<strong>in</strong>terprets those regulations on behalf of all departments becausecurrently the secretary at the top of each cab<strong>in</strong>et department has thef<strong>in</strong>al authority <strong>for</strong> the <strong>in</strong>terpretation with<strong>in</strong> that department.So <strong>in</strong>terpretations can vary across these departmentall<strong>in</strong>es over the same language that has been adopted and commondespite the ef<strong>for</strong>ts of the harmonization task <strong>for</strong>ce.But with regard to surveys you see com<strong>in</strong>g up over andover there is -- <strong>in</strong> some reports there is the request that there beconsideration of a more realistic, practical, abbreviated set ofprocedures regard<strong>in</strong>g surveys and yet if you look at the surveys that arebe<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> many cases they are surveys that are already either exempt oreligible <strong>for</strong> expedited review.So without further discussion with those agencies it is notclear whether this was caused by confusion or because the expeditedreview process itself is seen as be<strong>in</strong>g too cumbersome and <strong>in</strong> need of


1161234567891011121314151617181920212223242526further revision <strong>in</strong> the op<strong>in</strong>ion of that agency.And the dist<strong>in</strong>ction between evaluation of service deliveryprojects and survey research that, <strong>in</strong> fact, does trigger real reviewbecause it talks about sensitive topics that could put people at risksocially. For example, survey research or service delivery researchpend<strong>in</strong>g that has to do with the reproductive area or with HIV status, totake two examples, is someth<strong>in</strong>g that I th<strong>in</strong>k needs to be teased out alittle bit more exactly what is be<strong>in</strong>g done, how it is be<strong>in</strong>g treated with<strong>in</strong>the agencies, who made the <strong>in</strong>terpretation to treat it that way, andwhether there is some pattern and logic to this because I can onlyimag<strong>in</strong>e that it is aggravat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> people who are try<strong>in</strong>g to do their jobsproperly to never be sure if they are follow<strong>in</strong>g the rules.Second with regard to <strong>in</strong>terpretation it has to do with theprovision that permits <strong>in</strong> the transnational context, permits approval ofresearch that meets equivalent sets of protections to the ones that wehave <strong>in</strong> this country <strong>for</strong> reasons that the CIOMS group to which there hasbeen some reference from time-to-time -- <strong>for</strong> reasons which the CIOMSgroup has spelled out.Reasons of cultural difference, practical difference, theway <strong>in</strong> which you might have the same level of protection at the end bydifferent sets of procedures. The WHO has somewhat different rulesthan we do <strong>for</strong> example. But which particular <strong>in</strong>ternational organizationsets of recommendations or which particular <strong>for</strong>eign country's legislativerules will be considered equivalent to our's is one that is still a k<strong>in</strong>d ofdepartment by department or even IRB by IRB determ<strong>in</strong>ation.Aga<strong>in</strong> a better handle on the frequency with which that is


1171234567891011121314151617181920212223242526happen<strong>in</strong>g, when it is federally agency sponsored research, and theconsistency of the <strong>in</strong>terpretation of what is or is not acceptable would begood <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation because there is another area <strong>in</strong> which we can see onlyan <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> the future <strong>in</strong> the number of these collaborations andwhere it would be very good to be able to head of some of theseproblems.Then there were some very special issues that I wouldjust like to urge the subcommittee to consider giv<strong>in</strong>g some susta<strong>in</strong>edattention to as we move through the list of our tasks over the monthsthat will follow.The NASA report is much more extensive than manybecause they had, <strong>in</strong> fact, convened a group to advise them specificallyon how to implement federal protections <strong>in</strong> light of a particularly stickyquestion and that is the requirement that one "volunteer" to be aresearch subject as a condition of employment as an astronaut becauseof all of the human subjects research that goes on as they measure allthe various th<strong>in</strong>gs that happen to human bodies when they are exposedto extended periods <strong>in</strong> space.And I commend them <strong>for</strong> hav<strong>in</strong>g put <strong>in</strong> that much ef<strong>for</strong>tand hav<strong>in</strong>g convened the people that they did. They had some very, verygood people work<strong>in</strong>g on it. They come out with a list of procedures thatare designed to allow astronauts to withdraw from the research endeavorbut that will, <strong>in</strong> turn, have an impact on the range of missions <strong>for</strong> whichthey will be eligible to participate <strong>in</strong> the future.This is a solution that attempts to balance needs <strong>for</strong>research, needs <strong>for</strong> astronauts, needs <strong>for</strong> respect <strong>for</strong> autonomy, et


1181234567891011121314151617181920212223242526cetera. But what we have no clue about is how well this works. I mean,as it stands one could argue the pr<strong>in</strong>cipled resolution of this policy. Buteven without hav<strong>in</strong>g to do that one could simply ask how are theastronauts themselves react<strong>in</strong>g to it and do they feel free to withdraw <strong>in</strong>the places where it is supposed to make them feel free to withdraw anddo they not?I suspect that we may get answers that are stratified byage, s<strong>in</strong>ce the older members of the NASA <strong>for</strong>ce I suspect were mostlycom<strong>in</strong>g out of the military <strong>in</strong>stead of the civilian way of aviation andtra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, et cetera. We might f<strong>in</strong>d that people who have not gonethrough the military do not necessarily feel as com<strong>for</strong>table be<strong>in</strong>g asconstra<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> their choices.I would like to just s<strong>in</strong>gle that out <strong>for</strong> attention because itis an unusual th<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> participation <strong>in</strong> research to be a condition ofemployment. And hav<strong>in</strong>g personally been <strong>in</strong> that situation as a student<strong>in</strong> which condition of my appo<strong>in</strong>tment as a research assistant <strong>in</strong>volvedhav<strong>in</strong>g to give blood every morn<strong>in</strong>g to supply the blood I was work<strong>in</strong>g on,and not be<strong>in</strong>g thrilled about it, I have a special k<strong>in</strong>ship with theseastronauts who have to go through this <strong>in</strong> order to keep their jobs.A second area I th<strong>in</strong>k that needs to be blocked out <strong>for</strong>some k<strong>in</strong>d of special attention, and I happily accept some guidance onthis, has to do with national security issues. First <strong>in</strong> the area of theDepartment of Defense report.The Department of Defense report at first shocked mebecause it made absolutely no reference to the experience with theveterans who were given prophylactic vacc<strong>in</strong>ations and prophylactic oral


1191234567891011121314151617181920212223242526therapy <strong>for</strong> chemical and biological agents dur<strong>in</strong>g the Persian Gulfconflict.And then I had to stop myself and rem<strong>in</strong>d myself, no, thatis right, they do not have to talk about this <strong>in</strong> the DOD report becausethat was not research. It was <strong>in</strong>novative therapy that was subjected to avariety of research style regulatory protections solely because these were<strong>in</strong>vestigational drugs and, there<strong>for</strong>e, FDA's rules kicked <strong>in</strong>.Hav<strong>in</strong>g actually testified on that very po<strong>in</strong>t it was amaz<strong>in</strong>gI had to k<strong>in</strong>d of rem<strong>in</strong>d myself. Which only goes to say that this is thek<strong>in</strong>d of area <strong>in</strong> which if it does not fall technically under the rubric ofresearch, nonetheless it is perceived as research by those people whohave been placed -- who have been subjected to it <strong>in</strong> the context oftreatment which is -- which are the service people.And I th<strong>in</strong>k that it -- I would like to recommend that wepay some attention to the follow-up on the <strong>in</strong>terim rule that was workedout by DOD and FDA govern<strong>in</strong>g so-called emergency use of these<strong>in</strong>novative therapies <strong>in</strong> which the requirements <strong>for</strong> <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation andconsent were abandoned under certa<strong>in</strong> exceptional circumstances.And a rule that has engendered a fair amount of criticismand some very constructive suggestions com<strong>in</strong>g from a variety of places<strong>in</strong> the <strong>for</strong>m of testimony be<strong>for</strong>e the Persian Gulf Commission andmembers of its own commission, et cetera, and I just do not know aboutthe follow-up to it.But it is so close to the research endeavor that I wouldlike to pay attention to it particularly s<strong>in</strong>ce there is no requirement <strong>for</strong><strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med consent <strong>for</strong> medical treatment <strong>in</strong> the military at all. So that


1201234567891011121314151617181920212223242526when you have <strong>in</strong>novative medic<strong>in</strong>e that beg<strong>in</strong>s to verge on research youare do<strong>in</strong>g it aga<strong>in</strong>st a backdrop of people who never ever have the rightto refuse or consent to treatment at all.I would like to see the CIA report and the InspectorGeneral's report because the CIA was the subject of so many <strong>in</strong>quiries <strong>in</strong>the past and the Inspector General's report was so glow<strong>in</strong>g about thecomplete absence of any problems from '88 to '93, and they make somevery sweep<strong>in</strong>g suggestions <strong>for</strong> re<strong>for</strong>ms nonetheless <strong>in</strong> their procedures.It would be very <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to see what it is that theyfound <strong>in</strong> their audit as well as to f<strong>in</strong>d out how they went about do<strong>in</strong>gtheir audits s<strong>in</strong>ce it is the only real audit that I found there. I wasmightily happy to f<strong>in</strong>d one that actually went back and says that itlooked at every research protocol and every human subject and everyconsent <strong>for</strong>m, et cetera, to see what that entails.DR. CHILDRESS: Thanks, Alta. Any responses?DR. MANGEL: No. I mean, it does reassure us that manyof the concerns that you have identified are concerns that we alsoidentified. I th<strong>in</strong>k that when you get a chance to go over the questions,hopefully, we touched on many of the th<strong>in</strong>gs.Particularly your comments on survey research. Ourquestion number two, <strong>for</strong> example, is <strong>in</strong> a general way meant to get atthat. Survey research is only one example of where agencies seem to be<strong>in</strong>vok<strong>in</strong>g exceptions to the policy. Observational research, behavioralresearch are other areas where I th<strong>in</strong>k serious questions are go<strong>in</strong>g to beraised as to just how they are apply<strong>in</strong>g them.PROF. CHARO: Can I -- it is funny because I saw two and


1211234567891011121314151617181920212223242526I actually marked "good" <strong>in</strong> little circles. That is good. The two is -- youknow, <strong>for</strong> those of you who did not catch it yet, it is the one about go<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>to some <strong>in</strong>-depth on <strong>in</strong>take and how they k<strong>in</strong>d of process these th<strong>in</strong>gsand say what is it, is it human subjects or is it not.I have lost my tra<strong>in</strong> of thought. Oh, I know what it was.To the extent that you f<strong>in</strong>d yourself talk<strong>in</strong>g to agenciesthat do a lot of work on surveys or do a lot of work that they perceive asbe<strong>in</strong>g social science <strong>in</strong>stead of biomedical, as a follow-up somewherealong the way <strong>for</strong> those that th<strong>in</strong>k that the procedures that are <strong>in</strong> placenow that govern social science and biomedical research both, and thenjust rank them by the degree of risk and have expedited procedures <strong>for</strong>various less risky th<strong>in</strong>gs, explore with them why if they are suggest<strong>in</strong>gthis why they are suggest<strong>in</strong>g there ought to be a dist<strong>in</strong>ction madebetween social science and biomedical research. How they wouldpossibly draw that dist<strong>in</strong>ction cleanly enough that it would not createanother <strong>in</strong>terpretative problem and what different procedures they wouldbe us<strong>in</strong>g.Just so that we can evaluate their responses better andunderstand<strong>in</strong>g what they are suggest<strong>in</strong>g. As well as go<strong>in</strong>g back andsee<strong>in</strong>g whether or not unbeknownst to some people <strong>in</strong> the middle of thiswhole adm<strong>in</strong>istrative mix there were ways to achieve exactly what theywanted to achieve under the current regs.DR. CHILDRESS: Alex?PROF. CAPRON: I have a couple of generic suggestions<strong>for</strong> you. One of which I th<strong>in</strong>k you already feel you deal with but I justpo<strong>in</strong>t to the Veteran's Adm<strong>in</strong>istration response as an example.


1221234567891011121314151617181920212223242526One of the questions that arises is the need <strong>for</strong> thatcentralized <strong>in</strong>terpretative body and there is the <strong>in</strong>teragency coord<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>gcommittee now. I was struck <strong>in</strong> the VA response that they are sayboast<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> response to questions, some times <strong>in</strong> response to the samequestion, on the one hand this is the sort of th<strong>in</strong>g that would requirechanges <strong>in</strong> the federal policy and the VA will work with whatever policychanges come along. Basically we are happy to do it just we look tosome broader group. And on the other hand they seem to be mak<strong>in</strong>gchanges to specific areas on the question of consent.They seem to suggest that someth<strong>in</strong>g is happen<strong>in</strong>g thereand then on the question of compensation <strong>for</strong> <strong>in</strong>juries they say the VA isprepar<strong>in</strong>g regulations to provide <strong>for</strong> the compensation of researchsubjects who suffer <strong>in</strong>jury as a result of participation.So someth<strong>in</strong>g -- the first question has to do with just howthis -- any particular agency you are talk<strong>in</strong>g to views their own role <strong>in</strong>develop<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>novations versus the need <strong>for</strong> the leadership to come fromsome central body and how they dist<strong>in</strong>guish. I mean, why are theymov<strong>in</strong>g ahead on one topic and say, well, we will just wait <strong>for</strong> everybodyelse to get together on the other topic.The second question is specifically on this issue ofcompensation. I was very <strong>in</strong>terested to see that they are look<strong>in</strong>g at that.It is a topic we have said we want to look at. What are they do<strong>in</strong>g? And Ith<strong>in</strong>k you should also f<strong>in</strong>d out from other departments have any of therest of them moved ahead on the compensation front? I did not see aquestion. Aga<strong>in</strong>, Joel, we have just looked at these.The third th<strong>in</strong>g is I want to read you two statements. In


1231234567response to this issue of improv<strong>in</strong>g on the three elements of currentfederal system this is the response from the Veteran's Adm<strong>in</strong>istration.The VA already has adequate policies and procedures <strong>in</strong>place <strong>for</strong> ensur<strong>in</strong>g that human subjects -- human research subjects areprotected, that sanctions are applied to <strong>in</strong>vestigators violat<strong>in</strong>g humansubjects rights, and that all research conducted by VA <strong>in</strong>vestigatorsregardless of source of fund<strong>in</strong>g is reviewed and monitored by8appropriate groups.That is <strong>in</strong> response to question 13. And <strong>in</strong>91011121314151617181920212223242526response to -- or recommendation 13.In response to recommendation n<strong>in</strong>e they say VAoperates a well organized program to promote ethical practices <strong>in</strong> allaspects of health care delivery, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g health research. The <strong>National</strong><strong>Center</strong> <strong>for</strong> Cl<strong>in</strong>ical Ethics is responsible <strong>for</strong> the broad aspects ofbiomedical ethics and the Office of Research and Development providespolicies, procedures and oversight <strong>for</strong> the protection of participants <strong>in</strong>VA research.Now we know from revelations about what has happenedat the West Los Angeles VA and other VA center, <strong>in</strong> Brooklyn I believeand so <strong>for</strong>th, that there have been examples of egress abuse of subjects.That is revealed at more or less the same time as we get a letter datedJanuary 30th, 1996, with these assurances <strong>in</strong> them.I do not want to pick on the VA alone but a question that Iwould ask of any of these agencies is how is it possible <strong>for</strong> you, whatsystem allows you reliably to make statements like this that we shouldbelieve? Because as my fellow commissioners have heard me probablyad nauseam I am very concerned that we not issue a report which simply


1241234567891011121314151617181920212223242526says everyth<strong>in</strong>g is be<strong>in</strong>g complied with, or here is the problem, youknow, but it is at the level of paper compliance or paper noncompliance.I am concerned with real compliance.If an agency can give us this answer <strong>in</strong> the face of thisrecord that we know which is just as a result of some lawsuits be<strong>in</strong>gbrought and some <strong>in</strong>vestigative journalists, who knows what is reallygo<strong>in</strong>g on out there. How do we know from every other department andagency that we are not go<strong>in</strong>g to get paper answers like this that bearlittle relationship to reality. That is my concern.I hope that your process by digg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to what ishappen<strong>in</strong>g will either lead us to the conclusion that we have well<strong>in</strong>tentioned people, aga<strong>in</strong> to use Eric's notion, people who want to dogood, but whose system is set up <strong>in</strong> a way that they have no real way oftell<strong>in</strong>g us that their agency is not sitt<strong>in</strong>g on the top of a can of wormsthat is just as bad as what may have gone on <strong>in</strong> some of these VeteransAdm<strong>in</strong>istration hospitals.Or agencies that have found ways to tell you much morereliably, yes, we know, we can tell you how many subjects, we havelooked at them, we have looked at the protocols, we have people who goout, we have spot check<strong>in</strong>g, we do whatever. I do not know the methodsthey would use. But we can tell you with more assurance that what is onpaper and what is <strong>in</strong> reality are the same.So that I hope your process s<strong>in</strong>ce you are our means outto this as a first step because one of our recommendations it seems tome will have to be about the adequacy of the present procedures.DR. CHILDRESS: Eric?


1251234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. CASSELL: Well, I th<strong>in</strong>k, Alex, what you raise is also avery important po<strong>in</strong>t. What is to be a way of f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g out <strong>in</strong> the future notjust now? What is the way of f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g out who is do<strong>in</strong>g what and to which-- and which and to whom? It is very difficult to address but it is a veryimportant matter otherwise we would get just what you want. I mean,there are people <strong>in</strong> agencies whose job it is to do that, to producesometh<strong>in</strong>g that solves the problem on paper even if it does not have anyrelevance to what is actually go<strong>in</strong>g on.So while I am all <strong>for</strong> education, this and that, gooden<strong>for</strong>cement starts with knowledge and how is that to be obta<strong>in</strong>ed. Howare we ever to f<strong>in</strong>d out what people are actually do<strong>in</strong>g?PROF. CHARO: The last article about the VA that cameout of the Pla<strong>in</strong> Dealer had an exchange of quotes that may or may notbe accurate representations of what people said because usually theyare pulled out of a much larger conversation.But the exchange that struck me concerned the one aboutwhether or not it was standard practice <strong>in</strong> the '80s at the time that theresearch was go<strong>in</strong>g on that was be<strong>in</strong>g discussed <strong>in</strong> that article, whetherit was standard practice to not, <strong>in</strong> fact, tell people about the fact thatthey were about to go through a withdrawal period and the significanceof that withdrawal period.And the quote from a VA representative was that it wasstandard practice and the quote from the OPRR staff person was thatthat was not what the rules say. "It was not standard practice and by Godnobody then <strong>in</strong> the '80s should have thought that that was appropriatestandard practice."


1261234567891011121314151617181920212223242526That exchange is enormously reveal<strong>in</strong>g of the endur<strong>in</strong>gproblem of <strong>in</strong>terpretation of these rules. It is part of this problem, Alex,you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about <strong>in</strong> terms of actual protection. It is only one part ofit because the other part has to do with many other aspects ofprocess<strong>in</strong>g the paper and gett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation out to people. But just anunderstand<strong>in</strong>g of what the basic terms like <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>m<strong>in</strong>g people, gett<strong>in</strong>gtheir consent or their assent, et cetera, means <strong>in</strong> these agencies.If f<strong>in</strong>d myself wonder<strong>in</strong>g whether with the VA or perhapswith another agency that is not <strong>in</strong> the spotlights that there is not the riskof litigation that creates an <strong>in</strong>centive to not speak. But if it is possible tosimply work with a s<strong>in</strong>gle agency, follow it through several protocols, andtry to go <strong>in</strong> a very step-wise fashion through the procedures and see howthey, <strong>in</strong> fact, are be<strong>in</strong>g operationalized.I would even suggest that it be done not with NIH or FDAor any of the agencies that have lots of elaborate procedures at handalready but with the ones where it is more likely that there is realvariability <strong>in</strong> how they understand these rules because they have lessfrequent contact with human subjects research or because more of it isextramurally funded and they are, there<strong>for</strong>e, tak<strong>in</strong>g on faith the f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gsof external IRBs, whether they are academically set or they might beprivate IRBs that are servic<strong>in</strong>g private contractors who are bidd<strong>in</strong>g oncontracts <strong>for</strong> these agencies that do extramural stuff.Maybe either side by side, be<strong>for</strong>e or after, <strong>in</strong> lieu of, I donot know, a k<strong>in</strong>d of across all agencies set of questions about all th<strong>in</strong>gsmight be an opportunity <strong>for</strong> more k<strong>in</strong>d of anthropological approach ofsome great detail at walk<strong>in</strong>g through this process of identify<strong>in</strong>g the


1271234567891011121314151617181920212223242526po<strong>in</strong>ts at which we are see<strong>in</strong>g the breakdowns so that it is easier to tellwhether the problem is <strong>in</strong> enhanc<strong>in</strong>g current operationalization <strong>for</strong> someset of <strong>in</strong>terventions or if it is that the policies themselves are really notcapable of operationalization and need to be changed.DR. CHILDRESS: Bill?DR. FRIEDMAN: It certa<strong>in</strong>ly is <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g that I was notclear how much work I would have to do and now it is very clear. It is awhole lot. I am very excited about this. I have just come on thismorn<strong>in</strong>g. As you have seen the questionnaire, I have seen thequestionnaire this morn<strong>in</strong>g and I like the questionnaires too. The reasonI am go<strong>in</strong>g to make some comments is to amplify and then ask <strong>for</strong> someadvice.What you have been talk<strong>in</strong>g about <strong>in</strong> some of them iswhat are the boundaries of research and other activities like survey?That clearly is with<strong>in</strong> research but that issue. Quality assurance is a bigquestion that those of us <strong>in</strong> the Indian Health Service scratched ourheads about and we th<strong>in</strong>k we understand the regs and we actually askother people as well.Program evaluation is the same th<strong>in</strong>g and aga<strong>in</strong> when is itbe<strong>in</strong>g done <strong>in</strong>ternally, quality assurance just to, <strong>in</strong> fact, improve theprogram and not <strong>for</strong> generalizable knowledge versus the very sameactivity with the very same questionnaires or whatever that is used <strong>for</strong>, <strong>in</strong>fact, some sort of generalizable knowledge? The same th<strong>in</strong>g withprogram evaluations. We need to look at those boundaries.Another one that I would like some advice on is should webe look<strong>in</strong>g at the other boundaries? Children and mentally impaired?


1281234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Some of the th<strong>in</strong>gs you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about right now that are not coveredby the Common Rule. F<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g out whether, <strong>in</strong> fact, they have humansubjects <strong>in</strong> these other departments that fit <strong>in</strong>to those and is thatimportant <strong>for</strong> you all to know?PROF. CHARO: Yes.DR. FRIEDMAN: Another question I have is someth<strong>in</strong>gthat the regulations do not address very much but I th<strong>in</strong>k perhaps is<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly -- not <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly important but perhaps we realize it, iswhat happens when there is a failure of the system to protect subjects?The idea is that we <strong>in</strong> general, you know the emphasis is to have 100percent effective prevention of problems with human subjects. We arehuman organizations.I do not know of any human organization that is 100percent effective at compliance or do<strong>in</strong>g anyth<strong>in</strong>g. There<strong>for</strong>e, what is <strong>in</strong>place or how do people handle when they f<strong>in</strong>d out a possible problem,and is that part of the responsibility of the system to try to make wholeperhaps the situation, reparation? Whatever terms you want to use. So Iwould like to know if you th<strong>in</strong>k that should be <strong>in</strong> there.And then just an observation. I th<strong>in</strong>k question 14, myguesstimate as I try to th<strong>in</strong>k through what this talk<strong>in</strong>g with people isgo<strong>in</strong>g to be about and how it is go<strong>in</strong>g to produce <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation, question14 is, "What improvements do you th<strong>in</strong>k could be made?" It is often away actually to get at problems. I would see that as a very importantquestion to try to understand what needs to be done which is after allwhat you are -- what I assume is your purpose.So I would like to know if you have any comments about


1291that.234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you. Alex?PROF. CAPRON: Yes. I would th<strong>in</strong>k that <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mationfrom the agencies will prove useful <strong>in</strong> address<strong>in</strong>g some of thoseconceptual questions but I have a sense that work will have to be doneelsewhere on them as well. I would expect that the agency officials<strong>in</strong>volved would be very useful to us if they can provide <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation aboutwhat is go<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>in</strong> their agency. It may or may not be that those are theright people to expect to exam<strong>in</strong>e some of the more global issues. Theirunderstand<strong>in</strong>g of what they th<strong>in</strong>k research is, is go<strong>in</strong>g to be veryimportant.The difficult question of what do we mean bygeneralizable knowledge and if a proprietary system is do<strong>in</strong>g research ona "quality assurance" sort or research to f<strong>in</strong>d the most cost effective wayof deliver<strong>in</strong>g care without a detriment to human well be<strong>in</strong>g or whatever.Is that not research because they do not <strong>in</strong>tend to publish it?To me the phrase "generalizable research" simply meansthat you are go<strong>in</strong>g to come up with some conclusions that apply topeople other than the people you have just studied. And the notion thatit has to be generalizable <strong>in</strong> the sense of publishable <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation thatyou are go<strong>in</strong>g to put out <strong>in</strong> the scientific literature had never occurred tome that that was the limit and limitation on it but maybe it is.I mean if I am go<strong>in</strong>g to a health system and they aredo<strong>in</strong>g a quality assurance <strong>in</strong> the sense of simply mak<strong>in</strong>g sure that thepeople are deliver<strong>in</strong>g to me the drugs that they are supposed to bedeliver<strong>in</strong>g and check<strong>in</strong>g off, that is part of rout<strong>in</strong>e patient care. But if


1301234567891011121314151617181920212223242526they are manipulat<strong>in</strong>g the k<strong>in</strong>d of care I get to see some change <strong>in</strong> thesystem I want to know I am <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> research.Now maybe it goes well beyond the federal system and itwould only come up <strong>in</strong> an Army hospital or some other place where thegovernment is deliver<strong>in</strong>g care. Most of what I am concerned about is <strong>in</strong>the more proprietary realm but it still seems to me like research eventhough it is proprietary. But that is a po<strong>in</strong>t on which you and I, and a lotof other people can have a discussion. I do not expect to get majoranswers from that from the people who are tell<strong>in</strong>g you how the rules arework<strong>in</strong>g but anyth<strong>in</strong>g they have to say about their agency's experience onquestions like that will be useful.DR. FRIEDMAN: I just wanted to comment. I th<strong>in</strong>k thatthere is no question <strong>in</strong> my m<strong>in</strong>d that, yes, we need to be -- as I th<strong>in</strong>k hasalready been said -- we need to be talk<strong>in</strong>g with the agency heads andpeople up above. But after read<strong>in</strong>g the book Bureaucracy by James Q.Wilson, what are called the operators, the rank and file employees whoare do<strong>in</strong>g -- actually work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> human subjects protection there is also adifferent perspective and knowledge.PROF. CAPRON: Yes.DR. FRIEDMAN: And will be com<strong>in</strong>g.PROF. CAPRON: Yes.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. We want to br<strong>in</strong>g this to a closefairly soon even if we have to carry it over to the afternoon so we can getsome lunch be<strong>for</strong>e we get started aga<strong>in</strong>.PROF. CHARO: What is on the table <strong>for</strong> <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mationrequests is rather vast and I fear that this is now becom<strong>in</strong>g a task so


1311234567891011121314151617181920212223242526large it will not be doable <strong>in</strong> any time frame that is go<strong>in</strong>g to be useful.DR. FRIEDMAN: Which <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation request?DR. CASSELL: What is asked <strong>for</strong> here?PROF. CHARO: All these questions and all the otherth<strong>in</strong>gs we are talk<strong>in</strong>g about and how you have these conversations, and Iam wonder<strong>in</strong>g if I can urge you to just take <strong>in</strong>to consideration thefollow<strong>in</strong>g k<strong>in</strong>d of tiered approach:To start by try<strong>in</strong>g to get some basic demographic<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation. We do not yet know how -- <strong>for</strong> <strong>in</strong>tramural research <strong>for</strong>which there ought to be records because every agency is committed tohav<strong>in</strong>g an IRB to cover its own <strong>in</strong>tramural. How many protocols havethey had <strong>in</strong> the years X to Y? How many subjects have been enrolled?How many have been completed? How many hours do the IRB meet?How many people did they have on that IRB? How many FTEs werestaff<strong>in</strong>g it? How many FTEs have been devoted to support<strong>in</strong>g it <strong>in</strong> othercontext? Just to get a gross estimate at the <strong>in</strong>tramural level of howmuch research the federal government is do<strong>in</strong>g and how much ef<strong>for</strong>t isbe<strong>in</strong>g expended at try<strong>in</strong>g to make sure the research is doneappropriately.With regard to extramural I suspect that -- I would like toget exactly the same <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation. It is go<strong>in</strong>g to be dramatically moredifficult because I suspect based on some of the responses that they arenot even go<strong>in</strong>g to be aware of how many contracts they have let thathave, <strong>in</strong> turn, required an IRB because it will be at the level of a projectmanager who is 16 levels down from the person who is your contactperson. And yet that fact, the fact that they cannot tell how many


1321234567891011121314151617181920212223242526research projects are go<strong>in</strong>g on and how many people have been enrolledis someth<strong>in</strong>g I would like to know. How frequently is that an issue?Because without this k<strong>in</strong>d of stuff it is hard to even know where onemight want to help direct attention <strong>for</strong> the second tier.So I just want to throw out the possibility of a much moremodest level of <strong>in</strong>quiry, organized <strong>in</strong>quiry <strong>for</strong> the first <strong>in</strong>tervention, andthen move on to these more subtle questions about how they go aboutdo<strong>in</strong>g this just to get some basic numbers. How many dollars are wespend<strong>in</strong>g per human subject <strong>in</strong> the federal government to protectpeople? Is it -- you know, is it a penny, is it ten cents, is it ten dollars? Ido not have any idea.PROF. CAPRON: Alta, I do not th<strong>in</strong>k that the stuff that ison the list we have been given is optional <strong>for</strong> us at all. I th<strong>in</strong>k -- I totallyagree with the amendments you have made to it about know<strong>in</strong>gnumbers, et cetera, et cetera.PROF. CHARO: Right.PROF. CAPRON: But this is -- <strong>in</strong> effect, if the agencieshave all wonderfully and fully complied with the request of the Presidenton October 3rd, 1995, we would have the answers to this. These aremore -- is the attempt by conscientious people to whom we are stillgreatly <strong>in</strong> debt I should say.DR. DUMAS: But she is not suggest<strong>in</strong>g -- herrecommendation is not <strong>in</strong>stead of this.PROF. CHARO: I did not say it was optional.PROF. CAPRON: I thought you said you did not th<strong>in</strong>k wecould get this <strong>in</strong> time so let's get someth<strong>in</strong>g else <strong>in</strong> time.


1331234567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CHARO: No.DR. DUMAS: No.PROF. CHARO: In time to beg<strong>in</strong> to move <strong>for</strong>ward with anyfurther -- no, I would like it. I am ask<strong>in</strong>g --PROF. CAPRON: Like at the July meet<strong>in</strong>g we sure as hellbetter have answers to this.PROF. CHARO: By what meet<strong>in</strong>g?PROF. CAPRON: The July committee -- our next -- thenext meet<strong>in</strong>g of the commission.PROF. CHARO: Right. But I would love to know wayearlier than July how many human subjects the federal governmentenrolls. I mean, is it possible to get <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation <strong>in</strong> a tiered fashion?PROF. CAPRON: No. We have already been told they donot --DR. DUMAS: No.DR. CASSELL: We are go<strong>in</strong>g to get --PROF. CAPRON: I mean, we have already had the answerto that, Alta.PROF. CHARO: Really?PROF. CAPRON: They do not know.PROF. CHARO: Really? Where did you f<strong>in</strong>d the answer?DR. CASSELL: They do not know.PROF. CAPRON: Gary Ellis told us the first time. They donot have --PROF. CHARO: Gary's office does not know becauseGary's office does not have the jurisdiction to track it. If we go to each


1341234567891011121314151617181920212223242526agency and say, "You have an IRB, tell us how many protocols did youapprove --"PROF. CAPRON: Oh, <strong>in</strong>side --PROF. CHARO: Yes.PROF. CAPRON: Oh, the <strong>in</strong>side stuff because that is --DR. CASSELL: Well, but it is not either/or. Then youwant to add that to this?DR. DUMAS: Yes.PROF. CHARO: And I am ask<strong>in</strong>g if we can do that first sothat we can just get a handle on the magnitude of what is go<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>in</strong>each agency.PROF. CAPRON: But that is not the external stuff. Theexternal stuff is the iceberg. You are talk<strong>in</strong>g about what is visible <strong>in</strong> the -- because it goes on <strong>in</strong> federal <strong>in</strong>stitutions and it would be, of course,reveal<strong>in</strong>g if the VA could not tell us how many subjects they haveenrolled.PROF. CHARO: Maybe we should do this <strong>in</strong> the afternoonso I can restate it so you will understand what it is I suggested becauseyou are still not repeat<strong>in</strong>g back what I suggested.DR. CHILDRESS: Gary, do you want to respond?DR. ELLIS: No.(Laughter.)DR. CHILDRESS: Well, but would you even if you do notwant to?DR. ELLIS: Gary Ellis, OPRR. To the best of myknowledge, and I would be <strong>in</strong> a position to know, there are no data


1351234567891011121314151617181920212223242526nationwide as to the number of human subjects <strong>in</strong> research, period.Alta had asked a question about the number of subjects<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>tramural research, agency by agency, and I would not know ifagencies have that <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation.PROF. CHARO: The second question was agency byagency s<strong>in</strong>ce the ones that sponsor extramural research, they havecontracts, they have documents that say we have a contract to do X. Inthose contracts it is -- it does become clear whether or not an IRB isneeded at some stage. To the extent some may actually be able to tellus anyth<strong>in</strong>g about the extent of their extramural research, great.PROF. CAPRON: I suspect -- I agree we should look <strong>for</strong>that <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation. I gather it has not been available. I fully support thenotion of look<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> it. I have no reason to believe, Alta, that that<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation will come more quickly than the <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation to thesequestions. I th<strong>in</strong>k we should be mov<strong>in</strong>g ahead on all fronts equally.I took your first comment to be you did not th<strong>in</strong>k wewould get answers to this question <strong>in</strong> time and you were ask<strong>in</strong>g toprioritize those other matters.DR. CASSELL: That is what I thought, too.PROF. CAPRON: These questions are the essentialquestions. We should have had answers to them months ago. We do nothave answers. Certa<strong>in</strong>ly by the next meet<strong>in</strong>g of the commission weshould have as full answers as our hired and volunteer staff, and ournewly appo<strong>in</strong>ted staff if we get up and runn<strong>in</strong>g, can get <strong>for</strong> us on thesequestions. They are essential to complet<strong>in</strong>g what looked on the face of itthe most basic mandate we were given which is what is the federal


1361234567891011121314151617181920212223242526government now do<strong>in</strong>g on paper to protect human subjects, much lessknow<strong>in</strong>g what actually is work<strong>in</strong>g by way of protection.DR. CHILDRESS: Gary?DR. ELLIS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just like tooffer the observation that I do not believe that establishment of thenumber of human subjects <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>tramural research or <strong>in</strong> researchglobally will materially affect your thoughts or decisions on how toprotect human subjects <strong>in</strong> research.DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you. Joel, Emily, Bill, would youfolks like to respond to anyth<strong>in</strong>g at this po<strong>in</strong>t?DR. MANGEL: Yes. I was just go<strong>in</strong>g to say that it may bethat if we pursue the questions and the process that we propose we maycome a long way towards answer<strong>in</strong>g your questions. We will at least, ifwe do our job right, have a handle on the magnitude of the research thatthey are do<strong>in</strong>g and from there we may be able to take the next step andso it may be that we will get to where you want us to be anyway.PROF. CHARO: Okay.DR. CHILDRESS: Bill?DR. FRIEDMAN: Just another comment. I th<strong>in</strong>k thatprobably by my very first sentence, probably to do what needs to bedone requires more resources than at this table. I have some ideas ongett<strong>in</strong>g resources <strong>in</strong> time to get it done by the time you need it.PROF. CAPRON: Right. I am sure it does.DR. CHILDRESS: Joel and Emily, we thank you <strong>for</strong> whatyou have done.Bill, we look <strong>for</strong>ward to what you will do <strong>in</strong> this also.


1371234567All three of you, we are really grateful to you.Any last questions or comments be<strong>for</strong>e we take a breakand gather aga<strong>in</strong> at 1:30? We will be runn<strong>in</strong>g thirty m<strong>in</strong>utes beh<strong>in</strong>d sowe will have to start right on time and be ready to f<strong>in</strong>ish up.(Whereupon, a luncheon recess was taken from 12:27p.m. until 1:37 p.m.)* * * * *8910111213141516171819202122


1381234567891011121314151617181920212223242526A F T E R N O O N S E S S I O NDISCUSSION OF TOPICS FOR POSSIBLE PAPERS BYCOMMISSIONERS, STAFF, OR CONTRACTORS:VULNERABILITY, JUSTICE CHANGING CONTEXTSAND PARADIGMS OF RESEARCH, COMMUNITY, ET CETERADR. CHILDRESS: Alta Charo, if we could get you to jo<strong>in</strong>us here we are go<strong>in</strong>g to get started. You will give us a quorum.I am conscience about the risk of los<strong>in</strong>g additional timeand throw<strong>in</strong>g us further beh<strong>in</strong>d and I know people have flights and tra<strong>in</strong>sto meet so I would like to get started because we have some importanttopics to discuss this afternoon.In particular this afternoon we are th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about topics<strong>for</strong> possible papers by commissioners, staff or contractors relat<strong>in</strong>g tosome general concepts we talked about earlier as well as some otherissues. The first is on vulnerability and the second is on justice and thenthe third and fourth are on changes <strong>in</strong> research, research paradigms andcommunity.Vulnerability is a theme which emerged earlier <strong>in</strong> ourdiscussions as a possible way to orient a number of our deliberations <strong>in</strong>the area of human subjects research. Even if it does not f<strong>in</strong>ally succeedas a general category <strong>for</strong> <strong>in</strong>terpret<strong>in</strong>g all of research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g humansubjects it certa<strong>in</strong>ly will rema<strong>in</strong> important <strong>for</strong> particular populations andgroups.This is a topic that Arturo Brito and Diane Scott-Joneshave focused on <strong>in</strong> particular <strong>in</strong> help<strong>in</strong>g us develop our reflections. So Iam go<strong>in</strong>g to ask Diane to kick off the discussion by <strong>in</strong>troduc<strong>in</strong>g our guest


1391234567891011121314151617181920212223242526<strong>for</strong> the afternoon.DR. SCOTT-JONES: Okay. I am delighted to --DR. CHILDRESS: Part of the afternoon I should say.DR. SCOTT-JONES: I am delighted to <strong>in</strong>troduce toeveryone Professor Celia Fisher. Celia is professor at FordhamUniversity and she is director of the graduate program <strong>in</strong> applieddevelopmental psychology there. Celia has quite a long history of workon issues of ethics <strong>in</strong> research and she has taken an empirical approachto ethical issues by study<strong>in</strong>g people who are themselves potentialparticipants <strong>in</strong> research and ask<strong>in</strong>g them what they th<strong>in</strong>k about theethical issues that we are concerned with.She has also studied researchers as well and thatresearch is reported <strong>in</strong> a book entitled Ethical Issues <strong>in</strong> Mental HealthResearch with Children and Adolescents. It actually gives case reports ofresearchers and the ethical issues that they are deal<strong>in</strong>g with.Celia has also chaired APA, the American PsychologicalAssociation's Task Force to Revise the Ethics Code <strong>for</strong> Psychologists andshe has also chaired the Ethics Committee of the Society <strong>for</strong> Research <strong>in</strong>Child Development.So Celia is go<strong>in</strong>g to talk with us and then we are go<strong>in</strong>g tohave a discussion on some of the issues that she deals with <strong>in</strong> therelationship of researchers to the participants they study.Celia?VULNERABILITY GUEST DISCUSSANTDR. CELIA B. FISHER, FORDHAM UNIVERSITYDEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY


1401234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. FISHER: Thank you, Diane.First, I will make a brief presentation and I have alsoprovided the committee with a questionnaire that we gave out to<strong>in</strong>vestigators <strong>in</strong> the NIMH study, as well as a brief questionnaire that Ihave developed on research on Lat<strong>in</strong>o mother's attitudes toward differentethical issues <strong>in</strong> guardian consent <strong>in</strong> this particular study <strong>for</strong> research onhigh risk sexual behavior <strong>in</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong>o adolescents.The goal of this brief presentation is to propose that theethical demands of a scientific <strong>in</strong>vestigation are best understood whenviewed with<strong>in</strong> the context of a given study and from the perspectives ofthose who design, implement and participate <strong>in</strong> the research. Healthyadults, adults with physical and mental disabilities, children andadolescents and <strong>in</strong>dividuals from diverse economic and culturalbackgrounds react differently to controlled procedures and theirperspectives can differ from those of well-mean<strong>in</strong>g decision makers.Creat<strong>in</strong>g federal guidel<strong>in</strong>es based upon abstract moralpr<strong>in</strong>ciples without consider<strong>in</strong>g the expectations of and specialrelationship between <strong>in</strong>vestigator and participant may actually decreasethe adequacy of ethical procedures. As such, national guidel<strong>in</strong>es aimedat promot<strong>in</strong>g the rights and welfare of vulnerable research participantsneed to enable <strong>in</strong>vestigators to make ethical decisions that facilitateconstruct<strong>in</strong>g the best procedures possible with<strong>in</strong> a given situation.Researchers apply<strong>in</strong>g the scientific method to describe,expla<strong>in</strong> and enhance the status of <strong>in</strong>dividuals with physical,psychological and social vulnerabilities are encounter<strong>in</strong>g ethicaldilemmas to which current federal regulations offer <strong>in</strong>complete answers.


1411234567891011121314151617181920212223242526When the goals of science and ethics appear to conflict <strong>in</strong>vestigatorsstudy<strong>in</strong>g vulnerable populations draw upon their own moral compass,the advice of colleagues, and recommendations of <strong>in</strong>stitutional reviewboards to make decisions about ethical procedures that will haveimmediate and possibly long-term impact on <strong>in</strong>dividual subjects, theirfamilies and the communities they represent.Historically these decisions have been grounded <strong>in</strong> twometa-ethical traditions. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the first tradition, utilitarianism, anaction is ethically appropriate if it leads to the greatest good <strong>for</strong> thegreatest number of people. Utilitarianism can thus promote a valuestructure <strong>in</strong> which potential benefits to society take on a higher prioritythan concrete and measurable risks to research participants.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the second tradition, deontology, an actionis ethical if it reflects <strong>in</strong>herent respect <strong>for</strong> the dignity of persons. With itsfocus on the universality of moral pr<strong>in</strong>ciples deontology can lead<strong>in</strong>vestigators and IRBs to determ<strong>in</strong>e which research procedures areethical without consult<strong>in</strong>g members of the population that will bestudied.Thus both utilitarianism and deontology have thepotential to m<strong>in</strong>imize a scientist's special relationship and subsequentmoral obligations to <strong>in</strong>dividual research participants and foster apsychological distance between scientist and subject.In the absence of knowledge about what researchsubjects th<strong>in</strong>k about ethical alternatives <strong>in</strong>vestigators have little ethicalguidance when confront<strong>in</strong>g such questions as:Does prevention research requir<strong>in</strong>g public identification


1421234567891011121314151617181920212223242526of risk factors <strong>in</strong> persons with cognitive, physical or psychologicaldisorders violate their privacy or lead to social stigmatization?Is requir<strong>in</strong>g guardian consent always <strong>in</strong> the best <strong>in</strong>terestof m<strong>in</strong>ors or <strong>in</strong>dividuals with cognitive impairment?Under what conditions is it ethically reasonable to useplacebos, control groups and randomized assignment to evaluate theefficacy of a treatment <strong>for</strong> persons identified with physical or mentaldisabilities?When is payment <strong>for</strong> research participation coercive <strong>for</strong>the cognitively impaired or those from impoverished backgrounds andwhen is withhold<strong>in</strong>g of such payment <strong>in</strong>equitable?Moral arguments <strong>for</strong> the duty to consider participantperspectives <strong>in</strong> ethics and science decision mak<strong>in</strong>g derive from asynthesis of pr<strong>in</strong>ciple based justice ethics and relational base careethics.The justice perspective emphasizes moral agency basedupon pr<strong>in</strong>ciples of mutual respect, beneficence and fairness. It stressesimpartiality and distance from the scientist's own <strong>in</strong>terest and her or hisconnected-ness to participants. The ethics of care emphasizes the dutyto <strong>in</strong>teract with research participants on their own terms and to respondto their needs as they extend over time.A justice care framework recognizes that ethicalpr<strong>in</strong>ciples can mediate our understand<strong>in</strong>g of participant perspectiveswithout plac<strong>in</strong>g a priority on how <strong>in</strong>vestigators <strong>in</strong>terpret these pr<strong>in</strong>ciplesover the moral frameworks of participants and that respect<strong>in</strong>g researchsubjects <strong>in</strong>volves respond<strong>in</strong>g to them on the basis of their own self-


1431conceptions.234567891011121314151617181920212223242526The justice care perspective gives rise to several moralarguments <strong>for</strong> <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the views of prospective research participantsand their families <strong>in</strong> federal regulations and ethics and science decisionmak<strong>in</strong>g.First, <strong>for</strong>mulat<strong>in</strong>g regulations and ethical judgment solelyon the basis of experts <strong>in</strong> the scholarly community, the op<strong>in</strong>ions of IRBmembers or an <strong>in</strong>vestigator's own moral compass risks treat<strong>in</strong>g subjectsas research material rather than moral agents with the right to judge theethicality of <strong>in</strong>vestigative procedures <strong>in</strong> which they are asked toparticipate.Second, failure to consider participant's po<strong>in</strong>ts of viewcan lead to acceptance of research procedures caus<strong>in</strong>g significantparticipant distress or to the rejection of potentially worthwhile scientificprocedures that subjects and their families would perceive as benignand/or worthwhile.F<strong>in</strong>ally, understand<strong>in</strong>g the po<strong>in</strong>t of view, needs andexpectations of others can enhance an <strong>in</strong>vestigator's own moraldevelopment <strong>for</strong> a better understand<strong>in</strong>g of the reciprocal relationshipbetween the participant's expectations and the scientist's obligations.Another aspect of this relational perspective is theimportance of ground<strong>in</strong>g ethics and science pr<strong>in</strong>ciples and federalguidel<strong>in</strong>es <strong>in</strong> the practical day-to-day experiences of researchers. As mycolleagues and I found <strong>in</strong> our recent NIMH survey <strong>in</strong>vestigators striv<strong>in</strong>gto meet the dual obligations of protect<strong>in</strong>g participants and produc<strong>in</strong>gvalid scientific knowledge have developed <strong>in</strong>novative ways of identify<strong>in</strong>g


1441234567891011121314151617181920212223242526and m<strong>in</strong>imiz<strong>in</strong>g research risks without <strong>for</strong>feit<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>tegrity of theirstudies.Researchers study<strong>in</strong>g vulnerable populations can provideethicists, policy makers, members of IRBs and citizens an enhancedunderstand<strong>in</strong>g of the ethical challenges that arise dur<strong>in</strong>g the actual anddesign and implementation of human subjects research, the barriersthat current ethical guidel<strong>in</strong>es sometimes place on good scientific andethical practice and the practical and <strong>in</strong>novative steps that have beentaken to meet these challenges.The practice of science without guidance from ethicalpr<strong>in</strong>ciples is morally bl<strong>in</strong>d but the establishment of federal guidel<strong>in</strong>eswithout relevance to real world applications will be empty.If one believes that knowledge concern<strong>in</strong>g participantperspectives is essential to good ethical decision mak<strong>in</strong>g, how does onego about generat<strong>in</strong>g this knowledge? To engage <strong>in</strong>dividuals <strong>in</strong> a morallyambiguous study <strong>for</strong> the purpose of elicit<strong>in</strong>g their reactions is ethicallyproblematic s<strong>in</strong>ce it exposes persons to what the <strong>in</strong>vestigator believesmay be the procedures which potentially violate their autonomy andwelfare.To give prospective participants open ended questionsconcern<strong>in</strong>g research ethics is equally problematic s<strong>in</strong>ce it asks<strong>in</strong>dividuals to provide spontaneous and decontextualized responses tomoral questions which require <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med deliberation.Over the years my colleagues and I have developedempirical methods based upon a co-learn<strong>in</strong>g model of scientistparticipant relationships. Individuals <strong>in</strong> our studies learn about how the


1451234567891011121314151617181920212223242526scientific method is applied to exam<strong>in</strong>e questions of societal import andare <strong>in</strong>troduced to areas of current ethical concern. We, <strong>in</strong> turn, learnwhat prospective participants th<strong>in</strong>k about specific ethically relevantissues, their views on whether or not certa<strong>in</strong> types of studies should beconducted and the moral frameworks applied to their decisions.We have established dialogues about guardian consentprocedures with Hispanic mothers, about confidentiality of research withurban adolescents, and about randomized cl<strong>in</strong>ical trials and deceptionresearch with young adults.Our endeavors have challenged stereotypes about howparticipants view ethical procedures. For example, <strong>in</strong> one study wefound that urban high school students do not endorse ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gconfidentiality when dur<strong>in</strong>g the course of research an <strong>in</strong>vestigatordiscovers a teenage subject is a victim or engaged <strong>in</strong> behaviorsadolescents themselves perceive as serious problems. The teenagers'responses <strong>in</strong>dicated that they saw the <strong>in</strong>vestigator as hav<strong>in</strong>g a moral role<strong>in</strong> relationship to their problems. Their views raised hereto<strong>for</strong>e unaskedethical questions concern<strong>in</strong>g the consequences of scientists fail<strong>in</strong>g tofulfill this role.For example, an <strong>in</strong>vestigator's failure to help mayun<strong>in</strong>tentionally communicate to a troubled high school researchparticipant that his or her problem is unimportant, that no services areavailable, or that knowledgeable adults cannot be depended upon to helpchildren <strong>in</strong> need.A relational ethic of scientific responsibility and carewhich considers the <strong>in</strong>terpersonal dimensions of the scientist-participant


1461234567891011121314151617181920212223242526relationship can lead to the exam<strong>in</strong>ation of other under explored areas ofethical <strong>in</strong>quiry.For example, is the current emphasis on harm avoidancesufficient ethical justification <strong>for</strong> conduct<strong>in</strong>g research on mentally<strong>in</strong>firmed or marg<strong>in</strong>alized populations if it places the ethical burden onparticipants or their guardians to demonstrate that they have beenharmed and away from the <strong>in</strong>vestigators who need not demonstrate thattheir research will result <strong>in</strong> any good.If research f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs can have direct impact on publicattitudes and policies directed to <strong>in</strong>dividual research participants, theirfamilies and communities? To what extent should group stigmatizationbe considered <strong>in</strong> determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g research risks and should the nature ofsuch risks be described dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med consent? Who should representparticipant and community <strong>in</strong>terests on IRBs?When do tests of competency to consent <strong>for</strong> researchdecisions place an unjust burden on those with identified mentaldeficiencies? How can risks be better def<strong>in</strong>ed across diverse populationsso that norms based upon healthier advantaged persons do not over<strong>in</strong>clude or exclude vulnerable populations from research?What role should the altruistic benefits of researchparticipation play <strong>in</strong> the cost benefit calculus <strong>for</strong> research present<strong>in</strong>ggreater than m<strong>in</strong>imal risk? And given the scandal surround<strong>in</strong>g theTuskegee and Willowbrook studies, the Government Radiation and UCLASchizophrenia experiments, and the recent controversial AdolescentViolent Research Initiative, how can scientists w<strong>in</strong> the confidence ofvulnerable persons and their appreciation of the potential positive value


1471of research?234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Includ<strong>in</strong>g participant perspectives and the practicalconcerns of scientists conduct<strong>in</strong>g research with vulnerable populationsand the establishment of federal guidel<strong>in</strong>es raises its own ethicalchallenges. For example, when <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g participant perspectives <strong>in</strong> theethical evaluation of federal regulations bioethicists need to addressissues raised by the potential tyranny of the majority.Pr<strong>in</strong>ciples of respect, beneficence and justice <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med byparticipant and <strong>in</strong>vestigator perspectives can guide policy makers <strong>in</strong>their struggle with the question of whether a particular procedure can bejustified if a substantial or even small m<strong>in</strong>ority of perspectiveparticipants believe the cost of participation outweigh potential benefitsor that procedures selected are <strong>in</strong> conflict with <strong>in</strong>dividual moralframeworks.Consideration of participant or <strong>in</strong>vestigator op<strong>in</strong>ion alsoruns the risk of accept<strong>in</strong>g descriptions of ethical decision mak<strong>in</strong>g asprescriptions <strong>for</strong> ethical decisions. The fiduciary nature of the scientistparticipantrelationship obliges the <strong>in</strong>vestigator to take ultimateresponsibility <strong>for</strong> the welfare of research subjects.A relational perspective based upon the ethics of bothjustice and care proposes that an understand<strong>in</strong>g of participant views canassist but not substitute the ethical decision mak<strong>in</strong>g obligation of<strong>in</strong>dividual scientists and policy makers as moral agents. Thus theop<strong>in</strong>ions of those from the scientific and participant communities needto <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>m but not dictate federal guidel<strong>in</strong>es and ethics approval ordisapproval of research practices.


1481234567891011121314151617181920212223242526In conclusion, attention to the <strong>in</strong>terpersonal nature andobligations <strong>in</strong>herent <strong>in</strong> the scientist-participant relationship expandsethics and science decision mak<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>in</strong>clude the importance of<strong>in</strong>tersubjectivity, particularity and context, and moves scientists toward are<strong>in</strong>terpretation of their own moral agency.The relational perspective enhances the ability to engagescientists and research participants as partners <strong>in</strong> creat<strong>in</strong>g federalguidel<strong>in</strong>es reflect<strong>in</strong>g both scientific and <strong>in</strong>terpersonal <strong>in</strong>tegrity. Scientificethics is a process which draws upon our human responsiveness tothose who are participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> research and our awareness of our ownboundaries, competencies and obligations.If becom<strong>in</strong>g a moral subject is the critical moral task <strong>for</strong>all persons then recogniz<strong>in</strong>g that morality is embedded <strong>in</strong> the<strong>in</strong>vestigator-participant connection is the essential moral activity ofhuman subjects research.Thank you.DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you very much.Okay. Let's open it <strong>for</strong> discussion. Alex?PROF. CAPRON: I want to thank you <strong>for</strong> shar<strong>in</strong>g themodel with us and the relational model I th<strong>in</strong>k has a lot to contribute toour th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about how the process can be improved and the design ofexperiments and <strong>in</strong> flush<strong>in</strong>g out the relevant ethical concerns. I had acouple of sort of basic questions <strong>for</strong> you.One, I did not understand the basis of your critique ofdeontology. I certa<strong>in</strong>ly understand the critique of the utilitarianviewpo<strong>in</strong>t. But as I understood you, you were say<strong>in</strong>g that the problem or


1491234567891011121314151617181920212223242526the way <strong>in</strong> which deontology stands <strong>in</strong> the way of a relational perspectiveis its focus on the universality of moral pr<strong>in</strong>ciples. And it certa<strong>in</strong>lyattempts to be universal. I mean that is one of Kant's major <strong>in</strong>tellectualmoves is that <strong>in</strong>sistence on universality.But I do not understand that ethical precept as say<strong>in</strong>ganyth<strong>in</strong>g about the universality of the subjects, that is to say the notionthat you are obliged with all subjects to respect the <strong>in</strong>tegrity and dignityof the <strong>in</strong>dividual and have respect <strong>for</strong> persons does not <strong>in</strong>sist that the<strong>in</strong>dividual wishes, needs, ideas, et cetera, of that actual subject would beirrelevant.DR. FISHER: I th<strong>in</strong>k what I was try<strong>in</strong>g to say is that thedeontological perspective <strong>in</strong> some sense allows a group of people like usright here to deliberate and an IRB to deliberate about ethical pr<strong>in</strong>cipleswithout assum<strong>in</strong>g that we need to be <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med <strong>in</strong> order to bestunderstand and articulate those pr<strong>in</strong>ciples <strong>in</strong> any given research contextwithout the perspectives of those people to whom the research is go<strong>in</strong>gto engage.PROF. CAPRON: I guess I would see deontology <strong>in</strong>sist<strong>in</strong>gon just the opposite, that if you are go<strong>in</strong>g to respect persons, and thepersons we are talk<strong>in</strong>g about your potential subjects, then you wouldneed to take more attention than we have <strong>in</strong> the past. In other wordsthat your model is a way of hav<strong>in</strong>g research ethics fulfill its deontologicalobligation rather than be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> dist<strong>in</strong>ction to it.DR. FISHER: I th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>in</strong> the ideal you are correct and <strong>in</strong>the ideal I th<strong>in</strong>k that both utilitarianism, justice care, deontology, all ofthose need to be comb<strong>in</strong>ed. However, I th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>in</strong> the practice both


1501234utilitarianism and deontology has created this distance which we seewith respect to how IRBs are set up. We typically have one communitymember and that community member is supposed to reflect theperspectives of all the different various participant populations <strong>in</strong> the5area.So I th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>in</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>ciple I agree with the ideal but the real67891011121314151617181920212223242526has enabled this k<strong>in</strong>d of distanc<strong>in</strong>g.PROF. CAPRON: On the agenda the topics which areidentified <strong>for</strong> us <strong>in</strong> this session are these generalized concepts ofcommunity and vulnerability, and justice, and so <strong>for</strong>th. You are listedunder the vulnerability head<strong>in</strong>g.Do you have any thoughts specifically on the subject ofvulnerability because what you were produc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> us seems to me to be<strong>in</strong> the relational model <strong>in</strong> particular someth<strong>in</strong>g which is equallyapplicable to any population? You did use the term "vulnerablepopulations" a couple of times but I did not hear from you any sense ofwhat the factors are that you would use <strong>in</strong> decid<strong>in</strong>g whether there is sucha category of vulnerability and how it is constituted.DR. FISHER: Well, I do not know if I can def<strong>in</strong>e what isvulnerable. I th<strong>in</strong>k that one of the th<strong>in</strong>gs I have been struck by both <strong>in</strong>the conversations here and <strong>in</strong> conversations that I have engaged <strong>in</strong> aswell is how we tend to categorize those that are vulnerable as if they fit<strong>in</strong>to a category. Earlier on when the group was discuss<strong>in</strong>g competenciesto consent I th<strong>in</strong>k was an example of someth<strong>in</strong>g that I engage <strong>in</strong> as wellbut we all tend to def<strong>in</strong>e and beg<strong>in</strong> to identify those as vulnerable andthey become a category to be acted upon as opposed to just anotherperson or moral agent to whom we may want to adapt procedures.


1511234567891011121314151617181920212223242526So I th<strong>in</strong>k that vulnerable, we misapply that term toencapsulate a person who has various abilities and we do so many timesbecause of legal precedence which with respect to who is consideredcompetent to consent <strong>in</strong> the legal arena. And I th<strong>in</strong>k one of the th<strong>in</strong>gs Itried to po<strong>in</strong>t out was, and <strong>in</strong> some research that I am conduct<strong>in</strong>g nowon the ability of adults with mental retardation to give consent totreatment, is that I th<strong>in</strong>k sometimes we hold those who are consideredlegally <strong>in</strong>competent to consent to an undue and unfair standard.We assume that those who are considered legallycompetent to consent always make excellent moral judgments orabstract decisions, you know, go<strong>in</strong>g with the Appelbaum and Grisso (?)model, we assume that those who are not labeled <strong>in</strong>competent aremak<strong>in</strong>g these decisions at the highest level. What my research isbeg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g to demonstrate is that is not the case but at the same time wecan easily say that we can use a guardian or proxy consent <strong>for</strong> someonewho is identified as mentally <strong>in</strong>competent because they do not reachthat high level.PROF. CAPRON: Okay. I will let others comment. Imean, I would say <strong>for</strong> myself I do not make that assumption.It seems to me that the assumption that the law makes isif you are presumed to be competent what that means is it is presumedthat other people may not <strong>in</strong>terfere with the decisions you make simplybecause they disagree with them not that you are operat<strong>in</strong>g at anyexalted high level that you are a Socrates or someth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> your th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g.It is simply that you do not have such disabilities <strong>in</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g decisions <strong>for</strong>yourself.


1521234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. FISHER: But I th<strong>in</strong>k you are absolutely right and Ith<strong>in</strong>k that is the issue that when we label somebody as lack<strong>in</strong>gcompetence we are by def<strong>in</strong>ition say<strong>in</strong>g that if we do not agree with theirdecision that we can then have someone else make that decision <strong>for</strong>them.PROF. CAPRON: Yes.DR. FISHER: And I th<strong>in</strong>k that sometimes people who arenot labeled <strong>in</strong>competent to consent will also make research or treatmentdecisions that the practitioner or scientist would not agree with.PROF. CAPRON: Yes.DR. FISHER: But would not supplant their decisionmak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> that person's decision mak<strong>in</strong>g.PROF. CAPRON: That is right. It is almost a conclusoryth<strong>in</strong>g that -- I mean, to <strong>in</strong>terfere is to announce that you believe theperson is <strong>in</strong>capable of mak<strong>in</strong>g that decision.DR. FISHER: Right. That is right.DR. CHILDRESS: Eric is on but I want to get Diane <strong>in</strong> torespond directly.DR. SCOTT-JONES: I wanted to respond a little bit toAlex's question about vulnerability and I just wanted to reflect a bit onour previous discussion. When Arturo proposed the concept ofvulnerability that might be useful as one <strong>for</strong> us to use to frame some ofthe work that we will do on the commission there was some objectionsraised to the notion of vulnerability and one objection was that the ideaof vulnerability locates with<strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dividuals the problems that mightoccur <strong>in</strong> the research sett<strong>in</strong>g and there was some thought that the


1531234567891011121314151617181920212223242526problem is not <strong>in</strong>herently with<strong>in</strong> the person but it is <strong>in</strong> the relationship ofthe researcher and the participant.It is <strong>in</strong> the manner <strong>in</strong> which the researcher goes aboutenlist<strong>in</strong>g the cooperation of the particular potential participant and sowhat Celia's work offers us is a different way of constru<strong>in</strong>g this. Insteadof look<strong>in</strong>g just at the vulnerability of the <strong>in</strong>dividual you place that <strong>in</strong> thecontext of a relationship of the researcher to the persons the researcherproposes to study.You are right, Alex, that this model could be used toapply to any relationship of researcher to those researched, not justthose that we s<strong>in</strong>gle out and label as vulnerable.I th<strong>in</strong>k it is <strong>in</strong> keep<strong>in</strong>g with Arturo's orig<strong>in</strong>al idea and thatwas that any person potentially is vulnerable when they set out toparticipate <strong>in</strong> research and there are special classes of people that werecognize as hav<strong>in</strong>g vulnerability. So it was with that background thatwe sought out Professor Fisher's work <strong>for</strong> the commission.DR. CHILDRESS: And it fits well with some of the th<strong>in</strong>gsthat has Eric has proposed, too, but we will see whether he agrees ornot.DR. CASSELL: Dr. Fisher, of course I am. I f<strong>in</strong>d it verycongenial what you say but I am draw<strong>in</strong>g on our unscheduledconversation and try<strong>in</strong>g to get it on the record also. It requires<strong>in</strong>vestigators to have a level of ethical competence which goes beyondtheir, what you call, moral compass which can be very restricted. Andyour work -- have you got work that shows whether <strong>in</strong>vestigators <strong>in</strong>deedhave the ability to make a relationship with a researcher that represents


1541234567891011121314151617181920212223242526more than their own <strong>in</strong>terests <strong>in</strong> that relationship?DR. FISHER: I have no data that says that and I th<strong>in</strong>k youare absolutely right that we as a researcher, myself, are not tra<strong>in</strong>ed to dothat and I th<strong>in</strong>k it is very important as we were discuss<strong>in</strong>g that at theentry level to scientific method that ethics is not seen as someth<strong>in</strong>gtangential and tagged on at the end but seen as <strong>in</strong>tricately <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong>the conduct of good science and that responsible science takes on thatjo<strong>in</strong>t def<strong>in</strong>ition of valid research methodology and valid ethicalprocedures.One of the th<strong>in</strong>gs that I might suggest would be, andsometh<strong>in</strong>g that I have done, is that just as we pilot, <strong>for</strong> example, ourresearch methodologies we can at the same time be pilot<strong>in</strong>g our ethicalprocedures so that when we take to an IRB the research that we aredo<strong>in</strong>g we can also have some k<strong>in</strong>d of data or perspective with respect tothe responses or the adequacy of the ethical procedures that we areus<strong>in</strong>g with<strong>in</strong> this entire research project.DR. CASSELL: I take it that you also teach?DR. FISHER: Yes.DR. CASSELL: And do your students f<strong>in</strong>d your po<strong>in</strong>t ofview about their obligation to have knowledge about their ethicalcompetence as well as their scientific, are they congenial -- is thatcongenial? Do they like that?DR. FISHER: My students love it. My students feel --DR. CASSELL: They probably love you, doctor, but dothey love it?DR. FISHER: They love it because they -- my students


1551234567891011121314151617181920212223242526want to do applied research. They want to do research that matters.And so when the ethical component, the relational component of ethicsis brought <strong>in</strong> it draws them nearer to the type of research that they havedreamed of do<strong>in</strong>g, that that k<strong>in</strong>d of research that actually reflects thevoices of the participants that they are study<strong>in</strong>g and may actually beworthwhile <strong>for</strong> those participants.DR. CASSELL: Thank you.DR. CHILDRESS: Alta?PROF. CHARO: First, I want to make sure that actually Iam understand<strong>in</strong>g. Would it be correct to restate the follow<strong>in</strong>g: Thatrather than worry<strong>in</strong>g about persons who are vulnerable to exploitation orabuse <strong>in</strong> research what we should identify are situations that arevulnerable to abuse occurr<strong>in</strong>g and that those situations might arisebecause of many factors.One might be the nature of the subject and some <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sicquality about the subject like their lack of decisional capacity. Anothermight be because of the <strong>in</strong>vestigator's attributes, <strong>for</strong> example, be<strong>in</strong>g on a-- k<strong>in</strong>d of hav<strong>in</strong>g a f<strong>in</strong>ancial <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> the number of patients who arerecruited. And a third might be an <strong>in</strong>stitutional problem such as be<strong>in</strong>gat an <strong>in</strong>stitution with a weak or absent IRB so that we are talk<strong>in</strong>g aboutvulnerable sett<strong>in</strong>gs rather than vulnerable persons.So far I am catch<strong>in</strong>g?DR. FISHER: Yes.PROF. CHARO: Okay. Then let me ask you then how ifyou have identified a sett<strong>in</strong>g that you now th<strong>in</strong>k of as one that isvulnerable to abuse, and I will give you a specific example because it is a


1561234567891011121314151617181920212223242526small one and it is current.Research on people who are <strong>in</strong> an emergencycircumstance where there is no other person who can assist with thedecision mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> whom there is a proposal to do research on anemergency <strong>in</strong>tervention.This has been the subject of a recent regulatory change.One of the th<strong>in</strong>gs that was <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> that change was the requirement<strong>for</strong> community consultation <strong>in</strong> the development of these protocols s<strong>in</strong>cethey are go<strong>in</strong>g to be implemented, <strong>for</strong> example, on the street at theambulance and there will be no opportunity at that moment <strong>for</strong> people torefuse.For those IRBs that are now undergo<strong>in</strong>g the exercise oftry<strong>in</strong>g to engage <strong>in</strong> a community consultation and with that help and allthe other usual th<strong>in</strong>gs come up with a set of rules about how they arego<strong>in</strong>g to go about this, it seems to me that what you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about <strong>in</strong>your methodology is what they have to go through <strong>in</strong> develop<strong>in</strong>g a set ofrules.But I am not sure I really understand yet how yourmethodology would be applied. How would you construct a communityconsultation? What would you do with the diversity of op<strong>in</strong>ion that youwould likely receive? What would you do with the fact that you mightreceive 90 percent of the people <strong>in</strong> your identified group say<strong>in</strong>g this is agreat th<strong>in</strong>g, we need it <strong>in</strong> the absence of standard therapy, and 10percent say<strong>in</strong>g no, and then translat<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>in</strong>to operations because thatis a narrow, well encapsulated example of someth<strong>in</strong>g that might have tobe ratcheted up to a more complicated situation with regard to people


1571234567891011121314151617181920212223242526with cognitive impairment.DR. FISHER: Right. Let me try to address it three ways ifI remember all the th<strong>in</strong>gs that I was th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about.The first issue, I th<strong>in</strong>k, that you raised is -- leads me toth<strong>in</strong>k about who is the community. And I th<strong>in</strong>k that the community hasseveral levels. When we do reach out to the community we tend to reachout to community leaders. Community leaders, although certa<strong>in</strong>ly avalid source and a critical source, and also -- and many times an entrylevel source <strong>in</strong>to the neighborhood itself, do not always reflect the voicesof those who will participate <strong>in</strong> the actual research.So <strong>in</strong> your encapsulated version not only would, I believe,the researchers <strong>in</strong> what they are go<strong>in</strong>g to present to the IRB should havegone to the community members but also to those who are at highestrisk. If it is <strong>in</strong> a population where it is adolescent drivers or if -- youknow, whoever is the highest risk from epidemiological data they shouldbe part of that data collection <strong>in</strong> terms of their perspective.How do you go about ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g their perspective? Well, <strong>in</strong>the handout that I gave you, which is just a small segment, as I tried tomention <strong>in</strong> my talk one of the th<strong>in</strong>gs we have to be careful about is notgiv<strong>in</strong>g prospective participants this broad question of what do you th<strong>in</strong>kthe ethics are <strong>in</strong> this research. They have not been th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about thoseth<strong>in</strong>gs and to do so would really limit the <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation that we could get.So the k<strong>in</strong>d of model that I have tried to develop is to beg<strong>in</strong> the dialogueby present<strong>in</strong>g prospective participants with the ethical dilemmas thatscientists and ethicists have raised about the particular situation. Gettheir op<strong>in</strong>ions about those different perspectives and then move towards


1581234567891011121314151617181920212223242526then are there other perspectives that you see. Okay. So that is onemodel of do<strong>in</strong>g that.To your last question, which I have called the tyranny ofthe majority, I th<strong>in</strong>k that there is not one answer to what happens when90 percent say yes and 10 percent say no. If we are very, very lucky andwe can identify the nature of those 10 percent who say, no, we wouldknow they would not want to do it but that would -- we would be lucky.However, I th<strong>in</strong>k what it does require is a discourse withboth those 10 percent and the 90 percent. What is the reasons why the10 percent say no? Are they legitimate? Should they be <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>m<strong>in</strong>gperhaps the way we are ask<strong>in</strong>g the question or maybe we can modify theethical procedures somewhat so that we would <strong>in</strong>crease that majorityand <strong>in</strong> some way address the m<strong>in</strong>ority concern.So it is constantly evolv<strong>in</strong>g. We do not stop. It is aconstant process of gett<strong>in</strong>g feedback and <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation from prospectiveparticipants, chang<strong>in</strong>g our methods, go<strong>in</strong>g back and f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g out howthose methods have worked or what the prospectives are.PROF. CHARO: Would that then argue aga<strong>in</strong>st aregulatory model <strong>in</strong> the context of the cognitively impaired? Becausewhat we have heard so far have been specific suggestions <strong>for</strong> regulationsthat spell out what k<strong>in</strong>d of research can be done, what level of risk basedon what levels of impairment, assent, consent and prospects <strong>for</strong> risk andbenefit. They often are very specific about hav<strong>in</strong>g surrogates do this orneed <strong>for</strong> guardianship <strong>for</strong> that, durable powers.This is a k<strong>in</strong>d of approach that is very rigid. It does notpermit the k<strong>in</strong>d of constant evolv<strong>in</strong>g that you suggest would be better.


1591234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Its advantage is that it is standardized and that <strong>for</strong> -- it does not permit adevolution of protection that can also occur when there is a constantback<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>for</strong>th-<strong>in</strong>g of discussion and a great deal of self reflection andself determ<strong>in</strong>ation about how you are go<strong>in</strong>g to go about do<strong>in</strong>g theseprotocols when you leave it up to the <strong>in</strong>vestigators and their local groupsto decide each time ad hoc based on their accumulated experience ofhow we will go about deal<strong>in</strong>g with research <strong>in</strong> this vulnerable sett<strong>in</strong>g.DR. FISHER: I th<strong>in</strong>k I am not prepared to make adecision about that or even have an op<strong>in</strong>ion about whether or not thereshould be this subsection that directly addresses the cognitivelyimpaired.However, I do th<strong>in</strong>k it raises the larger issue that youraised this morn<strong>in</strong>g which is should we -- should the commissionrecommend <strong>in</strong> some sense guidel<strong>in</strong>es based upon a presumption ofprohibition of research which <strong>in</strong> some sense says that protection ofhuman participants at all costs and research is looked at as secondaryor should protection of research participants be looked at <strong>in</strong> a differencesense, research except?So I th<strong>in</strong>k it is address<strong>in</strong>g a broader issue and I wouldalso say that the special subsection on children -- I am not sure.My impression is that <strong>in</strong>vestigators from the survey that Idid <strong>for</strong> NIMH do not feel that those guidel<strong>in</strong>es have protected children,that they are -- they feel that those guidel<strong>in</strong>es have made childrenorphans of research especially <strong>in</strong> psychopharmacological research.So once aga<strong>in</strong> I am not prepared to say that thosespecific k<strong>in</strong>d of guidel<strong>in</strong>es should not be there but I th<strong>in</strong>k that it would be


1601234567891011121314151617181920212223242526a wonderful th<strong>in</strong>g to th<strong>in</strong>k of what an alternative would be if we did notrigidify and <strong>in</strong> some sense stigmatize a particular population which maymean that they do not -- which may challenge the justice equitableaspect of them hav<strong>in</strong>g equal access to research.DR. CHILDRESS: Could I build on that? If I heard youcorrectly then the relational model that you proposed does notnecessarily rule out regulation <strong>in</strong> particular cases? That is to say youmight make an argument because you do <strong>in</strong>clude other k<strong>in</strong>ds ofconsiderations. You have justice care, you have utilitarianism, you havedeontological considerations.So all those are present but when you take this particularmodel it is go<strong>in</strong>g to push <strong>in</strong> a certa<strong>in</strong> direction and you are go<strong>in</strong>g to tryto encompass a lot of th<strong>in</strong>gs. You are go<strong>in</strong>g to be open to a process viewas much as possible but that certa<strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>ds of circumstances may wellwarrant the regulatory model. Is that correct?DR. FISHER: Right.DR. CHILDRESS: And then what you have to do is lookmore carefully at that.DR. FISHER: Right. And I th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>in</strong> terms of which ofthose sett<strong>in</strong>gs, situations, persons require that needs to be based notonly on our wisdom as professionals but also on <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation ga<strong>in</strong>ed fromthose do<strong>in</strong>g the research and those who are the recipients of research.DR. CHILDRESS: Alex?PROF. CAPRON: I wanted to follow up both on Alta'squestion to you and on this critical <strong>in</strong>cident contributor role that you askpeople to play.


1611234567891011121314151617181920212223242526On Alta's po<strong>in</strong>t it seemed to me that you were put <strong>in</strong> afunny spot because she was pos<strong>in</strong>g it as though this was a little bit moreof an either/or than I suspect she really believes.In the case of the person who is <strong>in</strong> emergency researchthe premise there is that there is no one who could consent <strong>for</strong> that<strong>in</strong>dividual and the only fram<strong>in</strong>g of it can be gotten, if it is not just left tothe <strong>in</strong>vestigator, by br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> some sort of a surrogate community totry to ref<strong>in</strong>e and respond. Does this seem if I were <strong>in</strong> this situation sortof a --PROF. CHARO: It is a substituted judgment.PROF. CAPRON: Yes. A collective judgment of the normsthat would apply because the whole idea of giv<strong>in</strong>g treatment to peoplewho cannot consent <strong>in</strong> an emergency is that it is reasonable to assumethat a person would want this k<strong>in</strong>d of treatment <strong>in</strong> this emergency whenthey cannot consent. So this is it is reasonable to assume that theywould want this k<strong>in</strong>d of research if they were <strong>in</strong> this k<strong>in</strong>d of situation.But <strong>in</strong> the case of the other model that we were hear<strong>in</strong>gabout be<strong>for</strong>e with the cognitively impaired you have the ability to havesomeone, either the <strong>in</strong>dividual through their direct participation orthrough their participation <strong>in</strong> an assent process, or someone designatedby them or their natural surrogate, or parent, or whatever to participate<strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>dividualized consent process.But that could still have followed a process <strong>in</strong> which theyand others helped to work with the researcher to make sure that the --what really is harm is seen as harm and so <strong>for</strong>th was built <strong>in</strong>to theexperiment. But any <strong>in</strong>dividual could say, "Well, that may be a very


1621234567891011121314151617181920212223242526nicely designed experiment but I do not want my son, daughter, mother,father, whoever it is to participate <strong>in</strong> it, thank you." So you could reallystill th<strong>in</strong>k of -- they are not either/or <strong>in</strong> my m<strong>in</strong>d.PROF. CHARO: No, I was not suggest<strong>in</strong>g that. It issimply that this morn<strong>in</strong>g there was the possibility of go<strong>in</strong>g down a roadof try<strong>in</strong>g to write some fairly specific rules <strong>in</strong> which you characterizespecific subpopulations of patients and look at their exact levels ofability to communicate and look at the k<strong>in</strong>d of research and come upwith a set of rules.You were talk<strong>in</strong>g about a matrix yourself, right?PROF. CAPRON: Right.PROF. CHARO: The alternative was someth<strong>in</strong>g muchmore general followed by ad hoc review of protocol by protocol <strong>in</strong> whichyou never try to characterize th<strong>in</strong>gs quite that precisely and these th<strong>in</strong>gsare not completely mutually exclusive.But if you were to adopt a matrix like approach <strong>in</strong> whichbased on a certa<strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>d of competency and a certa<strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>d of researchyou must use durable powers or you must use a health care agent, youcannot use a surrogate or you cannot use -- then it is not, <strong>in</strong> fact,completely consistent with an approach <strong>in</strong> which on a very local levelthere is a constantly evolv<strong>in</strong>g concept among the PIs <strong>in</strong> that center andthe people who are be<strong>in</strong>g recruited, and the IRB about what is the bestway to go about th<strong>in</strong>gs, and you would have to move much more slowlyas you worked at the regulatory level <strong>for</strong> change.I was just try<strong>in</strong>g to get a sense of k<strong>in</strong>d of relative degreesof attachment here to one model or another because they really do have


1631234567891011121314151617181920212223242526different consequences.PROF. CAPRON: One of the th<strong>in</strong>gs that Dr. Fishermentioned was this process of develop<strong>in</strong>g this new case book <strong>in</strong> effect ofthese critical <strong>in</strong>cidents. As I understand it, it is researchers who arego<strong>in</strong>g to be your <strong>in</strong>cident contributors. Is that right?DR. FISHER: Well, <strong>in</strong> this book it was researchers whowere the <strong>in</strong>cident. In the American Psychological Association's, <strong>in</strong> theEthics Code I am revis<strong>in</strong>g, one component will be the researchers. But<strong>for</strong> me obviously <strong>in</strong> the research that I do --PROF. CAPRON: Right.DR. FISHER: -- an <strong>in</strong>credibly important component is theresearch participant themselves as well as their family members who areoften impacted by research.I do want to say I was struck <strong>in</strong> some of the read<strong>in</strong>gmaterials that were sent -- the article by Sachs who talked about thedemented <strong>in</strong>dividuals and how they were <strong>in</strong> many <strong>in</strong>stances able -- eventhough they did not meet levels of legal competence to consent theywere able to identify if they wanted a proxy and who that proxy might be,and they were able to communicate values and preferences that I th<strong>in</strong>kcould very well <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>m a commission.I th<strong>in</strong>k it is important <strong>for</strong> those with vary<strong>in</strong>g types ofcognitive impairments, depend<strong>in</strong>g on that level, to get <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mationregard<strong>in</strong>g altruism <strong>in</strong> the language that they can understand.Do they want -- do they like to do good? Do they like todo someth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> somebody? Are they risk takers? I th<strong>in</strong>k that there islanguage that we can use to be <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med also about the perspectives


1641234567891011121314151617181920212223242526that some people with cognitive impairments might take. Once aga<strong>in</strong> Ifeel very strongly it does not rel<strong>in</strong>quish our role as moral agents andfiduciaries to make the ultimate responsive decision.PROF. CAPRON: Right.DR. FISHER: But it certa<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>ms us and makes thatperson more a person as Dr. Cassell keeps po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g out.PROF. CAPRON: Right.Well, I may be br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g up someth<strong>in</strong>g that everyone elseunderstands well but I take it that your prescription can operate at twodifferent levels.One is when you speak of the th<strong>in</strong>gs that a nationalcommission would want to know or an IRB generally <strong>in</strong> sett<strong>in</strong>g up theframework that could come out by discussions with people <strong>in</strong> whatevercategories you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about and where you were reach<strong>in</strong>ggeneralized ideas. Now <strong>in</strong> a certa<strong>in</strong> way I would expect you to be a littlebothered by that because your compla<strong>in</strong>t about deontology was that itwas try<strong>in</strong>g to be universal.I thought that the model that you were describ<strong>in</strong>g wassometh<strong>in</strong>g else which was actually quite specific to the <strong>in</strong>vestigatorsubject<strong>in</strong>teraction as a diad or there may be more people <strong>in</strong>volved.DR. FISHER: Right.PROF. CAPRON: But as an <strong>in</strong>dividual <strong>in</strong>stance and thenany particular <strong>in</strong>dividual <strong>in</strong> that situation ought to be treated with thek<strong>in</strong>d of respect that would say people look<strong>in</strong>g at this field have seenthese k<strong>in</strong>ds of problems and I want to tell you a little bit about them andthen have you reflect <strong>in</strong> light of those th<strong>in</strong>gs and your own values how


1651234567891011121314151617181920212223242526you feel about participat<strong>in</strong>g, what th<strong>in</strong>gs you would want to raise asproblems that I should be aware of <strong>in</strong> conduct<strong>in</strong>g the study, and it is amore <strong>in</strong>dividuated --DR. FISHER: Right. I th<strong>in</strong>k the model -- and I th<strong>in</strong>k with<strong>in</strong>the brevity of the paper I was struggl<strong>in</strong>g with how to present it at bothlevels.PROF. CAPRON: But you agree --DR. FISHER: I agree. There are two levels.PROF. CAPRON: -- with both?DR. FISHER: One is to <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>m the commission and partof what may be <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>m<strong>in</strong>g the commission is maybe there needs to besome recommendation with respect to how researchers then can engageparticipants.PROF. CAPRON: Yes.DR. FISHER: So that is one level of <strong>in</strong>fluence on thecommission. The other is the commission be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med by just thosepopulations that are be<strong>in</strong>g addressed, the vulnerable populations thathave been identified and their families <strong>in</strong> this task.PROF. CAPRON: The document, the <strong>for</strong>m letter that wehave here, this relates to ongo<strong>in</strong>g research?DR. FISHER: No, that was what we sent out <strong>for</strong> the NIMH.PROF. CAPRON: That is what was used --DR. FISHER: Right.PROF. CAPRON: -- <strong>for</strong> that book, the chapter --DR. FISHER: Exactly.PROF. CAPRON: Okay.


1661234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. FISHER: Exactly.PROF. CAPRON: Okay.DR. FISHER: And then what is underneath that is themodel that we have been us<strong>in</strong>g with Lat<strong>in</strong>o mothers with respect toexpla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to them the ethical dilemmas that have been raised bypsychologists ask<strong>in</strong>g them to respond to those and then mov<strong>in</strong>g on.PROF. CAPRON: Right.DR. FISHER: Of course the way it is presented here it ismuch more of a focus group. It is much more of a dialogue but this ispresented <strong>in</strong> a much more quantitative way.DR. CHILDRESS: All right. We will need to br<strong>in</strong>g this partto a close.Would you like a f<strong>in</strong>al word?DR. FISHER: Well, no, not really. I want to thank you <strong>for</strong><strong>in</strong>vit<strong>in</strong>g me and that I guess I was say<strong>in</strong>g both to you and Dr. Cassell thatI felt that <strong>for</strong> better or worse one of the endur<strong>in</strong>g aspects of the BelmontCommission was their stated moral framework which drew uponpr<strong>in</strong>ciples of respect, justice and beneficence, and <strong>in</strong> some sensere<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>ced the utilitarian perspective, and so I th<strong>in</strong>k the way I tried toframe my presentation I do feel that it would be helpful if thecommission was attentive to the implicit or explicit moral frameworkthat is communicat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> any recommendations that it makes.DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you very much. This has beenexceed<strong>in</strong>gly helpful and gives a lot of food <strong>for</strong> further thought as we movealong <strong>in</strong> our deliberations.You <strong>in</strong>troduced as part of your discussion the care justice


1671234567891011121314151617181920212223242526perspective. In discussions that several of us have had at differentpo<strong>in</strong>ts, Alta Charo, among others, has raised the question about whetherrather than vulnerability we might th<strong>in</strong>k about justice as a way to look atsome of these issues.The three guests who are go<strong>in</strong>g to jo<strong>in</strong> us <strong>for</strong> the next partof this session are <strong>in</strong> the process of putt<strong>in</strong>g together a book on justiceand research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g human subjects.They are Jeffrey Kahn, who is Director of the <strong>Center</strong> <strong>for</strong>Bioethics at the University of M<strong>in</strong>nesota, the <strong>Center</strong> <strong>for</strong> BiomedicalEthics. The director of that center at the University of M<strong>in</strong>nesota.Anna Mastroianni, who is a teacher of law and bioethicsat the University of Wash<strong>in</strong>gton School of Law.Jeremy Sugarman, who is a co-director of the program <strong>in</strong>medical ethics at the Duke University Medical <strong>Center</strong>.All three were heavily <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the work of the AdvisoryCommittee on Human Radiation Experiments with Jeffrey Kahn and AnnaMastroianni be<strong>in</strong>g associate directors.I believe that was your title, right?MS. MASTROIANNI: Yes.DR. CHILDRESS: And then Jeremy Sugarman be<strong>in</strong>g asenior analyst.S<strong>in</strong>ce they are work<strong>in</strong>g on justice I am sure they havecome up with some fair way to present these materials to us <strong>in</strong> a shortperiod of time and then be open <strong>for</strong> discussion.I th<strong>in</strong>k someone -- one of the three will do it and then allthree will be available <strong>for</strong> conversation.


1681234567891011121314151617181920212223242526JUSTICE GUEST DISCUSSANTSDR. JEFFREY KAHN, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTACENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL ETHICSANNA C. MASTROIANNI, J.D., UNIVERSITY OFWASHINGTON SCHOOL OF LAWDR. JEREMY SUGARMAN, DUKE UNIVERSITYMEDICAL CENTERDR. SUGARMAN: It is my job today and if I say anyth<strong>in</strong>gwrong look <strong>for</strong> the faces of Jeff and Anna as I speak with our collectivevoice and you will know that they will correct me when I f<strong>in</strong>ish.I am go<strong>in</strong>g to move --DR. CASSELL: Jim?DR. CHILDRESS: Yes?DR. CASSELL: Could we have him do it from that table?DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. The recommendation was so wecan see you.DR. SUGARMAN: You can tell we spend time on staffbecause we are good at adjust<strong>in</strong>g signs and microphones.PROF. CAPRON: Right.(Laughter.)DR. SUGARMAN: We do appreciate the opportunity toshare some of the work that we have been do<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>terest oftime I will be speak<strong>in</strong>g rather quickly about several of the th<strong>in</strong>gs that weare work<strong>in</strong>g on and we will be happy to elaborate when I am through.As Jim mentioned, we began our collaboration togetheron the staff of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments


1691234567891011121314151617181920212223242526and it is good to see Alta sport<strong>in</strong>g a copy of the f<strong>in</strong>al report. You can seethem from a long distance which is not necessarily a sign of success ofadvisory committees. But it is quite a text that speaks to where our<strong>in</strong>terest began <strong>in</strong> the questions of justice.As you may remember, President Cl<strong>in</strong>ton chartered theAdvisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments <strong>in</strong> response toreports <strong>in</strong> the media of human radiation experiments that were donewithout the consent of subjects. So it seemed at the outset that as welooked at historical cases we were go<strong>in</strong>g to be look<strong>in</strong>g merely at whetheror not consent had been obta<strong>in</strong>ed and what had happened <strong>in</strong> thoseactual experiments.As the Advisory Committee began its work, Ruth Faden asthe chair, we were charged with mak<strong>in</strong>g recommendations <strong>for</strong> the futureso that the abuses that had taken place <strong>in</strong> the past would not happenaga<strong>in</strong>. In order to do that the Advisory Committee took on threeempirical projects and it was <strong>in</strong> these empirical projects that we realizedthat there had been some sort of a sea change that had gone on beh<strong>in</strong>dthe notion of justice consent to one about questions of justice.The Research Proposal Review Project which JonathanMoreno touched on briefly this morn<strong>in</strong>g where the Advisory Committeereviewed 125 research proposals from IRBs around the country ofapproved research we learned two big lessons regard<strong>in</strong>g justice. Thatissues about the selection of subjects were almost neglected <strong>in</strong> thesedocuments and that there was a general over promise of benefits andunder representation of risks.Now this <strong>in</strong> isolation just from documents might not have


1701234567891011121314151617181920212223242526meant so much with respect to justice. It could have been just a quirkyf<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g, a hazard of empirical research, but what we learned <strong>in</strong> thesubject <strong>in</strong>terview study where we <strong>in</strong>terviewed 2,000 patients around thecountry at 16 <strong>in</strong>stitutions was two strong themes that came through the<strong>in</strong>-depth <strong>in</strong>terviews.One was an overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g trust. The <strong>in</strong>terviewees told usthat they trusted researchers. They trusted the <strong>in</strong>stitutions <strong>in</strong> whichresearch was be<strong>in</strong>g conducted. And they trusted the enterprise ofresearch to make sure that research was done <strong>in</strong> an ethical fashion. Thistrust overpowered all of our questions about consent and other issuesregard<strong>in</strong>g research.The other issue that seemed strong is they participated <strong>in</strong>research because of a hope <strong>for</strong> personal benefit. Although that theycould realize that there were other reasons, altruism and the like, thatthis notion of personal benefit and hope were quite strong.So it seemed through a variety of these projects thatthere was some sense of a conflagration of research and treatment. Aswe talked more about this we realized that we wanted to do someth<strong>in</strong>gon justice and at first cut there seemed to be at least two claims aboutjustice. There was one about protection and one about access.The <strong>in</strong>itial claims were let's protect people from risks, theOffice of Protection from Research Risks <strong>for</strong> example, and that IRBs andthe research enterprise was charged with that oversight. Now we werehear<strong>in</strong>g th<strong>in</strong>gs like "access to cl<strong>in</strong>ical trials," patients with cancer, HIV<strong>in</strong>fection and AIDS who wanted to be <strong>in</strong> research. That seemed quirky tous <strong>in</strong> a way if you consider the history of research and the way we teach


1711234567891011121314151617181920212223242526research ethics which <strong>in</strong>volves questions of scandals and justice, and allof this.Then there were mandates <strong>for</strong> <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g people <strong>in</strong>research. Now that also seemed a bit odd <strong>in</strong> light of the history ofresearch and research ethics.So these claims seemed <strong>in</strong> stark contrast to much of theconceptual work that we encountered as well as the policies regard<strong>in</strong>gresearch ethics. Aga<strong>in</strong> the conceptual focus had been on autonomy andbeneficence and these panned out to be the th<strong>in</strong>gs like <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>medconsent, IRBs, OPRR, et cetera.So after th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about this some more we realized thatthe conceptual work had not caught up with what was go<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>in</strong> theresearch world so we began to work on the idea <strong>for</strong> a book which isentitled Beyond Consent: Seek<strong>in</strong>g Justice <strong>in</strong> Research. It is undercontract with Ox<strong>for</strong>d. We have a series of solicited chapters. Theorganization of the book is an overview of the relevance of justice toresearch and then the history of policies <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g justice.We then take populations and sett<strong>in</strong>g ask<strong>in</strong>g the question<strong>in</strong> each case do they raise similar concerns about justice and thepopulations or sett<strong>in</strong>gs we have chosen are captive and convenientpopulations, children, patients, women, <strong>in</strong>ternational research, race andethnicity, and then asked that same question aga<strong>in</strong>, do they raise somemore concerns about justice.We then do some conceptual work putt<strong>in</strong>g all this backtogether and then make some recommendations to those <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong>research from researchers to IRBs to policy makers.


1721234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Now basically we have a draft. Much of the book is donebut the recommendations part is still want<strong>in</strong>g and some of theconceptual work still needs a little bit of attention. But basically we wantto give you just a h<strong>in</strong>t of our work.First, the first cut of justice was sort of a Belmont notionof justice. There are two ideas about justice that were floated <strong>in</strong>Belmont. Fairness and distribution of burdens and benefits and equalsought to be treated equally. This follows a lot of the work on the conceptof justice and biomedical ethics more generally as Professor Childressand Tom Beecham have po<strong>in</strong>ted out many times.Next we wanted to get a little bit more complicated. HereBaruch (?) Brody's chapter <strong>for</strong> the book is quite helpful. Baruch seesthat it is not just two notions of justice here but that there are manyvalues of justice that need to be balanced <strong>in</strong> a pluralistic way. He usesthe language of pluralistic casuistry (?) history. His values are socialneed <strong>for</strong> research, benefit to subjects, and protection from exploitationand harm.Go<strong>in</strong>g further, <strong>in</strong> some of the work <strong>for</strong> the conceptualchapter by Madison Powers, we look at now not values, not an axiology<strong>in</strong>herent to justice but more of approaches to justice, more theory likeapproaches. You will see how this plays out <strong>in</strong> light of current realities <strong>in</strong>a second. Madison def<strong>in</strong>es five.The first is a libertarian notion of justice. Individualsought to be free to accept the risks of research. To br<strong>in</strong>g that to Earth<strong>for</strong> a second we are go<strong>in</strong>g to give you some examples. Here women withbreast cancer want an access to unproven therapy such as autologous


1731234567891011121314151617181920212223242526bone marrow transplantation.Another approach, <strong>in</strong>dividual egalitarianism. Individualsought to have equal access to the benefits of actual researchparticipation. Here would be a familiar argument <strong>for</strong> Medicaid recipientsto have access to research.Third, group egalitarianism. Recogniz<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>in</strong>dividualsoften bear burdens but groups may receive the benefits of research.Diverse <strong>in</strong>dividuals ought to be <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> research so that the groupsfrom which they come may derive benefit. Here is an argument <strong>for</strong>pregnant women <strong>in</strong> research not directed at conditions necessarilyrelated to pregnancy.Fourth, equal citizenship. To assure full moral status of<strong>in</strong>dividuals <strong>in</strong> society there ought to be a quality of participation <strong>in</strong>research without regard to benefit. Here the example, women ofchildbear<strong>in</strong>g potential.Fifth, f<strong>in</strong>ally, compensatory justice. Groups that havebeen neglected <strong>in</strong> the past ought to receive preferential treatment <strong>in</strong>sett<strong>in</strong>g research priorities and here the argument is women <strong>in</strong>cardiovascular research or the Women's Health Initiative.So you see that you have multiple spheres of researchtak<strong>in</strong>g, yes, the concepts from Belmont; yes, the justice pr<strong>in</strong>ciple isimportant, but mak<strong>in</strong>g it a far more complicated understand<strong>in</strong>g ofjustice to enable it to do some of the work that we would need to do tofigure out whether justice is, <strong>in</strong>deed, sort of a key to understand<strong>in</strong>g someof the important issues regard<strong>in</strong>g research today.I will stop there and we are ready to listen to questions.


1741234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. CHILDRESS: All right. We will give the others anopportunity as well but let me throw out a question. Given some of ourdiscussion earlier today, how might this relate to or elim<strong>in</strong>ate cognitivelyimpaired subjects, or to use the example that Alta raised with regard toProfessor Fisher's presentation, the emergency research?Would you or Jeffrey, or Anna like to comment on that?DR. SUGARMAN: Sure. Well, we actually -- when Altawas rais<strong>in</strong>g the question we scurried with notes to see if this would -- ifwe could, you know, take the straw dog Alta Charo test and run with it.I th<strong>in</strong>k that that poses an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g challenge to thismodel but I th<strong>in</strong>k it fits with<strong>in</strong> the spheres of justice. There is certa<strong>in</strong>lyan equal citizenship claim <strong>in</strong> the idea of emergency research. Inaddition, it seems like <strong>for</strong> the beneficial types of emergency researchthat you get an argument there <strong>for</strong> sort of a egalitarianism k<strong>in</strong>d ofargument. So it does overlap and it is complicated like ethics issupposed to be. So I th<strong>in</strong>k it fits with<strong>in</strong> that system.I do not know. Do you want to take one of the others?DR. KAHN: Yes, sure. Maybe to elaborate a little bit, too,on the emergency waiver example. Baruch (?) <strong>in</strong> his chapter <strong>for</strong> us usesthat as one of the examples he tries to play out and makes the claim thatthere are the benefits of research that justice demands people ought tohave access to and, as we know, the waiver has really been focused onthat k<strong>in</strong>d of research and <strong>in</strong> the way the policy is be<strong>in</strong>g developed.He wants to balance that aga<strong>in</strong>st protection from theharm, the risk of harm <strong>in</strong> research. So he sees that <strong>in</strong>herent tension andrecognizes that that must be balanced.


1751234567891011121314151617181920212223242526The third prong that Jeremy mentioned is the socialdemand <strong>for</strong> the knowledge that research generates and that we needthat and that needs to be balanced as well aga<strong>in</strong>st the <strong>in</strong>dividual needs.So I th<strong>in</strong>k we are mov<strong>in</strong>g towards try<strong>in</strong>g to address that.DR. CHILDRESS: Right. Does anyone want to addressthe cognitively impaired subjects?DR. KAHN: Oh, we did not get to that.DR. CHILDRESS: Be<strong>for</strong>e you do that let me just rem<strong>in</strong>dsubcommittee members you need to check out by 3:00. You have anextension of time until 3:00.DR. SUGARMAN: Well, if you march down the examples,the five notions of justice, libertarian notion of justice clearly does not fit.An <strong>in</strong>dividual ought to be free to accept the risks of research becausethey cannot make it <strong>for</strong> say<strong>in</strong>g -- I guess if the person is cognitivelyimpaired or at least decisionally <strong>in</strong>capable that they are not <strong>in</strong> a positionto make a strong libertarian argument.Individual egalitarians ought to have equal access to thebenefits of equal participation. Now if you said that there were benefitsthat accrue to <strong>in</strong>dividuals by be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> research and, <strong>in</strong>deed, someprojects, yes, sure. So you get an argument <strong>for</strong> that, I guess, <strong>in</strong> an<strong>in</strong>dividual egalitarian model.Aga<strong>in</strong> the group egalitarian model also accommodatesthe decisionally <strong>in</strong>capacitated research subjects <strong>in</strong> that <strong>in</strong>dividuals oftenbear burdens but group receive benefits. You need to recruit diverse<strong>in</strong>dividuals so the group would benefit. So it would fit there.You might be able -- I do not know how it would work


1761234567891011121314151617181920212223242526under an equal citizenship model. I th<strong>in</strong>k I would have to th<strong>in</strong>k hardabout that, about what you are go<strong>in</strong>g to call, you know, moral status andit br<strong>in</strong>gs us back to personhood debates and the like about moral statusand be<strong>in</strong>g-ness that I do not want to really start on off the cuff. But Ith<strong>in</strong>k it does <strong>in</strong> a sense f<strong>in</strong>d at least a home <strong>in</strong> those two.PROF. CHARO: Can I just ask a po<strong>in</strong>t of clarification.DR. CHILDRESS: Of clarification and then --PROF. CHARO: Yes. Thanks, Alex.Just <strong>for</strong> clarification are these models that Madison laidout <strong>for</strong> you <strong>in</strong> the book supposed to represent five dist<strong>in</strong>ctly differentapproaches to the way <strong>in</strong> which you would do a justice analysis ofresearch or are you supposed to only go <strong>for</strong>ward with th<strong>in</strong>gs if they cansomehow be justified under each of the five models so it is and, and,and? I mean how do these play <strong>in</strong>to how you would actually set up?Maybe that is your question. I was just try<strong>in</strong>g to clarify the role that thiswas play<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the book or <strong>in</strong> your analysis.DR. SUGARMAN: I th<strong>in</strong>k right now we are at pretty mucha descriptive stage, which giv<strong>in</strong>g full description to the range ofproblems that fall under claims about justice we can clearly do somereally good descriptive work. Baruch floats the idea <strong>in</strong> his chapter abouta pluralistic casuistry as the mechanism to balance these th<strong>in</strong>gs.Madison is obviously follow<strong>in</strong>g Walzer (?), right, spheres of justice andthat idea.So how this will pan out as we th<strong>in</strong>k through the nextiteration of this whole book, and this book is -- it is pa<strong>in</strong>ful to be anauthor and a participant <strong>in</strong> this because we are all work<strong>in</strong>g together to


1771234567891011121314151617181920212223242526try to move <strong>for</strong>ward a bit as a group. So we do not know yet.DR. CHILDRESS: Do you want to --DR. KAHN: Yes. I th<strong>in</strong>k we can say that Madison, andeven <strong>in</strong> the early draft of this and <strong>in</strong> our discussions, recognizes that Ith<strong>in</strong>k these are more -- th<strong>in</strong>ks of these as challenges to research. Theseare justice issues that must be addressed and thought through and, ofcourse, there will be some <strong>in</strong>teraction and overlap. They are not meantto be discreet and <strong>in</strong>dependent from each other at all. How that all playsout, I th<strong>in</strong>k, has to be resolved.DR. CASSELL: Well, I may be hear<strong>in</strong>g this because I likethe idea so much. I may be hear<strong>in</strong>g it this way because I like the ideabut if I understand you correctly participation <strong>in</strong> research is one of thebenefits of be<strong>in</strong>g a member of the society and I ought to be able to beallowed to participate and it is a matter of justice or <strong>in</strong>justice if I am notbecause I am a member of this group or that group, or this community,not merely that it benefits me directly.But it is one of the facts of modern life that participation<strong>in</strong> research is a part of be<strong>in</strong>g a member of the community. I mean, thatis a sort of Tom Sawyer and Huck F<strong>in</strong>n idea, you know, of pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g yourfences. One of the benefits of belong<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> society so much so I will giveyou a buck to do it.I really like that a lot. I mean, I really do. So I want tomake sure that is what you are say<strong>in</strong>g. Otherwise I do not understandthe group -- I do not understand why equal citizenship or compensatoryjustice or any of those th<strong>in</strong>gs would be <strong>in</strong>volved.DR. SUGARMAN: I th<strong>in</strong>k that you are right that there is a


1781234567891011121314151617181920212223242526claim towards citizenship <strong>in</strong> the research. That is what we are gett<strong>in</strong>g atthat there is one claim towards that but that may not be overrid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>every case.DR. CASSELL: Oh, I understand. There are other reasonswhy I might --DR. KAHN: That is part of what justice demands.DR. SUGARMAN: Right.DR. CASSELL: But given those th<strong>in</strong>gs laid aside and nothav<strong>in</strong>g special th<strong>in</strong>gs or my be<strong>in</strong>g a special risk or someth<strong>in</strong>g like that,all th<strong>in</strong>gs be<strong>in</strong>g equal, I should have that citizenship right.DR. KAHN: And as part of be<strong>in</strong>g a full citizen <strong>in</strong> thesociety that is part of what is expected of you. I th<strong>in</strong>k that is the otherway as well.DR. CASSELL: And you do understand that that is aradical difference, I th<strong>in</strong>k, from what anybody would have said 25 yearsago.DR. KAHN: Yes.DR. CASSELL: You do understand that?DR. KAHN: Sure.DR. CASSELL: All right.DR. SUGARMAN: But we are also try<strong>in</strong>g to be responsive.DR. CASSELL: It is on the record now.DR. CHILDRESS: Richard McCormick's notion of socialjustice certa<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong>cludes some of that.DR. KAHN: Right.DR. SUGARMAN: Yes.


1791234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. CASSELL: Yes.DR. CHILDRESS: Alex?PROF. CAPRON: Alta was right that a concern that I washav<strong>in</strong>g, and I do not know if she was referr<strong>in</strong>g to the way I was look<strong>in</strong>gpuzzled, was this question of what are we talk<strong>in</strong>g about here? Usefulcategories <strong>for</strong> teas<strong>in</strong>g out some ideas or criteria, or desiderata, or whatis it that these various th<strong>in</strong>gs are because they seem contradictory, theyseem <strong>in</strong>complete.Another problem that I have with the presentation issome of the examples that were given puzzled me and it seemed to methat you have <strong>in</strong> what Baruch was say<strong>in</strong>g a potential <strong>for</strong> fill<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> some ofthe ideas that you were ascrib<strong>in</strong>g to Madison at least by way of theexamples. The difference -- it seems to me that there are at least threecategories of th<strong>in</strong>gs go<strong>in</strong>g on here.One is the therapeutic orphan idea. That is to say ifpeople <strong>in</strong> your category, however the category is conceived, women,children, pregnant women, old people, people of particular race orwhatever, cannot be <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the research then the results may notapply to you and you will either be told you cannot get this drug becauseit is not labeled <strong>for</strong> use with you or it will be given to you and it will doyou harm because your particular metabolic condition was not one ofthose that was studied. Now that is one mean<strong>in</strong>g of it that has noth<strong>in</strong>gto do with your be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the research at all but somehow people <strong>in</strong> yourcategory are be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>cluded.The second is the AIDS example. The only way to getaccess to this particular th<strong>in</strong>g that is be<strong>in</strong>g studied is <strong>in</strong> a protocol. You


1801234567891011121314151617181920212223242526believe it is your best chance to get better. You, there<strong>for</strong>e, want to get<strong>in</strong>to the study or even better than that you want to get it outside thestudy because you do not want to take the risk of gett<strong>in</strong>g the placebo butyou want access to someth<strong>in</strong>g which is still <strong>in</strong> research.And the third is the example with the person who wantsbreast -- wants the bone marrow transplant <strong>for</strong> breast cancer where theyare not mak<strong>in</strong>g a claim that they want to be <strong>in</strong> a research protocol at all.They want this to be treated as accepted treatment so that their <strong>in</strong>surerwill pay <strong>for</strong> it. I mean that is the way that has come up as an issue. Imean there may be women who say I want to be <strong>in</strong> a protocol but thereal argument there has been this is proven enough so that you<strong>in</strong>surance company or managed care plan should pay <strong>for</strong> it and whenyou fail to do so you have done me an <strong>in</strong>justice because you have keptme from gett<strong>in</strong>g a life sav<strong>in</strong>g treatment.Now those are radically different ideas and to hear themall given as examples <strong>in</strong> one way or another as hav<strong>in</strong>g to do with thejustice issues <strong>in</strong> research worries me a little. Now did I misunderstand?I mean, I thought you gave the bone marrow transplant where you weresay<strong>in</strong>g freedom to accept. The woman with breast cancer has perfectfreedom to accept if she will f<strong>in</strong>d someone who will do a bone marrowtransplant but that is not what her issue is. Her issue is payment <strong>for</strong>treatment. It is not a research issue at all.DR. SUGARMAN: Well, I th<strong>in</strong>k we could -- that there is --<strong>in</strong> the field there is not consensus about whether autologous bonemarrow transplantation is yet an accepted therapy.PROF. CAPRON: Oh, I agree.


1811234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. SUGARMAN: But that is not the po<strong>in</strong>t.PROF. CAPRON: Yes.DR. SUGARMAN: But the question is, is that it is stillviewed by researchers as research, as someth<strong>in</strong>g that is unproven,untested, and potentially harmful.PROF. CAPRON: Yes, I agree but the woman who isask<strong>in</strong>g -- it is not a question about the protocol.DR. SUGARMAN: Right.PROF. CAPRON: It is not -- it does not seem to me -- as Ihave understood it, it is the same issue as the AIDS issue which is youonly have 100 people <strong>in</strong> your protocol and if I cannot be one of those100 I have been treated unjustly. It is I am now gett<strong>in</strong>g treatment fromDr. Jones. Dr. Jones is will<strong>in</strong>g to do a bone marrow transplant but itcosts $50,000 and he is look<strong>in</strong>g to the <strong>in</strong>surance company to pay <strong>for</strong> itand they say it is unproven and, there<strong>for</strong>e, it is not covered under theterms of my health plan.MS. MASTROIANNI: Excuse me. When we weredevelop<strong>in</strong>g that example that was not the consideration. It really was anassumption of the risk, allow<strong>in</strong>g the person to decide that if someth<strong>in</strong>g isconsidered to be extremely risky that they can take that on themselves.They are capable of mak<strong>in</strong>g that decision themselves.PROF. CAPRON: Well, is that an argument that is raised?MS. MASTROIANNI: It is a risk issue is what the focus ofthat particular description is.PROF. CAPRON: But I do not understand that that isfactually why the women have not been able to get it. Is that the case?


1821234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. SUGARMAN: Okay. So take the example. Take yourexample then, the libertarian one. Take the whole development of theparallel track at FDA <strong>for</strong> approved -- rapid approval of drugs that areoutside the context of trial where <strong>in</strong>dividuals are will<strong>in</strong>g to accept risksthat are unproven. I mean, you know, the same agency that had torespond to thalidomide is now sort of say<strong>in</strong>g, "Okay. Well, you want thisth<strong>in</strong>g that is experimental. It could harm you." And people who aredesperately ill are say<strong>in</strong>g, "I do not care. I want this. I would rathertrade this versus sort of a known or unknown --"PROF. CAPRON: It is a rejection of a paternalistic view --DR. SUGARMAN: "-- natural history of the disease."PROF. CAPRON: -- that an IRB or an <strong>in</strong>vestigator should --DR. SUGARMAN: It is a libertarian argument.DR. KAHN: How far should we allow liberty to push?DR. SUGARMAN: To play versus protection.PROF. CAPRON: Right. Which is a question really about -- not about IRBs and so <strong>for</strong>th but about the whole regulation andlicens<strong>in</strong>g of drugs. I mean, you could go to countries where if apharmaceutical company can make someth<strong>in</strong>g you can buy it.DR. KAHN: Right.DR. SUGARMAN: But the reality of research today is ascomplicated as you are mak<strong>in</strong>g it out to be and I th<strong>in</strong>k I am actually --your comments are very helpful because it challenges us further to lookat these as questions of access to experimental th<strong>in</strong>gs because there isjust not enough of this stuff yet because someone did not make it from a


1831234567891011121314151617181920212223242526bark of a whatever tree.PROF. CAPRON: Right.DR. SUGARMAN: Versus there is someth<strong>in</strong>g that isaround a lot but it is really a payment consideration and we are worriedabout a different set of questions.PROF. CAPRON: And the third versus is the one youraised just a moment ago which is we have got plenty of it and it is not apayment question. It is it is so risky that we do not th<strong>in</strong>k that outsidesome highly controlled circumstance more than ten people should be --DR. KAHN: Exactly.PROF. CAPRON: -- exposed to it and that is why we havePhase I and Phase II, and Phase III, and all those other considerations.DR. KAHN: Sure, right.PROF. CAPRON: Which, as I say, are to me bigger thanIRB issues. They are the basic question of should we have regulation ofdrugs.DR. KAHN: Well, we -- and we are writ<strong>in</strong>g this book fromthe perspective of all of the levels at which justice <strong>in</strong>tersects with theresearch process. So from the policy mak<strong>in</strong>g perspective, from thefund<strong>in</strong>g perspective, through the IRB, and the <strong>in</strong>dividual researchparticipant's perspective as well. So --PROF. CAPRON: That would --DR. KAHN: -- you raise a good po<strong>in</strong>t.PROF. CAPRON: That would be to me an example thatwould not have that other red herr<strong>in</strong>g of the --DR. KAHN: Sure. Fair enough.


1841234567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CAPRON: On the equal citizenship --DR. SUGARMAN: I th<strong>in</strong>k we heard you on that one.PROF. CAPRON: The chair already po<strong>in</strong>ted you -- if youhave not already looked at it and you may, but the illum<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g exchangeof views between Richard McCormick and Paul Ramsey on the questionof children because that is where the equal citizenship was <strong>in</strong>vokedbe<strong>for</strong>e and the argument was if a child cannot consent but a parentlook<strong>in</strong>g at the child would say as a member of this community you havesome reasonable obligation to take on some risks that are not just ofbenefit to you and I am go<strong>in</strong>g to consent <strong>for</strong> you and you later on as afully developed moral person will be thankful that as part of your moraleducation and so <strong>for</strong>th I enrolled you and allowed you to go through thatrisk because that was part of be<strong>in</strong>g an equal citizen.One of the arguments that was certa<strong>in</strong>ly raised thenabout the weakness of that claim is that anyone <strong>in</strong> society now is thebeneficiary of all of the research and all of the sacrifices made byscientists and subjects <strong>in</strong> the past and none of us are required to nowagree to be a subject because we are the beneficiaries of all of thatknowledge which has been ga<strong>in</strong>ed at considerable costs. We are onlyasked to pay <strong>for</strong> it <strong>in</strong> dollar terms not with our own participation.It would require a very strong claim it seems to me to<strong>in</strong>sist that <strong>in</strong>deed if you are go<strong>in</strong>g to l<strong>in</strong>e up at the drug store you firstl<strong>in</strong>e up at the volunteer side over here and sign up to have your namerandomly drawn because you are gett<strong>in</strong>g a drug here that somebody elsehelped to develop.Unless you are will<strong>in</strong>g to take that step it seems to me


1851234567891011121314151617181920212223242526that the equal citizenship argument ends up not be<strong>in</strong>g equal citizenship<strong>for</strong> everyone but really your obligation as a sick person to help othersbecause it is really only a person who is sick with a disease on whichresearch still has to be done who is really put to this, that is to say if youare go<strong>in</strong>g to get the benefits of this new treatment you have toparticipate now whereas I can go and get the drug. It is alreadyapproved. No one else has to do research on it <strong>for</strong> me to get it.And I mean, fairly seriously, unless you are really will<strong>in</strong>gto say that there really is a citizen obligation here, if you are go<strong>in</strong>g toparticipate <strong>in</strong> the society which has this cornucopia of valuable th<strong>in</strong>gsyou ought, there<strong>for</strong>e, to be at some equal risk of be<strong>in</strong>g drafted as it were<strong>in</strong>to a research role, a subject role. Otherwise it seems to me at a veryhigh level of rhetoric and only targets those people who are k<strong>in</strong>d of stuck<strong>in</strong> the b<strong>in</strong>d that research is go<strong>in</strong>g on, on their disease right now.DR. SUGARMAN: Right. Or who may at some futurepo<strong>in</strong>t be stuck <strong>in</strong> that b<strong>in</strong>d. It would be one model. I th<strong>in</strong>k the otherth<strong>in</strong>g is to enlarge this to research with human subjects slightly morebroadly than strict biomedical research. That this may play a bigger rolewhere people are not necessarily sick but we sort of learn aboutsociology research, psychology research, economic research, that thereare a variety of research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g human subjects that does not fallstrictly on the model. There might be a more compell<strong>in</strong>g argumentthere. I do not know. We would have to work through that. But I knowon behalf of the three of us we appreciate your vigorous question<strong>in</strong>gbecause we would rather hear it now than later.DR. KAHN: Right.


1861234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. SUGARMAN: And it also does help <strong>in</strong> the process ofour th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g through this.DR. KAHN: Right.DR. SUGARMAN: So we are happy to hold this straw dogup.PROF. CAPRON: Okay. Let me understand. Thecompensatory justice model refers -- is a version of the therapeuticorphan argument? I mean, the fact that women were not <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> thestudies of cardiovascular disease would be unimportant if the f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gsderived from men were equally applicable to women. At that po<strong>in</strong>t thewomen would say, "This was great. We get the benefits but none of ushad to be sacrificed on the altar of science to get them." The problemhas not been that.It has been all these f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs maybe are k<strong>in</strong>d of specificto male versions of heart disease and none of the money was be<strong>in</strong>gspent to f<strong>in</strong>d out about female versions. That is what I understood to bethe argument. So it is a version -- it requires that somehow you did notget the benefits of prior research. It is not like compensatorily I shouldhave an equal chance of be<strong>in</strong>g a subject.DR. SUGARMAN: Right.MS. MASTROIANNI: Right. Not on an <strong>in</strong>dividual basis.PROF. CAPRON: Yes.MS. MASTROIANNI: Correct.DR. CHILDRESS: Diane and then Alta.DR. SCOTT-JONES: I have a question about the notion ofvulnerability and how it relates to the concepts of justice that you just


1871234567891011121314151617181920212223242526presented to us.Near the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of your presentation you talked aboutsome populations. As I recall you mentioned captive populations,children. You mentioned groups that we would consider vulnerablegroups as opposed to generally persons who might participate <strong>in</strong>research. I was just wonder<strong>in</strong>g how these ideas of justice apply to thefull range of experiences of participants <strong>in</strong> research who might beconsidered vulnerable? It seemed that what you talked about had mostto do with access to research to not be<strong>in</strong>g excluded from research.So I was wonder<strong>in</strong>g what the ideas of justice that youtalked about have to do with say the treatment of children generallythroughout the research process and not just <strong>in</strong> their be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong>studies?DR. SUGARMAN: I th<strong>in</strong>k that we <strong>in</strong> talk<strong>in</strong>g about this wedid not select necessarily vulnerable populations. We have populationsthat some conceive as vulnerable populations but others, especially thepeople <strong>in</strong> those populations, may not conceive nor want to conceive ofthemselves as vulnerable. Women, persons of color, may not want tosee themselves as vulnerable populations and I th<strong>in</strong>k that makes a lot ofsense.So we have this sort of -- these sort of categories herebecause those categories have been selected and there are certa<strong>in</strong>paradigm cases that I th<strong>in</strong>k we want to f<strong>in</strong>d out if they raise some morequestions about justice when looked at <strong>in</strong> a very tough way.Now <strong>in</strong> terms of the treatment of people <strong>in</strong> research Ith<strong>in</strong>k some of the models that we have or the approaches to justice very


1881234567891011121314151617181920212223242526much take <strong>in</strong>to account that. The <strong>in</strong>dividual egalitarianism model saysthat there are benefits that derive to me from be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> research asidefrom sort of the research itself.So very much that would say how are people treated <strong>in</strong>the context of research or it recognizes that people <strong>in</strong> research aresomehow treated <strong>in</strong> a nice way. They have a special research nurse orthey get medical exams or there is someone who cares about themthere. Someone at the other end of the phone.That recognizes those very important parts of researchthat I th<strong>in</strong>k we have sort of missed <strong>in</strong> sort of a cold look at just theconsent <strong>for</strong>ms and IRBs, et cetera, the k<strong>in</strong>ds of th<strong>in</strong>gs that have beendiscussed <strong>for</strong> many years <strong>in</strong> literature.Do you want to pick up on that?MS. MASTROIANNI: One th<strong>in</strong>g I wanted to say, toreiterate what Jeremy said, is that these populations were not selectedbecause they were vulnerable.DR. SCOTT-JONES: But why were they selected?Because you judge that they have been excluded <strong>in</strong> some way fromresearch?MS. MASTROIANNI: No, it is that they were rais<strong>in</strong>gissues -- when you read the literature, when you talk to people, these arethe populations or the sett<strong>in</strong>gs that raise concerns of justice or that wesense that there is some sort of a shift <strong>in</strong> the notion of justice. In somecases it is the straight protectionism to access. You know, this conceptof protection to access. In the other populations there is moresensitivity to concerns of exploitation.


1891234567891011121314151617181920212223242526There are issues where these populations or sett<strong>in</strong>gs mayrequire additional protections. So it is not -- you know, it is not as if <strong>in</strong>each area we are go<strong>in</strong>g, okay, they used to be protected and now theywant to access trials. It really is an exploration of each circumstanceand as I mentioned earlier they were not selected because they werevulnerable. These are just areas that we were sensitized to through ourwork and read<strong>in</strong>g.DR. KAHN: Let me just add one small th<strong>in</strong>g about that. Ith<strong>in</strong>k we were sensitive to the use of the term "vulnerability" historicallyto those who were exploited. So it was a vulnerability of more risk be<strong>in</strong>gplaced upon certa<strong>in</strong> groups of people than others and we wanted to sortof transcend that and talk more about access to the benefits of researchas well as risk of harm. So we thought that vulnerability was sort of anarrow way to focus it, too narrow <strong>for</strong> the purpose of this exam<strong>in</strong>ation.DR. SCOTT-JONES: Okay. But what I was actually ask<strong>in</strong>gyou was then do your ideas apply to access and not to how persons arethen treated <strong>in</strong> the research? What do you have to say from these justiceperspectives that you have outl<strong>in</strong>ed about the treatment of participants<strong>in</strong> research beyond just access?MS. MASTROIANNI: Beyond the <strong>in</strong>itial stages ofresearch?DR. SCOTT-JONES: Yes.DR. KAHN: I th<strong>in</strong>k we had no <strong>in</strong>tention at all of focus<strong>in</strong>gon merely the benefits of research. Clearly protection of <strong>in</strong>dividuals fromthe risk of research is always important, has been and cont<strong>in</strong>ues to be.We are try<strong>in</strong>g to expand the th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about what justice demands and


1901234567891011121314151617181920212223242526can contribute to the protection -- to the respect of <strong>in</strong>dividual researchsubjects.MS. MASTROIANNI: For example, clearly on the issuewhen you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about gender issues and the <strong>in</strong>clusion of women <strong>in</strong>research it certa<strong>in</strong>ly raises retention issues that people are now muchmore sensitive to. So <strong>in</strong> that way justice is play<strong>in</strong>g itself out and how dowe reta<strong>in</strong> these participants? Do we have to use -- it is not justrecruitment. It goes much further than that.So there is a play<strong>in</strong>g out across through the researchprocess to the end where hopefully some benefit accrues. So there issome sensitivity to that but I really do appreciate your po<strong>in</strong>t because itraises it so that we can be more sensitive when we are look<strong>in</strong>g at someof these other populations as well. That just happens to be a particularpopulation that I am very familiar with work<strong>in</strong>g.DR. CHILDRESS: Be<strong>for</strong>e I go to Alta there is noth<strong>in</strong>g youhave said, though, that rules out attention to other k<strong>in</strong>ds of moralconsiderations?DR. KAHN: No.MS. MASTROIANNI: No.DR. SUGARMAN: No.DR. KAHN: Absolutely.MS. MASTROIANNI: Certa<strong>in</strong>ly not.DR. SUGARMAN: I th<strong>in</strong>k that the title br<strong>in</strong>gs it out. It isbeyond consent seek<strong>in</strong>g justice <strong>in</strong> research because we still acknowledgethe importance of consent. We th<strong>in</strong>k there has been an awful lot of goodwork done on consent and it has still got to be there and there is noth<strong>in</strong>g


1911234567891011121314151617181920212223242526to say that the other components need to be considered, beneficence.DR. CHILDRESS: Although beyond consent is ambiguous<strong>in</strong> that regard? It might be consent beyond that would be a moreaccurate title.MS. MASTROIANNI: You want to talk to Ox<strong>for</strong>d aboutthat?(Laughter.)DR. CHILDRESS: Jeff would never agree to that I know.MS. MASTROIANNI: You know how they are.DR. KAHN: It is a marketability issue.MS. MASTROIANNI: It is a marketability issue.(Laughter.)PROF. CHARO: There is no justice.(Laughter.)PROF. CHARO: I would like to return you if I may tosometh<strong>in</strong>g you said <strong>in</strong> your preface, Jeremy, because I was really<strong>in</strong>trigued when I f<strong>in</strong>ally sat down and paid some serious attention to theresearch protocol review project or whatever the appropriate RRPP th<strong>in</strong>gis.(Laughter.)PROF. CHARO: And the f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs about the pervasivenessof trust on the part of subjects <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>stitutions and the <strong>in</strong>vestigatorscoupled with the personal benefit and hope documents what everybodyanecdotally has been talk<strong>in</strong>g about.And given that there is a grow<strong>in</strong>g but nonetheless smallsegment of the research endeavor that really does hold out the prospect


1921234567891011121314151617181920212223242526<strong>for</strong> therapy <strong>in</strong> the research context it is very difficult to dispel the hopebecause there is a very small percentage of protocols that really canfulfill those hopes. But more often than not that hope is misplacedbecause the research is simply not at a stage which that hope makes anysense. They are be<strong>in</strong>g recruited <strong>for</strong> the reasons that we th<strong>in</strong>k of as be<strong>in</strong>gmedical experimentation.Now as I sat back and thought about it, it struck me allover aga<strong>in</strong> as you mentioned here, I found myself th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about thenature of the rules that we have and I began compar<strong>in</strong>g it to theexperience <strong>in</strong> contract law where the rules are written largely with theidea of arm's length transactions.And the rules on the research endeavor are also writtenwith the notion of arm's length transactions. The researcher gives<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation and then goes like this, "God <strong>for</strong>bid I should <strong>in</strong>fluenceanybody." And then the prospective subject evaluates the <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mationand the goal is to have all the risks spelled out and all the benefitsspelled out <strong>in</strong> the most accurate way possible so that this rational actoror his or her agent can make a rational decision and then hands back theconsent, at which po<strong>in</strong>t the experiment rolls along.Maybe it is just unfair, or to co<strong>in</strong> a phrase unjust, tocont<strong>in</strong>ue with an arm's length model of this transaction <strong>in</strong> light of theanecdotal experience, the group <strong>in</strong>st<strong>in</strong>ct, the limited, more statisticallysignificant data that you have generated that says this is not an arm'slength transaction. There may be sett<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> which it is.I can tell you that when I went and volunteered to makemoney by be<strong>in</strong>g a human subject when I was <strong>in</strong> college that was


1931234567891011121314151617181920212223242526dramatically different than what you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about and I th<strong>in</strong>k thereis still room <strong>for</strong> a very dist<strong>in</strong>ctively different sett<strong>in</strong>g. A set of rulesgovern<strong>in</strong>g th<strong>in</strong>gs like Phase I, recruitment of healthy volunteers, and allother th<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> which people are be<strong>in</strong>g recruited, and all <strong>in</strong> part becausethey already have an illness or condition.But with regard to that latter group it may be that all therules need to be rethought from the po<strong>in</strong>t of view of say<strong>in</strong>g this is not anarm's length transaction and there is a much stronger affirmativeobligation on the part of the research community and much strongerconstra<strong>in</strong>ts that can be placed.Everybody here has heard ads recruit<strong>in</strong>g subjects <strong>in</strong>which they -- and the one go<strong>in</strong>g on at Madison now is actually hilariousbecause it is about a mother talk<strong>in</strong>g to a daughter say<strong>in</strong>g, "Have youbeen suffer<strong>in</strong>g from constipation?" And she is like, "Yes, I really have,mom." She says goes, "Well, you know they have got that new study overat UW." No, it is -- I am sorry, it was at a private lab. Thank God. It wasat a private lab. And the daughter -- you know, and she goes, "Nowmaybe you should try that." I mean it is absolutely therapeutic <strong>in</strong> itsovertones.DR. CASSELL: That is true? You made that up.PROF. CAPRON: No.PROF. CHARO: No, this is absolutely true. This is an adrunn<strong>in</strong>g. It has been runn<strong>in</strong>g on morn<strong>in</strong>g radio <strong>in</strong> Madison.PROF. CAPRON: Would the gentlewoman from Wiscons<strong>in</strong>yield <strong>for</strong> a moment?(Laughter.)


1941234567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CHARO: I yield.PROF. CAPRON: If you want to see a pr<strong>in</strong>t version of this,the latest Hast<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>Center</strong> Report has a side bar <strong>in</strong> which the persondescribes how to get someone to consent to research and it is -- it mustbe someone from Wiscons<strong>in</strong> because it is this constipation research andit starts off with a little child's voice and then a woman giv<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation about how you would sign up.PROF. CHARO: I th<strong>in</strong>k it is a multicenter study.PROF. CAPRON: They even had their own ad agency.But the approach is just what Alta said.PROF. CHARO: Now --PROF. CAPRON: I th<strong>in</strong>k this may be heartburn actually.It is a related study.PROF. CHARO: That is all right. The same ad agency.But the po<strong>in</strong>t -- I am sorry I am tak<strong>in</strong>g way too long. The po<strong>in</strong>t simplybe<strong>in</strong>g that we write our rules on the notion that we have got two<strong>in</strong>dependent rational actors and we are try<strong>in</strong>g to make sure that themarket can operate efficiently by mak<strong>in</strong>g sure that you have got all thenecessary <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation <strong>for</strong> the actors and where there is an <strong>in</strong>ability <strong>for</strong>an actor to function <strong>in</strong> the market as an autonomous agent we arelook<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> substitute agents <strong>for</strong> that actor. Right?We do not do it completely because we do not follow thetotal libertarian model here because we, <strong>in</strong> fact, do use IRBs to set anabsolute ceil<strong>in</strong>g on risks that we will permit. Right? We do have IRBsthat say this is riskier than it need be and we are not go<strong>in</strong>g to let you doit even if people would consent because we can th<strong>in</strong>k of a way to get


1951234567891011121314151617181920212223242526exactly the same scientific value at less risk. So we do not go completelydown that road but we go pretty far down that road.And I am beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g to f<strong>in</strong>d myself wonder<strong>in</strong>g if there is asubstantive component to justice that transcends its more k<strong>in</strong>d ofprocedural aspects hav<strong>in</strong>g to do with distribution of benefits anddistribution of burdens that is at the heart of the justification <strong>in</strong> theBelmont report and all the other reports to date. Part of the justification<strong>for</strong> the absolute limitations on the risks to which people will be exposedwithout good reason, and this goes k<strong>in</strong>d of to Baruch's value stuff, butwhich may also be pert<strong>in</strong>ent to everyth<strong>in</strong>g about the way <strong>in</strong> which therules are cast and the k<strong>in</strong>ds of sett<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> which we will permit researchto go on or <strong>in</strong> which we will permit people to be recruited.I mean, I do not know where this is go<strong>in</strong>g to go. This isnot an organized comment but I just -- I feel like I have f<strong>in</strong>ally reachedmy limit at believ<strong>in</strong>g we can solve this by giv<strong>in</strong>g everybody enough<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation and enough agents, and then send them on their way, and itis probably a comb<strong>in</strong>ation of these two people together.DR. CHILDRESS: That is what I was go<strong>in</strong>g to suggest.The relational model is one possible supplement or alternative.We will give you a chance to respond if you like to someof the range of issues that Alta raised and then we will br<strong>in</strong>g this sessionto a close and then get Eric on --PROF. CHARO: Or to get the address <strong>for</strong> the place <strong>for</strong> theconstipation study.DR. SUGARMAN: I did not know if you were ask<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong>the phone number.


1961234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. KAHN: There is someth<strong>in</strong>g else which you mayalready know about and I would mention to it if you have not seen it, andthat is a study done at the University of Chicago with a very smallnumber of Phase I chemotherapy subjects <strong>in</strong> which they are asked whythey were will<strong>in</strong>g to participate <strong>in</strong> this particular trial. Someth<strong>in</strong>g like 95percent of them gave as their first reason the hope that they wouldbenefit therapeutically <strong>in</strong> a Phase I chemotherapy trial.Now we know that physiologically there is someth<strong>in</strong>g likea five percent tumor response rate <strong>in</strong> a Phase I chemotherapy trial sothere is obviously a big gap there between what people hope <strong>for</strong> andwhat they might really expect. And that goes to exactly the po<strong>in</strong>t thatyou are rais<strong>in</strong>g about why people participate and what are we reallydo<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the research process.A second is someth<strong>in</strong>g that Jeremy brought up and thatyou brought as well, Alta, and that is the level of trust that existsbetween subjects and the people who do the research and the places <strong>in</strong>which the research is done. And that we ought to keep <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d becauseit is a ripe situation <strong>for</strong> people participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> the wrong reason.PROF. CHARO: Jeff, just one last th<strong>in</strong>g. Can you -- howdoes this play <strong>in</strong>to the need to get consent? I mean, I am <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong>the degree to which justice really is at the heart of the reason why it isunfair <strong>for</strong> some people to not be protected by rules of some sort at somelevel, federal, state, whatever, that say they cannot be enrolled withouttheir knowledge of hav<strong>in</strong>g been enrolled. They cannot be enrolledwithout an opportunity to say, yea or nay, and yet that is where thejustice segues <strong>in</strong>to the consent. I wonder if this is someth<strong>in</strong>g you have


1971234567891011121314151617181920212223242526played with <strong>in</strong> this book.DR. SUGARMAN: I th<strong>in</strong>k we have played with it a little bitbe<strong>for</strong>e with the work of the Advisory Committee <strong>in</strong> the Subject InterviewStudy and <strong>in</strong> the Research Proposal Review Project, more so <strong>in</strong> the SIS,Subject Interview Study, and it may be that it would be important if yourdeliberations take you <strong>in</strong> this direction to either review carefully thematerial <strong>in</strong> the book or have one of us that was responsible <strong>for</strong> thatstudy, or both those studies, present those to you to let you get at thosedata and sort of tear at them a little bit.The data are very powerful and they do speak to some ofthe issues you have brought up. The data speak to at least -- and one ofthe differences between Chris Daugherty's work to which Jeff referred,which was only <strong>in</strong> Phase I trials, is that <strong>in</strong> the Subject Interview Study wetalked to some 500 patients <strong>in</strong> a variety of different phases of researchand as you might imag<strong>in</strong>e the motivations <strong>for</strong> participation are different<strong>in</strong> different phases of research. There are people with different illnesses.There are different research projects. There were some that weretherapeutic projects. Some were diagnostic projects. Some wereepidemiologic projects.To get at the question of consent which seems to bedriv<strong>in</strong>g you some, some people <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>-depth <strong>in</strong>terviews, we spoke to 103of them, folks who reported that they had participation <strong>in</strong> research, theysaid about consent that some had already made up their m<strong>in</strong>d when theywalked <strong>in</strong> the door. By the time they got to the physician or <strong>in</strong>vestigatorthey had made up their m<strong>in</strong>d. They were go<strong>in</strong>g to consent to be <strong>in</strong> thatproject. It really did not matter what was said to them dur<strong>in</strong>g that


1981234567891011121314151617181920212223242526consent process.In other situations people took the consent <strong>for</strong>ms home,read about them, did literature searches, and the power that theseconsent <strong>for</strong>ms had on people was overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g. Several participants <strong>in</strong>that 100 pulled them out of their bags and showed them on a dayunrelated to the consent visit. They were proud of their researchprojects.There are data there that just really can surprise youabout look<strong>in</strong>g a little bit more <strong>in</strong>ductively at the research process fromthe recruitment part to these -- now we talked to people at all stages.This was not a longitud<strong>in</strong>al study. But even the transition of reasons <strong>for</strong>participation, gett<strong>in</strong>g at therapeutic misconception, overcom<strong>in</strong>gtherapeutic misconception and the like, that might be very helpful if yougo <strong>in</strong> that direction.DR. CHILDRESS: Well, we thank you --PROF. CAPRON: Jim?DR. CHILDRESS: I am sorry. Yes?PROF. CAPRON: Could I just follow up?DR. CHILDRESS: Very briefly so we can get the --PROF. CAPRON: Yes. No, this is not a question. This isa conclusion from this. I th<strong>in</strong>k we should def<strong>in</strong>itely follow through on thesuggestion that Jeremy just made and we should either as a subgroup orentitled as the whole group suggest that we reta<strong>in</strong> somebody whounderstands those data to do some further analysis of them <strong>for</strong> us.I th<strong>in</strong>k it is a rich field to look at and I would be very<strong>in</strong>terested to know, <strong>for</strong> example, whether the <strong>in</strong>vestigators look at the


1991234567891011121314151617181920212223242526consent <strong>for</strong>ms or <strong>in</strong>terviewed the researchers who were <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> thesubject process because I have been struck <strong>in</strong> years and years on theRecomb<strong>in</strong>ant DNA Advisory Committee how often we had to <strong>in</strong>sist on thereword<strong>in</strong>g of consent <strong>for</strong>ms which presented what were usually Phase Istudies <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>in</strong> which any reasonable person would have thoughtthey were go<strong>in</strong>g to get some prospect. In other words, at most it wassaid we cannot guarantee that this will do any good <strong>for</strong> you.Secondly, I would suggest that the staff, if everyone onthe commission does not get the Hast<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>Center</strong> Report, distribute tothe full commission the collection of articles <strong>in</strong> the latestJanuary/February issue about the emergency exception <strong>in</strong> part becauseJay Katz's little piece <strong>in</strong> there is a lovely <strong>in</strong> a couple hundred wordsreiteration of this problem rather than look<strong>in</strong>g at what most peopleresponded to the emergency -- the FDA emergency research rule as aviolation of Nuremberg or someth<strong>in</strong>g.It looked at this basic underly<strong>in</strong>g problem that ariseswhen we too quickly treat as therapeutic th<strong>in</strong>gs which are, <strong>in</strong> fact,research. And the fact that we do it is <strong>in</strong> my m<strong>in</strong>d a big explanation ofwhy patient subjects faced with it come away with the impression thatthat is what they are gett<strong>in</strong>g. It is not all just wishful th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g on theirpart.DR. KAHN: No. It is made much worse when the<strong>in</strong>vestigator and the treat<strong>in</strong>g physician are the same person.PROF. CAPRON: Yes.DR. KAHN: Which is obviously a --PROF. CAPRON: Right. And that is one of the th<strong>in</strong>gs that


2001234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Jay and I, and others have been say<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> 25 years that ought to beaddressed. In a way that group is more vulnerable than normal subjectswhich goes aga<strong>in</strong>st the gra<strong>in</strong> that it was the normal subject who was atrisk of gett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>jured.So I would suggest that we distribute that. But I verymuch would like to see us commission one or more papers us<strong>in</strong>g the SISdata and gett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to this because I th<strong>in</strong>k we really could make acontribution on that topic. It is not one that we have identified. I verymuch appreciate Jeremy underl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g it <strong>for</strong> us.F<strong>in</strong>ally, you might also just as a way of summariz<strong>in</strong>gth<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>for</strong> people, Anna and Jeff have an article <strong>in</strong> last summer's Journalof Law Medic<strong>in</strong>e Ethics, Volume 24, page 118 through 126, on remedies<strong>for</strong> human subjects of "Cold War Research: Recommendations of theAdvisory Committee" that not only gives the background but some of the<strong>in</strong>teragency work<strong>in</strong>g groups first responses and so <strong>for</strong>th.Aga<strong>in</strong> it would be helpful <strong>for</strong> the commissioners to havethat. So I will leave my copy if that will help you.DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you very much, Alex.We thank all three of you very much <strong>for</strong> jo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g us andshar<strong>in</strong>g your thoughts with us. Thank you.MS. MASTROIANNI: Thank you very much.DR. SUGARMAN: Thank you.DR. KAHN: Thank you.DR. CHILDRESS: Time is slipp<strong>in</strong>g away.Eric, would you say someth<strong>in</strong>g about --CHANGES IN RESEARCH


2011234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. CASSELL: My task has been made very much easierby Dr. Fisher's comments and by Sugarman and Mastroianni becausethey have, <strong>in</strong> essence, portrayed the research endeavors, the cooperativeendeavor between subject. Cooperative <strong>in</strong> the sense of both be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> itand not necessarily all lov<strong>in</strong>g each other.In fact, when I first said that some time back it was moreof a feel<strong>in</strong>g that from my own observation than based on any data. NowI th<strong>in</strong>k there is hard data.I th<strong>in</strong>k what is important, if you do not m<strong>in</strong>d my do<strong>in</strong>gthis <strong>for</strong> just a moment, is that the basis <strong>for</strong> the model which we <strong>in</strong>heritedfrom Belmont, and I really might say the early part of the Century, is amodel of the rational human, which is a Cartesian model of how peoplemake decisions and what science is about. Science is about truth but byrational people. Normative or emotional issues have no part <strong>in</strong> it. Andwhen people make a rational decision or autonomous decision it is not adecision of m<strong>in</strong>e. It is a decision of what any rational person <strong>in</strong> the samesituation would do.We do not live <strong>in</strong> that world anymore by any means. Wedo not believe <strong>for</strong> a moment that science is about some -- we may not bepost modern, thank God, but we might -- we do understand -- I have a lotof bias there -- but we do understand that k<strong>in</strong>d of truth, the selfless truth<strong>in</strong> which the scientist has no other <strong>in</strong>terest, but truth is just nonsense.And we do understand that people make decisions based on more than<strong>in</strong>tellectual values.The question is how to have that entered <strong>in</strong>to theresearch endeavor <strong>in</strong> such a way that people are able to participate <strong>in</strong>


2021234567891011121314151617181920212223242526the research <strong>in</strong> the way they want to and at the same time they are nottaken advantage of on the one side. On the other side how to make theresearcher understand that he or she is also a participant and that theyhave a normative obligation to protect their subjects as they do toprotect science.That this mix of problems has gotten more complicatedand not less and our task, I th<strong>in</strong>k, is to try and lay out guidel<strong>in</strong>es that willreally protect human subjects <strong>for</strong> a decade or more <strong>in</strong> the future just asBelmont did that <strong>in</strong> the past.I only mean to discuss some of these issues and put themon the table and as I say the task, I th<strong>in</strong>k, just got a lot easier.Is that brief?DR. CHILDRESS: That was very succ<strong>in</strong>ct. Well done.Eric has agreed to prepare 10 or 15 pages or whatever onthis. So one th<strong>in</strong>g we need to do is react to this now.DR. CASSELL: React now so it will make the task easier.DR. CHILDRESS: Or if you want to ponder it. But if thereare any reactions now it would be good to provide them.PROF. CHARO: If you were <strong>for</strong>ced to sit down and try toencapsulate a set of behaviors that <strong>in</strong>vestigators need to learn to engage<strong>in</strong> when they are <strong>in</strong>teract<strong>in</strong>g with potential subjects. Right? Do youalready have a beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g image of what that would be s<strong>in</strong>ce you are notgo<strong>in</strong>g to limit yourself to the th<strong>in</strong>gs that have been associated with thisk<strong>in</strong>d of rational act or model?DR. CASSELL: Well, <strong>for</strong> one th<strong>in</strong>g I th<strong>in</strong>k that the -- whatwe know about consent, what we just heard also, the pride <strong>in</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g a


2031234567891011121314151617181920212223242526part of a research project, that the <strong>in</strong>vestigator -- that obta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g aconsent is a very important personal act. It is not an objectiveimpersonal act. It is a personal act <strong>in</strong> which the <strong>in</strong>vestigator protectsthat subject and their own research at the same time. After all they dohave an <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> what they are do<strong>in</strong>g and they should be gett<strong>in</strong>g thatconsent. It should almost never be gotten by some person who has gotthe time. That is the way we do it now. Who has got the time? It is tooimportant <strong>for</strong> that.But I th<strong>in</strong>k that the solution starts earlier than that and Ith<strong>in</strong>k that Celia Fisher's presentation and the discussion we had at lunchand my previous comments about education, research method is <strong>in</strong>essence -- I mean, research method cannot be separated from theethical issues of research. When people learn research method theycannot be learn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a few hours, you know, learn<strong>in</strong>g someth<strong>in</strong>g a littlebit about ethics. It is essential to it. The normative aspect of science ispart of science.It is about time that a graduate of a university <strong>in</strong> the1990s knew that there were normative elements <strong>in</strong> science and did notand could not say anymore, someth<strong>in</strong>g that nobody with anysophistication has been say<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> 30 or 40 years, that it is the pursuit oftruth and truth alone. That just is -- it is silly when you hear someth<strong>in</strong>glike that out of the mouth of an otherwise educated person and they aresay<strong>in</strong>g that because they do not know any better. Not because they justdo not understand. They do not know.The analogy that comes to m<strong>in</strong>d is when somebody nottoo long ago tried to f<strong>in</strong>d out what do physicians know about physics.


2041234567891011121314151617181920212223242526After all it is part of their education, college education. And what theydiscovered was that mostly physicians know the physics taught to themby professors of physics <strong>in</strong> college who were not physicists but teachersof physics and who had learned it 20 years be<strong>for</strong>e. So that their physicswas almost 40 years out of date. That is exactly the same th<strong>in</strong>g as wehave now.PROF. CAPRON: We, of course, might want to learn moreabout it but there is nom<strong>in</strong>ally a requirement <strong>for</strong> all programs receiv<strong>in</strong>gfederal post graduate tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g funds that they do some education onethical issues and it may be a testament to how well that requirement isbe<strong>in</strong>g carried out if the statements, the very reasonable statements youmake about the <strong>in</strong>adequacy of understand<strong>in</strong>g of this -- among theresearch population is correct.So that would be someth<strong>in</strong>g we ought to educateourselves a little bit about of how that is be<strong>in</strong>g implemented and whatk<strong>in</strong>ds of th<strong>in</strong>gs are addressed. That may be only certa<strong>in</strong> of the researchpopulation, not all researchers <strong>in</strong> all fields are subject to that. I do notknow. I know it is a requirement and many universities have nowmounted programs <strong>for</strong> their post-docs and their graduate fellows <strong>in</strong>various fields.DR. CASSELL: And we teach that at Cornell. I take a partof that and m<strong>in</strong>e is the human subject part but it is the lesser aspect ofit. Mostly it has to do with cheat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> research, number one. And,number two, what to do about an imperialistic laboratory director.(Laughter.)DR. CHILDRESS: Another question about your


2051234567891011121314151617181920212223242526description, Eric. The chang<strong>in</strong>g environment of research, and we havetalked <strong>in</strong> some earlier sessions about some of the changes that areoccurr<strong>in</strong>g there, they are not reflected <strong>in</strong> what you said here because youhave emphasized some other aspects but I am assum<strong>in</strong>g you will focuson that as well.DR. CASSELL: Yes.DR. CHILDRESS: Other suggestions?Diane?DR. SCOTT-JONES: Eric, I have a question and acomment as well. Let me give you my comment first.You have mentioned the importance of education andthat be<strong>in</strong>g needed as a supplement to regulation. You might want toconsider also the role of professional organizations <strong>in</strong> educat<strong>in</strong>gmembers because I know the American Psychological Association, theSociety <strong>for</strong> Research and Child Development both take that approachthat it is important not only to educate dur<strong>in</strong>g tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g but to keep thisas someth<strong>in</strong>g that is constantly <strong>in</strong> the <strong>for</strong>efront <strong>for</strong> persons who areactive <strong>in</strong> the field.Second, I have a question. In the paper that you woulddevelop would you move towards talk<strong>in</strong>g about some of the practicalaspects of gett<strong>in</strong>g consent? For example, there are very practical th<strong>in</strong>gsthat you might move towards. Such as a procedure that <strong>in</strong>volves notonly sign<strong>in</strong>g the consent <strong>for</strong>m but <strong>in</strong> some way quizz<strong>in</strong>g the potentialparticipant about what they understood of what you were say<strong>in</strong>g. Willyou get to the practical th<strong>in</strong>gs that people are try<strong>in</strong>g now? Becausevarious research groups are try<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>novative ways of ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g consent of


2061234567891011121314151617181920212223242526participants and I did not know if your paper was go<strong>in</strong>g to focus on --DR. CASSELL: But I am a practic<strong>in</strong>g physician so I feelno obligation to be practical <strong>in</strong> any other aspect of my life. But, yes, Ith<strong>in</strong>k that. I th<strong>in</strong>k, <strong>in</strong> part, because the issue of what we really mean bya consent requires some of those -- some practical issues be<strong>in</strong>gaddressed.PROF. CHARO: The other --DR. SCOTT-JONES: I had one more.PROF. CHARO: I am sorry.DR. SCOTT-JONES: And then there is also an issue <strong>in</strong>longitud<strong>in</strong>al research of revisit<strong>in</strong>g the consent.DR. CASSELL: Yes. I do mention that <strong>in</strong> here and I --DR. SCOTT-JONES: Oh, I did not --DR. CASSELL: Yes.DR. SCOTT-JONES: I must have missed that. Okay.DR. CASSELL: I mean, both the subject changes and theresearch changes. At the present time the statement that says, "I realizethat I may discont<strong>in</strong>ue my participation at any time without..." whateverit might be is the only th<strong>in</strong>g that acknowledges that. But I th<strong>in</strong>k it has tobe acknowledged.PROF. CHARO: I am sorry. I did not understand -- I didnot realize what this was when I found it on the table so I did not read it.But -- so I might be -- any chance that you might actually spend sometime talk<strong>in</strong>g about what Alex has mentioned and others have certa<strong>in</strong>lyendorsed which is the idea that it is just not feasible to have physicians,treat<strong>in</strong>g physicians act<strong>in</strong>g as PIs, as recruiters particularly, as recruiters?


2071234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Right now my impression based on a couple of meet<strong>in</strong>gs I have been atis that it is recognized as the best practice to separate physician from PIor physician from recruiter but it is not required practice.To the extent that the consent process is severelyunderm<strong>in</strong>ed by the selective hear<strong>in</strong>g that will follow from somebody whois exhibit<strong>in</strong>g great trust which will only be greatest when you are <strong>in</strong> atherapeutic relationship it really profoundly distorts the dynamic here ifwe do not have a set of rules that are premised on a very protection k<strong>in</strong>dof model and <strong>in</strong>stead stay with us more k<strong>in</strong>d of -- to appear asnegotiat<strong>in</strong>g with one another to become partners.DR. CASSELL: I feel very strongly about that. I gave alecture at Sloan Ketter<strong>in</strong>g one time where I suggested that there was an<strong>in</strong>herent conflict of <strong>in</strong>terest as all of us know. I mean that is not -- right?Oh, well, you would th<strong>in</strong>k that I was impugn<strong>in</strong>g their l<strong>in</strong>eage. And Iactually was but it was an <strong>in</strong>tellectual l<strong>in</strong>eage. But, <strong>in</strong> fact, mostresearchers do not see that there could be any conflict of <strong>in</strong>terest.Treat<strong>in</strong>g researchers.PROF. CHARO: But s<strong>in</strong>ce, <strong>in</strong> fact, it can be approachedboth from the conflict of <strong>in</strong>terest po<strong>in</strong>t of view but also from the po<strong>in</strong>t ofview of the patient/subject simply as it is not possible to have a k<strong>in</strong>d ofcold rational arm's length model of a transaction <strong>in</strong> which somebody hasto give an <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med and voluntary consent. You cannot have that wherethe person who is supposed to be voluntary, <strong>in</strong>dependent and consent<strong>in</strong>gis giv<strong>in</strong>g up those th<strong>in</strong>gs because that is exactly what they want to giveup <strong>in</strong> a therapeutic relationship where you want to relax <strong>in</strong>to feel<strong>in</strong>g likeyou are be<strong>in</strong>g taken care of.


2081234567891011121314151617181920212223242526So by talk<strong>in</strong>g about it from that po<strong>in</strong>t of view it might be away to avoid the impugn<strong>in</strong>g of their character or <strong>in</strong>tellectual l<strong>in</strong>eage andnonetheless get the po<strong>in</strong>t across that this might be someth<strong>in</strong>g we wouldwant to consider maybe solidify<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to practice <strong>in</strong>stead of just exhort<strong>in</strong>gon it.DR. CASSELL: Well, it is a big problem. I mean, solv<strong>in</strong>gthat problem is not an easy -- it is not easy because the trust is <strong>in</strong>herent.In any therapeutic relationship the trust is <strong>in</strong>herent. If you do not havetrust -- I mean, the person who is unable to trust is <strong>in</strong> terrible shape.PROF. CHARO: The solution may not be to try to destroythe trust but to try and take away some of the triggers and one of thetriggers is when your treat<strong>in</strong>g physician is the one who recruits you. Soyou take away the trigger and you do not have to try to take away thetrust.DR. CASSELL: In other words, that whole bus<strong>in</strong>ess ofhav<strong>in</strong>g it, I th<strong>in</strong>k that is very -- maybe the treat<strong>in</strong>g physician should neverbe recruited.PROF. CAPRON: I have a sense that we are now talk<strong>in</strong>gabout several papers and I do not want to overburden the one that Eric isdo<strong>in</strong>g. I did not see much <strong>in</strong> this paper and I do not th<strong>in</strong>k it has to be <strong>in</strong>this paper, but it should be somewhere, about both descriptively tell<strong>in</strong>gus how the model has shifted, the so-called parallel track or the use ofthe compassion exemptions and so <strong>for</strong>th, which is that shift fromprotection to access that we have all talked about. And how that isaffected the public perception of research? How it has affected the way<strong>in</strong> which researchers feel com<strong>for</strong>table?


2091234567891011121314151617181920212223242526I mean, it seems to me that even if we went through allthis process that we were just talk<strong>in</strong>g about the notion that you wereseparat<strong>in</strong>g these roles is very much based on the notion of a protectionmodel. In other words, you want to keep people from read<strong>in</strong>g the wrongth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to the process and, there<strong>for</strong>e, agree<strong>in</strong>g to someth<strong>in</strong>g which ifthey were more dis<strong>in</strong>terested about their situation they would not agreeto. But that is only if we want to keep them out of the research or thereis reasons that we want to be cautious.Whereas if you conceive of this as the people beat<strong>in</strong>g onthe door to get <strong>in</strong>to the research they have already projected onto theresearch that it will be beneficial to them. What you do after that maybe very much like the comments that Jeremy found and that we foundyears ago <strong>in</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g a donor <strong>for</strong> a kidney to a relative. But be<strong>for</strong>e theperson was told any risks about be<strong>in</strong>g a donor they had already made uptheir m<strong>in</strong>d.DR. CASSELL: Yes.PROF. CAPRON: If they were will<strong>in</strong>g to go that far theywere will<strong>in</strong>g to sign it.DR. CASSELL: But that changes the relationship. Imean, that changes the nature of what I -- if I am the <strong>in</strong>vestigator thatchanges what I have to do to protect my subject. I mean, if I am not --PROF. CAPRON: I agree. And you can --DR. CASSELL: It does not remove that obligation, itchanges it.PROF. CAPRON: Absolutely. You can address as muchof this as you want <strong>in</strong> your paper. I am just say<strong>in</strong>g that I do not want to


2101234567891011121314151617181920212223242526burden you with all of this if it is not required. I mean what you aretalk<strong>in</strong>g about <strong>in</strong> some ways traces back to Franz Inglef<strong>in</strong>ger's dismissalof the notion of <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med consent <strong>in</strong> research because his basic view wasphysicians could get people to consent to anyth<strong>in</strong>g they wanted to sotalk<strong>in</strong>g about consent was go<strong>in</strong>g to be a waste of time and go<strong>in</strong>g throughthis process because you were do<strong>in</strong>g w<strong>in</strong>dow dress<strong>in</strong>g only.I also would like to see some -- so I would like to seesome explicit attention to this issue of the different models and I do notth<strong>in</strong>k that is the way your paper is go<strong>in</strong>g at the moment.DR. CASSELL: No.PROF. CAPRON: It is not. So I just hope, Jim, that to theextent that this is down as a response to one of the topics that weidentified, changes <strong>in</strong> the paradigm of research, that we recognize thereare several different ones and Eric is address<strong>in</strong>g a very valuable one butwe still have some need to address the other as well.DR. SCOTT-JONES: Could I just follow up on what Alexwas say<strong>in</strong>g about the papers and whether there needed to be more thanone?DR. CHILDRESS: Okay.DR. SCOTT-JONES: Eric, I like what you talked abouthere but I remember when you first started talk<strong>in</strong>g about this idea it wason this shift <strong>in</strong> research paradigms from protection to access and hereyou focus much more on the elements of consent which I th<strong>in</strong>k would beworthy of a paper but I really, really like the ideas that you talked aboutwhen you talked about the shift <strong>in</strong> paradigms and mov<strong>in</strong>g from the ideaof protection to both protection and access to research.


2111234567891011121314151617181920212223242526So I was just wonder<strong>in</strong>g what exactly you would <strong>in</strong>cludebecause if you really went <strong>in</strong>to all of the complexities of ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>medconsent I th<strong>in</strong>k that would be a huge paper.DR. CASSELL: Well, I th<strong>in</strong>k I did not imply -- actually I amgo<strong>in</strong>g to do that. That is the first th<strong>in</strong>g. But <strong>in</strong> the stuff that I mentionedabout consent here I am not so much <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> the act of <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>medconsent <strong>in</strong> that way but <strong>in</strong> what does it mean when it says that I want totake part <strong>in</strong> your research? So when I say -- and that is why I say whatdo you mean by consent? We just heard part about that. When I say Iwant to take part <strong>in</strong> your research I am not say<strong>in</strong>g recogniz<strong>in</strong>g all thepossible risks and recogniz<strong>in</strong>g that I may not benefit from research, I amgo<strong>in</strong>g to sign the bottom of this piece of paper. It does not mean justthat. It may mean that also.I am not specifically as <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> that as I am<strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> the relationship between researcher and <strong>in</strong>vestigator -- aresearcher and subject <strong>in</strong> the context of a chang<strong>in</strong>g social milieu. So Iam really much more <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> it but really we are say<strong>in</strong>g we aretalk<strong>in</strong>g about the -- you know, we may not call it consent or participation.What does it mean to participate?The consent is a legal document of assent to participationand part of that document is what I say and part of the document iswhat the research is. So I am not so <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> that because as wehave heard and as I know from what my patients do, they have signed itbe<strong>for</strong>e they have even read it. As a matter of fact they mostly do notread it because you could die from read<strong>in</strong>g most consent <strong>for</strong>ms. Whenyou see all the risks that are listed <strong>in</strong> there, who would ever do that?


2121234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Whereas if I give somebody an aspir<strong>in</strong> they read all the terrible th<strong>in</strong>gsthat can happen from aspir<strong>in</strong> and call me up two m<strong>in</strong>utes later, howcould I prescribe such a terrible th<strong>in</strong>g?And I really mean to note that contrast, you know, so thatis what I am about which is really, I th<strong>in</strong>k, the subject you are talk<strong>in</strong>gabout.DR. CHILDRESS: I guess it would be the case, though,that as the two paragraphs are written here actually seem to stand <strong>in</strong>some <strong>in</strong>dependence of the chang<strong>in</strong>g environment, that is to say --DR. CASSELL: Well, they are not --DR. CHILDRESS: But there is noth<strong>in</strong>g here that reflectsthe changed environment. What you say here would be what you wouldalso say <strong>for</strong> the earlier period, right?DR. CASSELL: Yes.DR. CHILDRESS: And so I guess the question would bewhether we need to have the discussion. We need to have a paper thatwould do more with the chang<strong>in</strong>g environment and the chang<strong>in</strong>gparadigm.DR. CASSELL: Actually you want to pay more attention towhat it says <strong>in</strong> the title than what it says <strong>in</strong> the body.DR. CHILDRESS: Just like a consent <strong>for</strong>m, right?DR. CASSELL: Yes, exactly right.(Laughter.)DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Other comments to make about--PROF. CAPRON: Yes.


2131234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. CHILDRESS: Alex?PROF. CAPRON: I would be very <strong>in</strong>terested if anyone <strong>in</strong>the research community could po<strong>in</strong>t us to an <strong>in</strong>stitution that behaves theway Alta described about the separation generally because it is one th<strong>in</strong>g<strong>for</strong> us aga<strong>in</strong> to engage entreachment which is a familiar <strong>in</strong>vocation ofmotherhood and apple pie about this advantage of separation.But if there were an <strong>in</strong>stitution that both saw whatdevotion of resources would be <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g that separation andalso the feasibility of do<strong>in</strong>g research. I am sure that there are someresearchers who th<strong>in</strong>k that if they were to announce, "I am not yourdoctor. I am not here with the primary purpose of do<strong>in</strong>g benefit. I am ascientist and this is a subject, this is an <strong>in</strong>vestigation of someth<strong>in</strong>g thatis <strong>in</strong>tended to develop a treatment, and if there is someth<strong>in</strong>g that comesout of this it might be a treatment <strong>for</strong> your disease but that is not why Iam here. Dr. Jones, who sent you to see me, is your doctor. You shouldtalk to Dr. Jones about your treatment. Dr. Jones will be <strong>in</strong>volved."In other words some people would th<strong>in</strong>k if I do that I amnot go<strong>in</strong>g to get any subjects. I am not go<strong>in</strong>g to be able to do this or it isgo<strong>in</strong>g to be harmful to the therapeutic relationship that is a good part ofeven research on therapy.In other words, if we had a model where we could saysomeone has tried that and it turns out it was a disaster or it turns outthey can still get subjects to enroll and the study still gets funded and,you know, here is what it costs, but X, Y, Z <strong>in</strong>stitution is do<strong>in</strong>g that, oreven a subpart of the <strong>in</strong>stitution. In other words, if we had someconcrete real world experience to relay to the research community about


2141234567891011121314151617181920212223242526this rather than just once aga<strong>in</strong> say<strong>in</strong>g it would be better if you would dothis or you are go<strong>in</strong>g to have to do this.DR. CHILDRESS: A very good po<strong>in</strong>t. And let me just see,does anyone on the subcommittee or anyone <strong>in</strong> the audience know of amodel we could refer to?DR. FISHER: I can mention someth<strong>in</strong>g. It might be alittle different than what you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about. But some of the peoplethat I <strong>in</strong>terviewed and some th<strong>in</strong>gs I have recommended is a participantadvocate who actually approaches the potential participant prior to the<strong>in</strong>dividual that is do<strong>in</strong>g the recruitment and at that po<strong>in</strong>t determ<strong>in</strong>es notonly the competence to consent but whether or not there is this potential<strong>for</strong> coercion. So that is one model that has been tried.The other model that is very <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g, it is an EMBER(?) study published <strong>in</strong> 1986 <strong>in</strong> the American Psychologist which isreferenced <strong>in</strong> the case book that also addresses another issue of conflictof <strong>in</strong>terest, is what happens when you are do<strong>in</strong>g a treatment protocoland the particular research subject is not improv<strong>in</strong>g? Who makes thedecision to withdraw that participant from the trials? And what EMBER<strong>in</strong> the NIMH depression studies did and what they did was they brought<strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>dependent cl<strong>in</strong>ician who when the primary researcher andtreatment person disagreed or when it was the same person the<strong>in</strong>dependent treatment person was brought <strong>in</strong> to make that type ofdecision.So there are written models of how those k<strong>in</strong>ds of th<strong>in</strong>gsare approached.PROF. CAPRON: And <strong>in</strong> terms of the other, why don't we


2151234567891011121314151617181920212223242526just draw up a short announcement and put it <strong>in</strong> IRB, the Hast<strong>in</strong>gs<strong>Center</strong> Report, other journals, <strong>in</strong> Cl<strong>in</strong>ical Research, <strong>in</strong> the AmericanPsychologist or someth<strong>in</strong>g ask<strong>in</strong>g people if they are familiar with studiesthat were conducted on this or even better, who <strong>in</strong>stitutions that havetried to model themselves so we can get some data to share even if it is --DR. CHILDRESS: Would you m<strong>in</strong>d writ<strong>in</strong>g that up?PROF. CAPRON: Why don't they just take the transcript.PROF. CHARO: Yes, I th<strong>in</strong>k you are look<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong><strong>in</strong>stitutions. I mean, I th<strong>in</strong>k all of us could give you studies <strong>in</strong> which thephysicians have had somebody else do<strong>in</strong>g the recruit<strong>in</strong>g. That is --DR. CASSELL: Well, this --PROF. CHARO: Or if you have never even heard of thatactually be<strong>in</strong>g done, I can give you studies that have done that.PROF. CAPRON: Oh, no, I personally --PROF. CHARO: You are look<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> --PROF. CAPRON: -- I have heard of that.PROF. CHARO: -- whole <strong>in</strong>stitutions that have adopted itas a policy.PROF. CAPRON: I was referr<strong>in</strong>g to the whole <strong>in</strong>stitution.If somebody said we believe <strong>in</strong> this so firmly.DR. CHILDRESS: Let's get Bill <strong>in</strong>.DR. FRIEDMAN: Just a comment. The Indian HealthService is not that <strong>in</strong>stitution but the reason it is not is it is <strong>in</strong> part.When we review -- the IRB reviews research that is done that we are<strong>in</strong>volved with even though we are not the PI or someth<strong>in</strong>g. So, <strong>for</strong>


2161234567891011121314151617181920212223242526<strong>in</strong>stance, the Women's Health Initiative. And on that one <strong>in</strong> particularbut on many we want of the person do<strong>in</strong>g the consent and <strong>in</strong>teract<strong>in</strong>gwith the person to be other than the person's primary provider.But I realize from the discussion and the reason I wantedto sit and tell you this is that that is only part of the problem. From whatyou are say<strong>in</strong>g it is also what happens after the consent is obta<strong>in</strong>ed thatis -- there is still a problem about the projected -- about that therapeuticrelationship versus the research relationship so that I just realized theIndian Health Service does not go far enough if that is what we want todo.You might want to separate out those two po<strong>in</strong>ts and sayyou want both of them.PROF. CAPRON: Yes.DR. FRIEDMAN: It is not just how consent is obta<strong>in</strong>ed butthen that whole relationship afterwards while you are on the trial.PROF. CAPRON: Right. No, I agree.DR. CHILDRESS: Thanks. So you will pursue that?PROF. CAPRON: Yes.DR. CHILDRESS: Great.Okay. Anyth<strong>in</strong>g else <strong>for</strong> Eric? We do have therecommendation of what we are pursu<strong>in</strong>g right now but also maybedo<strong>in</strong>g more on the chang<strong>in</strong>g nature of research and research paradigmseven though this may be part of what Eric will do. We may need a fullreport on that as well.Okay. Anyth<strong>in</strong>g else <strong>for</strong> Eric?(No response.)


2171234567891011121314151617181920212223242526COMMUNITYDR. CHILDRESS: You also have at your -- be<strong>for</strong>e yousomewhere <strong>in</strong> the stack of materials someth<strong>in</strong>g I drew up on communityand possible directions <strong>for</strong> a paper on community and research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>ghuman subjects. This is just a sketch that pulls together some of theth<strong>in</strong>gs we talked about earlier.And it seems to me that one th<strong>in</strong>g we would want to do issee whether this direction or these directions are useful and also how todevelop them further. What k<strong>in</strong>ds of additions you would like to make tothis. And then also throw out some names either now or give them tome over E-mail of possible people that we might get <strong>in</strong>volved.PROF. CAPRON: Well, Jim, if you would accept onecomment now.DR. CHILDRESS: Sure.PROF. CAPRON: When we talked about this briefly be<strong>for</strong>eyou acknowledged that there were many different mean<strong>in</strong>gs ofcommunity, a family of concepts or whatever that were go<strong>in</strong>g under thesame name, and I wondered whether you were suggest<strong>in</strong>g -- whether youmeant to suggest as you did <strong>in</strong> say<strong>in</strong>g here is an outl<strong>in</strong>e of a paper orsometh<strong>in</strong>g, here is a precis or paper that we would aga<strong>in</strong> have one paperthat would look at all of these or several different papers.And I, <strong>in</strong> particular, would underl<strong>in</strong>e the differencebetween arguments about an <strong>in</strong>dividual approach to ethics versus acommunitarian approach as one topic versus the recognition that the<strong>in</strong>dividuals who participate <strong>in</strong> a research project or <strong>in</strong> a consent processare themselves not isolated <strong>in</strong>dividuals but are the products of their


2181234567891011121314151617181920212223242526communities, and their families, and their ethnic background, and amillion other <strong>in</strong>fluences. So they are not atomistic. I mean that is -- thatseems to me a different use of the notion of community.Were you say<strong>in</strong>g that those would all be dealt with <strong>in</strong> thispaper?DR. CHILDRESS: It seems to me that I am not sure thatit is worth hav<strong>in</strong>g a paper that would simply pull out one of these. Itseems to me what we would really want is someone who would sortthese th<strong>in</strong>gs out and <strong>in</strong>dicate the different k<strong>in</strong>ds of community that go on<strong>in</strong> the context of discussion. That it seems to me is what would be mostuseful <strong>for</strong> us is to, <strong>in</strong> fact, have it all together but analyze and sort it out<strong>in</strong> a way that can help us get a sense of it.PROF. CAPRON: Okay. You are a better judge of thefeasibility of --DR. CHILDRESS: Well, at least it seems to me that if wecan f<strong>in</strong>d the right person that would be the sort of th<strong>in</strong>g that would bethe most useful to us.PROF. CHARO: Do you th<strong>in</strong>k somebody like MarthaNussbaum or Mary Anne Glendon might be able to do that? I do notknow that they focused on the research context but they have runthrough a lot of other topics and looked at the k<strong>in</strong>d of differ<strong>in</strong>gimplications of communitarian models and more typically U.S. models.DR. CASSELL: I th<strong>in</strong>k Martha Nussbaum is --DR. CHILDRESS: Other suggestions?DR. BRITO: Not to m<strong>in</strong>imize the issue of community butis it possible just to <strong>in</strong>clude the discussion of community, <strong>in</strong>stead of <strong>in</strong> a


2191234567891011121314151617181920212223242526separate paper, with<strong>in</strong> the context of what we just discussedvulnerability, justice -- we have not def<strong>in</strong>ed how we are go<strong>in</strong>g to discussvulnerability but justice and/or vulnerability and just discuss how it isgo<strong>in</strong>g to apply to <strong>in</strong>dividual relationships?DR. CHILDRESS: Well, part of what we are do<strong>in</strong>g here itseems to me is we are do<strong>in</strong>g the background work so that we will havesome better idea of what is <strong>in</strong>volved when we come to prepare our f<strong>in</strong>aldocument.So it is not as though we will be <strong>in</strong>corporat<strong>in</strong>g this wholepaper <strong>in</strong> our f<strong>in</strong>al document rather this would help us understand what isgo<strong>in</strong>g on and why it is important to raise it as Zeke Emanuel did at ourfirst meet<strong>in</strong>g the overlooked notion of community and bioethics. It wasunclear there whether he was offer<strong>in</strong>g it as an alternative to -- that is or<strong>in</strong> addition to the pr<strong>in</strong>ciples we already have <strong>in</strong> Belmont or whether it issimply another way to <strong>in</strong>terpret those pr<strong>in</strong>ciples.What I tried to do <strong>in</strong> the part that Alex was referr<strong>in</strong>g to isshow<strong>in</strong>g how one might use the lens of community as a way tore<strong>in</strong>terpret the Belmont pr<strong>in</strong>ciples like respect <strong>for</strong> persons and justice asa <strong>for</strong>m of participation <strong>in</strong> relevant communities and the like.PROF. CHARO: Jim, could I also suggest that perhapsZeke and Larry Miike be polled by E-mail to comment on this and to addother examples that they might have had <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d when they were talk<strong>in</strong>gdur<strong>in</strong>g the first meet<strong>in</strong>g?DR. CHILDRESS: Larry, also. Yes. Thank you.Okay. Other changes you would suggest?This is a very good suggestion to get both Larry and Zeke


2201234567891011121314151617181920212223242526<strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the description.DR. SCOTT-JONES: I th<strong>in</strong>k it would be good to make surethat whoever writes the paper would enrich the ideas with examples. Forexample, to use examples of communities tak<strong>in</strong>g part <strong>in</strong> the design andimplementation of research protocols so that they are not merely idealsbut whoever writes the paper would show us the <strong>in</strong>stances <strong>in</strong> which thishas been done or attempted.PROF. CHARO: I th<strong>in</strong>k Laurie Flynn probably wouldendorse the notion of concrete examples, too, of situations <strong>in</strong> whichrecruitment or enrollment would be premised upon <strong>in</strong>volvement of familymembers and certa<strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>ds of situations <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g certa<strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>ds ofsubjects. Not only <strong>in</strong> children as it is done now but she would po<strong>in</strong>t tothe cognitively impaired as she talked about the effect of theirenrollment and their chang<strong>in</strong>g symptomology on family members whomay have had no ability to control what the events were go<strong>in</strong>g to be. Shemight want to have somebody take a closer look at the implications ofthat and the acceptability of it under current regimes.DR. CASSELL: Alta, wouldn't that also have --PARTICIPANT: Would you use your microphone, please?DR. CASSELL: Wouldn't they also have --PROF. CHARO: Would you attach your microphone toyour bow tie, please?DR. CASSELL: Yes.(Laughter.)DR. CASSELL: -- groups like the -- of similar <strong>in</strong>dividuals.I am try<strong>in</strong>g to th<strong>in</strong>k of the name of it and I cannot th<strong>in</strong>k of the name.


2211234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Not like a therapeutic community but like a community of like. Forexample, <strong>in</strong> Kansas City the mentally retarded run their own help l<strong>in</strong>eand so that community has <strong>for</strong>med a community so when th<strong>in</strong>gs likeparticipation <strong>in</strong> research start <strong>in</strong> that community they spread throughthe whole community <strong>in</strong> no time at all. It is not just the AIDS group thathave done that but this also. So that -- and there are many, manycommunities like that <strong>in</strong> the United States.DR. CHILDRESS: Other thoughts?PROF. CAPRON: I was just go<strong>in</strong>g to respond tosometh<strong>in</strong>g that Diane said quite correctly be<strong>for</strong>e which --PARTICIPANT: Would you use your microphone?PROF. CAPRON: -- <strong>in</strong>adequately labeled piece of paperand that is that th<strong>in</strong>g that says "<strong>National</strong> Bioethics Advisory CommissionProjects-1997" is simply my attempt to put down on a piece of paper --PROF. CHARO: That is from you.PROF. CAPRON: -- the topics that I have gathered we hadtalked about <strong>in</strong> the past and we did not have any k<strong>in</strong>d of an outl<strong>in</strong>e of ourwork and I just as a volunteer put that together. I did not want to stickmy own name on it because it seemed to me it was really just areflection.DR. CHILDRESS: It was a community project.PROF. CAPRON: It was a community project as it were.DR. CHILDRESS: But it is very helpful to have it and thiswas the next item I wanted to turn to.PROF. CAPRON: Well, I am about to depart which is whyI mentioned it.


2221234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. SCOTT-JONES: I am, too.PROF. CAPRON: The one th<strong>in</strong>g about it, Jim, is that thediscussion of the last day has simply enlarged the number of th<strong>in</strong>gs thatare on that list and I th<strong>in</strong>k underl<strong>in</strong>e the need both to prioritize our workand to realize that we are talk<strong>in</strong>g about some multiyear studies here.DR. CHILDRESS: Yes.PROF. CAPRON: And the higher ups ought to be veryaware that there is a lot of valuable work to be done that is not go<strong>in</strong>g tobe done by October 1st.DR. SCOTT-JONES: I have to leave also and I th<strong>in</strong>k that itwould be useful, Jim, if <strong>in</strong> some way we could convey to you or eithershare over E-mail our th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about anyth<strong>in</strong>g that we have not had thechance to discuss here adequately about what papers we would want togo ahead and commission. Could we agree to do that?DISCUSSION OF PLANS FOR NEXT MEETING AND BEYONDDR. CHILDRESS: Please do.We really need to do that and also to talk a bit about -- Iam not sure how the next meet<strong>in</strong>g is be<strong>in</strong>g conceived. Whether, <strong>for</strong>example, there will be time <strong>for</strong> a subcommittee meet<strong>in</strong>g on the 13th and14th. But someth<strong>in</strong>g where <strong>in</strong>vit<strong>in</strong>g people <strong>in</strong>to the group <strong>for</strong> the groupas a whole. I would very much like to see Ruth Faden jo<strong>in</strong> us and talk abit about her work as chair of the advisory committee and the k<strong>in</strong>ds ofrecommendations that have come out of that group <strong>for</strong> NBAC.Also if groups are be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>vited we have talked abouthav<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>vestigators and researchers and some from <strong>in</strong>dustry and alsoperhaps some patient groups, but whether we will br<strong>in</strong>g -- whether we


2231234567891011121314151617181920212223242526br<strong>in</strong>g those <strong>in</strong> it is not clear. But at any rate we have talked abouthav<strong>in</strong>g all three appear be<strong>for</strong>e us at some po<strong>in</strong>t.We have -- people are gett<strong>in</strong>g ready to leave but there area couple of other th<strong>in</strong>gs we need to do be<strong>for</strong>e turn<strong>in</strong>g to publiccomments.One of them is, Alta, this -- let's talk about it. It may bewith people depart<strong>in</strong>g too late to --PROF. CHARO: It may be too late to do it. Can you passme my copy? I gave you my own copy by accident.DR. CHILDRESS: -- at least have a discussion at the nextmeet<strong>in</strong>g.PROF. CHARO: Yes. What I prepared here was what Ihoped would be a no bra<strong>in</strong>er. Follow<strong>in</strong>g the last full commissionmeet<strong>in</strong>g it struck me that the clear consensus of the group was thatthere ought to be coverage of every person <strong>in</strong> the United States whomight be enrolled as a human subject, coverage by some set ofprotections.And without endors<strong>in</strong>g any particular set of protections,without endors<strong>in</strong>g the Glenn bill, without endors<strong>in</strong>g federal versus stateor anyth<strong>in</strong>g like that, what I have tried to prepare here was simply a draftof a memo that could <strong>for</strong>m the basis <strong>for</strong> a motion and a recommendationto the full commission that the commission make a statement endors<strong>in</strong>gthe idea that there ought to be universal m<strong>in</strong>imum protections <strong>for</strong>human subjects <strong>in</strong> the United States regardless of the source of thefund<strong>in</strong>g of the research and regardless of the topic of the research.To walk you through it while you are read<strong>in</strong>g it, basically


2241234567891011121314151617181920212223242526all it does is repeat the statements that we have heard here from OPRRstaff, <strong>for</strong> example, on the k<strong>in</strong>ds of <strong>in</strong>cidents that they are aware of thatdocument the existence of noncovered research, the fact that thatnoncovered research has had effects that range from physical tof<strong>in</strong>ancial to dignitary.It notes that the Belmont report's concepts of justice donot merely limit themselves to fair distribution of benefits and burdensbut implicate the idea of a reduction of risk <strong>in</strong> and of itself and that that<strong>in</strong> turn is closely l<strong>in</strong>ked to basic protections that allow people to protectthemselves as part of the overall reduction of risk and experimentationso that there is a k<strong>in</strong>d of justice based and Belmont based support <strong>for</strong>the notion that there ought to be universal protection.And, f<strong>in</strong>ally, notes that 25 years ago the Tuskegee reportcalled specifically <strong>for</strong> such a th<strong>in</strong>g and added one other th<strong>in</strong>g which I didnot even <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>in</strong> the recommendation because the Tuskegee report 25years ago said, "Congress should establish a permanent body with theauthority to regulate at least all federally supported research <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>ghuman subjects whether conducted <strong>in</strong> an extramural or <strong>in</strong>tramuralsett<strong>in</strong>gs, or sponsored...ideally the authority of this body should extendto all research activities even those not federally supported."So they were ask<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> a permanent body that wouldhave the k<strong>in</strong>d of authority that OPRR cannot have now because it sitsunder a department secretary.What I was propos<strong>in</strong>g is that we recommend to the fullcommission that NBAC endorse the policy first recommended by theTuskegee panel and call <strong>for</strong> appropriate federal or state action to ensure


2251234567891011121314151617181920212223242526that no person <strong>in</strong> the U.S. is the subject of research without theprotections of <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med consent and IRB style peer review as exemplified<strong>in</strong> the Federal Common Rule. I used the word "exemplified" quitedeliberately so that it did not call <strong>for</strong> adoption of the Federal Rulebecause of some technicalities there.I was hop<strong>in</strong>g it would be easy but I am not sure that it isan easy th<strong>in</strong>g to agree to recommend to the full commission.DR. CHILDRESS: Any response?DR. CASSELL: It would be hard to argue aga<strong>in</strong>st it.DR. CHILDRESS: That is understood as an ethical idealrather than a specific set of regulations.PROF. CHARO: Right. To be fair, Alex Capron wouldobject if he were here and say this is mom and apple pie, and Pollyanishand says noth<strong>in</strong>g and does noth<strong>in</strong>g, and you should be aware that he willprobably say that. I do not know that he would vote aga<strong>in</strong>st it but hemight say that because he said it last night at d<strong>in</strong>ner.DR. CASSELL: So go the next step and tell us how.PROF. CHARO: Tell us how what?DR. CASSELL: How to make it policy.PROF. CHARO: I th<strong>in</strong>k how to make it policy is -- oh, theGlenn bill is one attempt to do exactly that. I do not want to jump thegun and talk about specific legislation. I would love personally no matterhow Pollyanish <strong>for</strong> purely symbolic value to see our commissionrecommend -- you know, recommend to the President that every humanbe<strong>in</strong>g should be protected at least to some basic extent regardless ofhow symbolic only that is. I th<strong>in</strong>k it is not -- at worst it is not harm/no


2261foul.234567891011121314151617181920212223242526DR. CASSELL: I do not th<strong>in</strong>k that is Pollyanish.DR. CHILDRESS: No, I th<strong>in</strong>k it has a whole lot tocommend it as a statement of ethical ideal. Why don't we -- people lookover this carefully? Why don't we -- and see if we can get some time atthe beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of the 13th and 14th meet<strong>in</strong>g to see whether we agree as Ith<strong>in</strong>k most of us do and submit it with whatever further changes youmight like to NBAC.PROF. CHARO: So that we -- but we will not be meet<strong>in</strong>gas a subcommittee so you are talk<strong>in</strong>g about <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mally do<strong>in</strong>g this or areyou talk<strong>in</strong>g about <strong>for</strong>mally do<strong>in</strong>g it dur<strong>in</strong>g the ma<strong>in</strong> committee meet<strong>in</strong>g --commission meet<strong>in</strong>g?DR. CHILDRESS: Or do<strong>in</strong>g it dur<strong>in</strong>g the --PROF. CHARO: Sure.DR. CHILDRESS: At the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of the meet<strong>in</strong>g andpresent it and have a chance to --PROF. CHARO: Exactly. And I apologize that I, too, goteveryth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> at the very last m<strong>in</strong>ute.DR. CHILDRESS: Right.PROF. CHARO: I have jo<strong>in</strong>ed the club.DR. CHILDRESS: Thanks very much <strong>for</strong> do<strong>in</strong>g this.Any further response to this?Anyth<strong>in</strong>g else we need to talk about be<strong>for</strong>e we get publiccomments?I th<strong>in</strong>k there are two people. Two people who areplann<strong>in</strong>g to make public comment.


2271234567891011121314151617DR. BRITO: Clarification on the issue with vulnerabilityand Celia Fisher's presentation. Diane and I will be communicat<strong>in</strong>g witheach other through E-mail. Where are we with that? Should we be --DR. CHILDRESS: I take it you are go<strong>in</strong>g to be draw<strong>in</strong>g upa k<strong>in</strong>d of description along the l<strong>in</strong>es of what Eric did and what I did oncommunity.DR. BRITO: Okay. For the next meet<strong>in</strong>g.DR. CHILDRESS: Well, maybe circulate it on E-mail andgo ahead and get some responses and see if we can f<strong>in</strong>d someone thatcan get a paper, or you and Diane will do it, or do it <strong>in</strong> relation withProfessor Fisher, or whatever you want to do on that. But I th<strong>in</strong>k goahead and get the draft ready.DR. BRITO: Okay.DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Anyth<strong>in</strong>g else be<strong>for</strong>e we getpublic comment?(No response.)* * * * *181920212223242526


2281234567891011


2291234567891011121314151617181920212223242526E V E N I N G S E S S I O NPUBLIC COMMENTDR. CHILDRESS: Okay. I have two people who are listed,a James Shelton and Susan Rose.Mr. Shelton, would you identify yourself? You are withUSAID, right?MR. SHELTON: Sure. I am Jim Shelton with USAID andthis is really <strong>in</strong> follow-up to the discussion, I guess, be<strong>for</strong>e lunch aboutthe various federal agencies and the Common Rule. I guess Mr. Caprondescribed it, perhaps there were certa<strong>in</strong> operators that were <strong>in</strong>side theseagencies and perhaps I might be described as an operator with<strong>in</strong> myagency <strong>in</strong> terms of k<strong>in</strong>d of implementation and so <strong>for</strong>th.So I just wanted to -- I just did not want to pass up anopportunity. I know there is go<strong>in</strong>g to be this <strong>in</strong>teraction and so <strong>for</strong>th butjust to say -- give you a flavor of k<strong>in</strong>d of my perspective on this hav<strong>in</strong>gworked on the Interagency Committee <strong>for</strong> almost 20 years.The first is from my perspective I th<strong>in</strong>k the Common Rulehas actually worked remarkably well. I th<strong>in</strong>k it makes a lot of sense tobe sort of look<strong>in</strong>g at the problems with it. But I th<strong>in</strong>k the glass is at leasthalf full as well and that if you sort of -- if you th<strong>in</strong>k about all the IRBsand all the studies and all the research that is go<strong>in</strong>g on with federalfunds around the country, I th<strong>in</strong>k that is a po<strong>in</strong>t not to lose.But I also th<strong>in</strong>k part of the reason that it works well andAID has adopted it and is implement<strong>in</strong>g it is one of the po<strong>in</strong>ts that Dr.Cassell actually made which is that it is not just the regulatory aspectthat is mak<strong>in</strong>g this th<strong>in</strong>g work. I would submit that there is actually sort


2301234567891011121314151617181920212223242526of a social norm phenomenon that has taken place that people's -- thereis a legitimacy that comes from the federal government, et cetera, etcetera, that spills over and there is education that goes on. I th<strong>in</strong>k youare quite right to focus not just on regulation but to focus on otheraspects that might improve protection.Hav<strong>in</strong>g said I th<strong>in</strong>k the Common Rule is work<strong>in</strong>g well, I doth<strong>in</strong>k it needs a new look and one prism that I th<strong>in</strong>k you folks ought to beaware of <strong>in</strong> terms of look<strong>in</strong>g at it is the <strong>National</strong> Per<strong>for</strong>mance Review andrecogniz<strong>in</strong>g what is actually go<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>in</strong> federal government. We havebeen tasked with the task of do<strong>in</strong>g more with less, lots more withsomewhat less, and some agencies actually are downsiz<strong>in</strong>g and so <strong>for</strong>th,and federal agency has been mandated to reduce its process, itsregulations by 50 percent. So aga<strong>in</strong> this issue of regulation and how toapply it I th<strong>in</strong>k is pretty important.From where I sit there is a fair amount of process <strong>in</strong> whatwe are talk<strong>in</strong>g about and, you know, I th<strong>in</strong>k where I sit <strong>in</strong> government Isee a lot of process. I really do feel that unnecessary marg<strong>in</strong>al processis really very detrimental to important work and, you know, it is reallypart of my mission as I see it to try to ask the question is this processreally necessary that we are talk<strong>in</strong>g about here. Is someone sign<strong>in</strong>g thispiece of paper? Does that really add value to every s<strong>in</strong>gle th<strong>in</strong>g thathappens <strong>in</strong> government? I th<strong>in</strong>k you really need to th<strong>in</strong>k about that.The reason I th<strong>in</strong>k it is especially important <strong>in</strong> thiscontext is I have a real sense that there is a lot of processes go<strong>in</strong>g on.Some of which may not have a whole lot of yield and that the way tocome at this is to prioritize a lot better. To really try to figure out ways


2311234567891011121314151617181920212223242526to focus on the th<strong>in</strong>gs that are really of concern and most concern topeople and not spend so much ef<strong>for</strong>t especially on regulation if you willon the th<strong>in</strong>gs that may not be so problematic. I th<strong>in</strong>k it is great thatthere is go<strong>in</strong>g to be some gather<strong>in</strong>g of actual data on this <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mationbut I th<strong>in</strong>k that pr<strong>in</strong>ciple is really pretty important if we are go<strong>in</strong>g to tryto do more with less.The other po<strong>in</strong>t is that I really th<strong>in</strong>k we need to be a lotmore clear -- a lot clearer <strong>in</strong> the Common Rule. There are ways that theCommon Rule is not as clear as it could be. And I guess I will get to that<strong>in</strong> specifics.My ma<strong>in</strong> concern about the Common Rule specifically isthat it really arises from a biomedical, experimental, <strong>in</strong>deed therapeuticparadigm. That is where this th<strong>in</strong>g comes from and just listen<strong>in</strong>g to youfolks talk<strong>in</strong>g today that is 95 percent of what is be<strong>in</strong>g talked about ormaybe more, and that is sort of the model.My concern is that that is not really necessarily the bestparadigm <strong>for</strong> what the Common Rule can potentially be applied tobecause remember Mr. Capron said, "The def<strong>in</strong>ition is actually verybroad and to some extent very ambiguous." It has not tended to be<strong>in</strong>terpreted that way.This by the way is one of my concerns about the Glennbill, is that I th<strong>in</strong>k we need to be careful about what we are talk<strong>in</strong>g about.I mean, anyth<strong>in</strong>g that is sort of systematic and <strong>for</strong> generalizableknowledge, unless it meets some exception falls <strong>in</strong>to this category andthat is a lot of th<strong>in</strong>gs.With<strong>in</strong> the arena that we usually talk about I am


2321234567891011121314151617181920212223242526especially concerned about social science and I am grateful to Alta torais<strong>in</strong>g the issue of survey research. I th<strong>in</strong>k we need to look at that alittle bit more and I th<strong>in</strong>k we ought to comment on social scienceresearch a bit differently and th<strong>in</strong>k of it <strong>in</strong> a different paradigm.In addition to survey research there is all k<strong>in</strong>ds of otherstuff, cultural anthropology, operations research, epidemiologicaloutbreak <strong>in</strong>vestigations, market research, and also the po<strong>in</strong>t aboutevaluation research that was -- or the issue of try<strong>in</strong>g to improve quality.I mean, <strong>in</strong> the world that I live <strong>in</strong> everybody is enlightenedand try<strong>in</strong>g to get to serve the customer better. You know, we support alot of private voluntary organizations, CARE, Red Cross, Catholic ReliefServices, you name it. We want them to be communicat<strong>in</strong>g with thecustomer.And if we put up obstacles <strong>in</strong> the way like you have to geta Human Subject Committee approval if you want to communicate withyour customer then there are some problems with that. So I th<strong>in</strong>k it isnot just them. There are thousands of entrepreneurs and people <strong>in</strong> thedevelop<strong>in</strong>g world that we want to encourage this k<strong>in</strong>d of behavior fromand we want to make sure that we are, you know, regulat<strong>in</strong>g this <strong>in</strong> aproper way.Just to extend it completely absurdly almost, one couldalmost construe these proceed<strong>in</strong>gs as a human subjects research ef<strong>for</strong>t.I mean there might be an exception because of the public officialexception but I am not sure everybody that was here today was a publicofficial. You know, it is systematic. You are try<strong>in</strong>g to get generalizableknowledge.


2331234567891011121314151617181920212223We are human be<strong>in</strong>gs and, you know, somebody'sreputation could be at stake. I mean, this is -- this may sound absurd toyou but the fact is the def<strong>in</strong>ition really <strong>in</strong> my view needs to be tightenedup significantly. I mean, it could apply to crim<strong>in</strong>al <strong>in</strong>vestigations. Itcould apply to congressional <strong>in</strong>vestigations <strong>in</strong> a sense. I have beat thathorse enough.Aga<strong>in</strong> I th<strong>in</strong>k there should be a relook at social scienceand to sort of come back with what are we really concerned about hereand sort of look at that aga<strong>in</strong>.I really liked the discussion <strong>in</strong> the context of cognitivelyimpaired if that is go<strong>in</strong>g -- of different levels of risk. I mean, I th<strong>in</strong>k oneway to get out of this box of the process is if there is some way that wecan sort of mutually agree on what really is important risk. We havem<strong>in</strong>imal risk, whatever it was, more risk and more than that. I <strong>for</strong>getwhat the categories were. If there were a way that we could do that andreally focus on the th<strong>in</strong>gs that are the most important and vulnerablegroups and what have you. I really th<strong>in</strong>k there would be a lot morebenefit and a lot less problem with it.So anyway I th<strong>in</strong>k there ought to be ways to creativelyth<strong>in</strong>k of categories of research. You know, maybe some th<strong>in</strong>gs do noteven need to go to an IRB prospectively. They can just be subject toretrospective review or someth<strong>in</strong>g as to some extent some th<strong>in</strong>gs arealready. Or maybe classes of research can be sort of put <strong>in</strong> a certa<strong>in</strong>24category if you will.I just th<strong>in</strong>k that some th<strong>in</strong>gs need a lot more2526time and attention and some th<strong>in</strong>gs do not.If you want this to be really a w<strong>in</strong>-w<strong>in</strong>-w<strong>in</strong> situation I th<strong>in</strong>k


2341234567891011121314151617181920212223242526you have to sort of balance these th<strong>in</strong>gs. Thank you.DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you.PROF. CHARO: Just by way of full disclosure, this is oneof my old bosses.Jim, I want to understand what it is that you would like tosee as an outcome because survey research that does not <strong>in</strong>volveidentification of the subjects or observational research already is exemptand you already have procedures at AID that allow the cognizanttechnical officer to make that judgment call and say no IRB is necessary.When you have a survey that <strong>in</strong>volves <strong>in</strong>teractions that areidentifiable there is already a mechanism <strong>in</strong> place by which ranges ofrisk are anticipated and, <strong>in</strong>deed, th<strong>in</strong>gs that are m<strong>in</strong>imal risk can get thek<strong>in</strong>d of expedited -- there is an expedited review procedure and mostsurveys fall <strong>in</strong> that category but there is a look at whether or not thesurvey does <strong>in</strong>volve a risk that is greater because of, <strong>for</strong> example, somek<strong>in</strong>d of sensitive subject matter which can easily happen <strong>in</strong> the context ofsexually transmitted disease, reproduction, a variety of th<strong>in</strong>gs. All ofwhich, <strong>in</strong> fact, <strong>in</strong> the report on behalf of your agency you acknowledge.So what would be the difference between a social sciencemodel and the model that is <strong>in</strong> place that specifically you th<strong>in</strong>k would beof service <strong>in</strong> the way <strong>in</strong> which, <strong>for</strong> example, your agency operates whereit does a lot of survey research?DR. SHELTON: Well, I guess I have a couple of concerns.First of all, we worked very hard at try<strong>in</strong>g to fit square pegs <strong>in</strong>to rhombusholes <strong>in</strong> a sense if you will. We had to -- <strong>in</strong> fact, there was latitude <strong>in</strong> theCommon Rule to do that. Agencies can do that. It is, you know -- it is


2351234567891011121314151617181920212223242526subject to the <strong>in</strong>terpretation of the agency. But th<strong>in</strong>gs -- to make sensebecause I th<strong>in</strong>k partly because th<strong>in</strong>gs like operations research werenever sort of seriously considered <strong>in</strong> the context of the Common Rule, atleast the predecessor HHS rule on -- or HEW rule on the Common Rule,which is about 99 percent the same th<strong>in</strong>g.I am worried about <strong>in</strong>stitutions that do not have IRBs thatmight want to do survey research. I am worried about --PROF. CHARO: So the problem is --DR. SHELTON: -- that not every agency, you know, will,you know, <strong>in</strong>terpret these th<strong>in</strong>gs. I th<strong>in</strong>k if you want to avoid process youcome up with clear guidel<strong>in</strong>es to the extent that you have and then youlet people --PROF. CHARO: Right.DR. SHELTON: -- you know, have freedom to adjustwith<strong>in</strong> them. I am not sure -- you know, Mr. Capron mentioned HUD.You know, I do not know if HUD has gone through this process or whathave you <strong>in</strong> terms of these k<strong>in</strong>ds of th<strong>in</strong>gs but I th<strong>in</strong>k there can beclasses of research that any sort of reasonable body of folks can k<strong>in</strong>d ofcome up with to say, "Well, these belong here, these belong here, thesebelong here."PROF. CHARO: But what I am talk<strong>in</strong>g --DR. SHELTON: And then not have to go through theprocess, et cetera.PROF. CHARO: Well, what I am try<strong>in</strong>g to po<strong>in</strong>t out is thatto some extent that has been done and, <strong>in</strong> fact, that is your ownprocedure already.


2361DR. SHELTON: It is my procedure but I am just one2agency.34567891011121314151617181920212223242526PROF. CHARO: No. It is the procedure -- all of them. Imean, to the extent that they adopt the Common Rule that they --DR. SHELTON: I th<strong>in</strong>k most agencies have not reallythought about survey research and they have not thought about socialscience research, and they have not thought about programmaticresearch.PROF. CHARO: Well, I th<strong>in</strong>k that is probably true. I th<strong>in</strong>ka lot of agencies adopted the Common Rule and then never noticed thatthey did. HUD be<strong>in</strong>g a prime example based on their letter.DR. SHELTON: I would be reasonably -- I am reasonablysure that Senator Glenn has not thought about the fact that perhapscongressional <strong>in</strong>vestigations might be subject to -- aga<strong>in</strong> to this rule.PROF. CHARO: So are you -- I am just try<strong>in</strong>g to get -- Iam just try<strong>in</strong>g to understand what your bottom l<strong>in</strong>e is. Is your bottoml<strong>in</strong>e that you would like much greater clarity over what is covered asresearch and what is not, that that is the real crux of the difficulty <strong>for</strong>you at the moment is operations research, service delivery, evaluations,congressional <strong>in</strong>vestigations and participation <strong>in</strong> --DR. SHELTON: I would like to see --PROF. CHARO: -- all th<strong>in</strong>gs where you feel like it is a pa<strong>in</strong>that you have got to even worry about who is go<strong>in</strong>g to make the decisionof whether or not it is exempt.DR. SHELTON: I th<strong>in</strong>k not just me but I th<strong>in</strong>k thegovernment. I th<strong>in</strong>k congressional <strong>in</strong>vestigations ought to be excluded. I


2371234567891011121314151617181920212223242526th<strong>in</strong>k it ought to be clear enough so that we know that. I th<strong>in</strong>k thatcerta<strong>in</strong> classes of social science research should be treated differently. Ith<strong>in</strong>k <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>med consent as <strong>in</strong> the sort of -- we have been discuss<strong>in</strong>g ittoday can be a significant problem with certa<strong>in</strong> types of social scienceresearch and the paradigm should not necessarily be the same.PROF. CHARO: Right.DR. SHELTON: So I th<strong>in</strong>k there are different -- it is not --what I am say<strong>in</strong>g is I do not th<strong>in</strong>k the one size fits all approach worksvery well.PROF. CHARO: But I am just try<strong>in</strong>g to understand what itis that you are propos<strong>in</strong>g.DR. SHELTON: I understand.PROF. CHARO: One easy cut off would be anyth<strong>in</strong>g that<strong>in</strong>volves touch<strong>in</strong>g somebody's body goes <strong>in</strong> one box and anyth<strong>in</strong>g thatdoes not goes <strong>in</strong> another.DR. SHELTON: Oh.PROF. CHARO: And that would be a way to get at<strong>in</strong>vasive and it would certa<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong>corporate most biomedical. Now therewould be some very touchy non<strong>in</strong>vasive survey or other k<strong>in</strong>ds ofparticipatory anthropological research. So you would have a new set ofprocedures <strong>for</strong> these nonphysical research areas?DR. SHELTON: Yes. I mean, I th<strong>in</strong>k if the start<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>twere experimental biomedical, maybe therapeutic, maybe not, researchand <strong>in</strong>vasive procedures, if that were the start<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t, you know, I th<strong>in</strong>kyou would get 98 percent of what we are really concerned about just withthat def<strong>in</strong>ition. In other words, <strong>in</strong>stead of start<strong>in</strong>g with the def<strong>in</strong>ition of


2381234567891011121314151617181920212223242526just everyth<strong>in</strong>g --PROF. CHARO: Right. But then we would not know whatthe hell biomedical research is. I mean, all of the stuff that AID does onservice delivery, on family plann<strong>in</strong>g, contraceptive th<strong>in</strong>gs where they aretalk<strong>in</strong>g about attitudes and acceptability would fall exactly on thathorribly fuzzy l<strong>in</strong>e now. So I am not sure --DR. SHELTON: Well, I th<strong>in</strong>k --PROF. CHARO: -- that it helps.DR. SHELTON: No, I am say<strong>in</strong>g we start with a welldef<strong>in</strong>ed98 percent and then maybe we th<strong>in</strong>k about some categories thatcapture what you are call<strong>in</strong>g the fuzzy l<strong>in</strong>e and some th<strong>in</strong>gs would not beworth deal<strong>in</strong>g with and some th<strong>in</strong>gs would be worth deal<strong>in</strong>g with but Iwould say <strong>in</strong> some other k<strong>in</strong>d of way. I mean, most are pretty low riskk<strong>in</strong>ds of th<strong>in</strong>gs.DR. CHILDRESS: But then risk is <strong>in</strong>troduced as a factor,not simply touch<strong>in</strong>g.DR. SHELTON: Yes. I th<strong>in</strong>k -- of course, that is --PROF. CHARO: Right. I am still try<strong>in</strong>g to figure out whatthe --DR. SHELTON: -- sure, I th<strong>in</strong>k --PROF. CHARO: -- other way is. Right.DR. SHELTON: The risk comes from -- presumably fromthat but maybe not --DR. CHILDRESS: No, it does not.DR. SHELTON: -- not just --DR. CHILDRESS: A survey where I am identified can put


2391234567891011121314151617181920212223242526me at a severe risk of psychosocial harm.PROF. CHARO: A survey where I am identified could putme at a risk of beaten up or beaten to death by my husband <strong>in</strong> theUnited States. So what I am try<strong>in</strong>g to get at is assume that we werego<strong>in</strong>g to say survey research as a class is on average lower risk than the<strong>in</strong>vasive biomedical research. No problem there. Some survey researchdoes pose significant risks. No problem or disagreement there.You are suggest<strong>in</strong>g perhaps we would want a different setof procedures <strong>for</strong> survey research than we do <strong>for</strong> biomedical <strong>in</strong> light ofthis different distribution of the frequency of risk.DR. SHELTON: Right.PROF. CHARO: But what is it that you are suggest<strong>in</strong>gthat would be different from the way we go about sort<strong>in</strong>g biomedicalresearch protocols <strong>in</strong>to their levels of risk and review<strong>in</strong>g them? Whatwould be different about the way you will do it with surveys that will stillprotect the people at the -- who are go<strong>in</strong>g to be <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the high risksurveys?DR. CHILDRESS: This will be the last response.DR. SHELTON: Okay. I th<strong>in</strong>k biomedical research oughtto be tiered.PROF. CHARO: It is.DR. SHELTON: Well, it is slightly. It is not very well -- itis not that tiered <strong>in</strong> my view. I th<strong>in</strong>k it would be more tiered. You talkedabout the matrix.I th<strong>in</strong>k that -- and I th<strong>in</strong>k survey research can be bettertiered than it is now without go<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to more detail on it. I th<strong>in</strong>k that,


24012345678910111213141516171819202122232425you know, we can talk about it after or someth<strong>in</strong>g like that.Just to give you an example, this bus<strong>in</strong>ess ofidentification, a lot of surveys people are identified just so that thesupervisor can come potentially and check up on the -- but beyond thatthey are not identified at all. So if we -- you know, but the fact istechnically they are identified <strong>for</strong> some period of time. So if we couldsort of deal with that category aga<strong>in</strong> -- which is very common surveyprocedure <strong>in</strong> my experience, very, very common. That would sort ofmitigate a whole set of activities <strong>in</strong> my view and help us get at the reallyrisky ones.DR. CHILDRESS: Thank you very much.Okay. Ms. Susan Rose, Department of Energy?MS. ROSE: In a gesture of k<strong>in</strong>dness I am go<strong>in</strong>g to savetime.DR. CHILDRESS: Anyone else from the public wish tospeak?(No response.)DR. CHILDRESS: Okay. Well, we thank all of you <strong>for</strong> yourpatience today.Subcommittee members, thank you <strong>for</strong> yours, and staff.We have a lot to communicate over E-mail gett<strong>in</strong>g somepeople l<strong>in</strong>ed up.(Whereupon, at 4:15 p.m., the proceed<strong>in</strong>gs wereadjourned.)* * * * *26


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