Letter to the Editor

Abstract

In issue 17(2) of Nursing Ethics, Douglas Olsen and colleagues' article, 1 'Informed consent practices of Chinese nurse researchers', is a good starting point for discussion when taking account of cultural considerations using a western informed consent technique. As a researcher in Taiwan, I find that we also make an effort to protect research participants and include informed consent requirements in the related regulations. However, unlike in the USA, we do not have a general rule on this matter and, therefore, in various situations we have different required elements for inclusion in informed consent forms. Our researchers also face such cultural challenges as outlined by Olsen et al.Our researchers face further challenges in the informed consent process. These include recruitment and retention of research participants, recruitment of members of vulnerable populations, providing information about risks, having discussions with patients about future products, compensation for injuries, conflicts of interest, group consent, and so on.Human research participants' protection needs depend on a comprehensive framework, and there are ongoing challenges between scientific and ethical considerations, especially when different cultures are concerned. Regulations, organizations, principal investigators, sponsors, communities, and institutional review boards or research ethics committees are taking some of the responsibility for these issues, but they need to learn to respect and trust each other.Thank you for sharing these important issues in this journal. It would be helpful to see more discussion of these topics in its pages.