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. 2008 Sep;34(9):e14.
doi: 10.1136/jme.2007.022699.

Increasing the amount of payment to research subjects

David B Resnik  1
Affiliations

Increasing the amount of payment to research subjects

David B Resnik. J Med Ethics. 2008 Sep.

Erratum in

  • J Med Ethics. 2013 Jan;39(1):64. Resnick, D B [corrected to Resnik, David B]

Abstract

This article discusses some ethical issues that can arise when researchers decide to increase the amount of payment offered to research subjects to boost enrollment. Would increasing the amount of payment be unfair to subjects who have already consented to participate in the study? This article considers how five different models of payment--the free market model, the wage payment model, the reimbursement model, the appreciation model, and the fair benefits model--would approach this issue. The article also considers several practical problems related to changing the amount of payment, including determining whether there is enough money in the budget to offer additional payments to subjects who have already enrolled, ascertaining how difficult it will be to re-contact subjects, and developing a plan of action for responding to subjects who find out they are receiving less money and demand an explanation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

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References

    1. Code of Federal Relations. Chapter 45, Part 46, 2005.

    1. Food and Drug Administration. [accessed 28 Jun 2008];Payment to research subjects. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/ohrt/irbs/toc4.html#payment.
    1. Office of Human Subjects Research. [accessed 28 Jun 2008];Information sheet 20. Available at: http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/info/sheet20.html.
    1. World Medical Association. [accessed 28 Jun 2008];Declaration of Helsinki. Available: http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm.
    1. Council for the Organization of Medical Sciences. [accessed 28 Jun 2008];International ethical guidelines for research involving human subjects. Available at: http://www.cioms.ch/frame_guidelines_nov_2002.htm.

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