Clinical Research
Clinical research is vital to advancements in psychology. Subjects that participate in clinical studies help to advance the field of psychology in ways that would otherwise be impossible. Clinical studies analyze many factors for each patient and give a more complete picture to researchers and doctors. The use of humans in clinical research is not only necessary but extremely beneficial. However, because of the use of humans in clinical research, there is a large set of ethics involved when performing clinical studies.
Clinical research is necessary and helps doctors to utilize knowledge from a large subset of the population. For example, a psychologist may only have experience with one bipolar individual. Therefore, their knowledge of that disease would be limited to what they have studied in school and experienced with that one patient. However, if they were to analyze clinical studies on patients with bi-polar they would better be able to analyze the whole picture. Through the clinical studies, doctors are able to analyze the best course of action to accomplish patient health. Clinical studies are able to help determine which medication would best help a patient with bi-polar and may also help to understand the psychological implications of that disease on the patient and their family.
There are many ethical questions involved in clinical studies. Because there are human subjects, extra care must be taken when performing these clinical studies and trials. For example, a basic principle in medicine is “first do no harm.” So it would be important for researchers to not use a medication in a trial that may harm an individual. For example, if it is already known that one medication does harm to those with bi-polar, researchers would not want to use a medication that mimics that one in trials. Instead, researchers would want to try completely different medication in their clinical studies. However, there are many shades of grey in the ethical principles that must accompany clinical research. For instance, it is known that some medications for bi-polar will eventually cause liver failure. However, there is a quality of life issue that also accompanies these ethical questions. Is it better to let a patient life a long unhappy life with a healthy liver, but not allow for a better quality of life in which they actually enjoy life while knowing that they may be destroying their liver by taking those medications. That is just one example of the many ethical questions involved in clinical studies.
Clinical studies are necessary for the advancement of psychology. Without them, we would never know the effects of medications on both the body and the mind. Many people would suffer without the aid of those medications, not only the patients but also the lives of their loved ones. Clinical researchers must constantly strive to help those suffering form psychological ailments. However, they must also pause and think of the larger implications on their subjects before they conduct their research.
