Prisoner Research – Looking Back or Looking Forward?

Abstract

Much has been written about prisoner research and the controversies surrounding prisoners as human subjects. The Institute of Medicine recently released a report addressing some of these issues. This report, which generated further controversy, needs to be fully discussed in the literature and certain aspects are examined in this work. Further, in the body of literature there has been little acknowledgement of the concept of the right of prisoners to be involved in research. This needs to be pursued from an ethical perspective and eventually a legal one. This paper explores that concept and documents some facilities in which a prisoner's right to research has occurred.

Stowaways in the history of science: The case of simian virus 40 and clinical research on federal prisoners at the US National Institutes of Health, 1960

“…A subcommittee of the Clinical Research Committee, which was part of the NIH Clinical Center's Medical Board, served as its human-subjects review committee before federal regulations were enacted in 1974. For details see Stark (2012) and Thomas (2010). 3 Morris was the first to recover RSV from a chimpanzee exhibiting a cold-like condition called "coryza" (Morris, Blount, & Savage, 1956).…”

An Empirical Ethics Agenda for Psychiatric Research Involving Prisoners

“…Second, prisoners and prison advocacy groups began contesting restrictions on research participation, arguing that inmates wanted “access to, not protection from” protocols offering otherwise unavailable treatments (Gostin et al 2007). Similarly, some scholars argued that prisoners have a right to participate in potentially advantageous or even lifesaving research—an extension of their constitutional right to health care (Gostin et al 2007; Hoffman 2000; Thomas 2010). Nevertheless, as recently as 2000, prison research at four academic centers was suspended for further institutional review board (IRB) review after an unsubstantiated complaint was raised (during a site visit) at a conference on the ethical conduct of clinical trials involving prisoners (De Groot et al 2001).…”

“…Although none of the recommendations of the IOM committee have yet been implemented, they have reinvigorated debate on prisoner research (Chwang 2010; Obasogie 2010; Obasogie and Reiter 2011; Thomas 2010). At present, this discussion is largely theoretical.…”

The academic and health policy conference on correctional health: evaluation of its academic and scientific impact

“…Some of the limited research results from the lack of federal funding for research related to healthcare of incarcerated individuals (Ahalt et al 2015). In addition to limited funding opportunities, barriers to conducting research in a secure environment are multiple and include stringent human subject protections (Thomas 2010), the security mission, and concerns about adverse study results which could result in litigious behavior.…”