research

health, ethics & policy

summary

Child and adolescent focused health research, treatment and policy gives rise to a host of applied ethical questions around issues like identity, autonomy, consent, confidentiality, harms and benefits.

The Health Ethics & Policy group takes an evidence-based approach in developing applied responses to the key ethical challenges that exist in the child and adolescent health setting. We draw from the theories and methods of public health, psychology, bioethics, and health social sciences.

Our current research program covers themes including:

  • E-health ethics
  • Drug and alcohol use and addiction
  • Research ethics and governance
  • Models of identity and participation in health research, practice and policy
  • Consent in research involving children and adolescents


Health Ethics & Policy group members supervise students across these areas. In addition to conducting applied health ethics research, we provide expert advice in areas including:

  • Human research ethics
  • Health ethics training / professional development
  • Health research ethics guidelines

For more information visit the Consent in Research page.

 

group leader(s)

  A/Professor Craig FryCraig Fry
  Health, Ethics & Policy
  Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
  Royal Children's Hospital
  Flemington Road
  Parkville Victoria 3052

  T +61 4 00 077 911
  E craig.fry@mcri.edu.au

group leader biography

current research projects

Project 1:  Ethical guidelines and resources for e-health research and practice

A range of new e-health methods is now being tested in the health sector in prevention and treatment and non-intervention research, particularly in mental health and substance misuse areas. New e-health practices give rise to important ethical questions about the utility of existing guidelines, the consequences of e-health innovation, and professional responsibilities. There is emerging evidence of researcher, health practitioner and ethics committee confusion on the ethics of new e-health methods. The ethical implications of e-health research and practice have been under-theorised and under-researched in Australia.

The aims of this research are to:

  • Document current ethical challenges in e-health
  • Clarify the views, practices and needs of health researchers, practitioners, ethics committee members, policy makers, and consumers
  • Develop evidence-based e-health ethics resources to address identified needs

Project 2: Electronic Health Records: Ethical and Social Issues (pilot project)

The Australian Government through the National E-Health Transition Authority will in 2012 roll out a Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record system. According to NEHTA, these new electronic health records will provide secure and timely access to information about your current medications, diagnoses, allergies, immunisations and your health treatment preferences. Such a system promises to revolutionise the patient-provider relationship.

The aims of this pilot project were to:

  • Examine the views, practices and needs of stakeholders in relation to electronic health records.
  • Identify key ethical challenges in relation to electronic health records.
  • Develop ethical guidelines for the use of electronic health records.

Project 3: Understanding consent in research involving children

This project investigates consent in research involving children. Parental consent is the ethical cornerstone of research involving children, but the concept of 'consent', both of the parent and the child, is not as well understood as it could be. This can lead to a problematic lack of clarity of the ethical role of and requirements for consent in some situations. This project aims to address this problem. 

The central aims of the project are to:

  • Develop greater theoretical clarity of the concept of consent in research involving children
  • Encourage clearer thinking by researchers and HRECs about consent in research involving children
  • Produce an educational resource for researchers and HRECs.
  • Develop an information brochure for parents to assist them in deciding about their child's involvement in research.

Project 4: Addiction and Moral Identity

Recent advances in neuroscience are helping to clarify the role of the brain in drug addiction and the impact of drug use on brain function, decision-making, and self-control. The hope is that these findings can inform new treatment and prevention programs.

One current influential model characterises addiction as chronic and compulsive drug use despite negative consequences (e.g. health, relationship, financial, legal etc). This definition of addiction raises important questions about the nature and experience of self-identity, autonomy or free will / choice, self-control and responsibility.

The aim of this study is to explore the impact of addiction on the 'moral lives' of drug users: their agency, identity, and capacities for choice and control, and the implications for treatment design and conduct, and wider health and welfare service delivery.

team members

  • Lynne Gillam - HONORARY FELLOW
  • Merle Spriggs - Research Fellow

publications

  • Herlihy AS., Gillam L., Halliday JL., McLachlan RI. Postnatal screening for Klinefelter syndrome: is there a rationale?. ACTA PAEDIATRICA 100 (6) : 923 - 933(2011) PubMed
  • Herlihy AS., Halliday JL., Gillam LH. Ethical Issues in Recruiting Prenatally Diagnosed Adults for Research: Klinefelter Syndrome as an Example. Public Health Genomics 15 (1) : 31 - 33(2011) PubMed
  • Spriggs M., Caldwell P. The ethics of paediatric research. JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH 47 : 664 - 667(2011) PubMed
  • Tucker EJ., Hershman SG., Köhrer C., Belcher-Timme CA., Patel J., Goldberger OA., Christodoulou J., Silberstein JM., McKenzie M., Ryan MT., Compton AG., Jaffe JD., Carr SA., Calvo SE., RajBhandary UL., Thorburn DR., Mootha VK. Mutations in MTFMT underlie a human disorder of formylation causing impaired mitochondrial translation. Cell Metabolism 14 (3) : 428 - 434(2011) PubMed

competitive funding

National Health & Medical Research Council
Australian Research Council
Institute for a Broadband Enabled Society (University of Melbourne)
Alfred Felton Bequest

collaborations & affiliations

Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, University of Melbourne
Centre for Health & Society, University of Melbourne
Addiction Neuroethics Group, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, University of QLD
Children's Bioethics Centre, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
Centre for Agency, Values and Ethics, Macquarie University
Plunkett Centre for Ethics, Australian Catholic University