Documents describing a medical treatment or research project, including proposed procedures, risks, and alternatives, that are to be signed by an individual, or the individual's proxy, to indicate his/her understanding of the document and a willingness to undergo the treatment or to participate in the research.

Voluntary authorization, by a patient or research subject, with full comprehension of the risks involved, for diagnostic or investigative procedures, and for medical and surgical treatment.

Persons who are enrolled in research studies or who are otherwise the subjects of research.

The act or fact of grasping the meaning, nature, or importance of; understanding. (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed) Includes understanding by a patient or research subject of information disclosed orally or in writing.

Informed consent given by a parent on behalf of a minor or otherwise incompetent child.

The moral obligations governing the conduct of research. Used for discussions of research ethics as a general topic.

Hospital or other institutional committees established to protect the welfare of research subjects. Federal regulations (the "Common Rule" (45 CFR 46)) mandate the use of these committees to monitor federally-funded biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects.

Human experimentation that is not intended to benefit the subjects on whom it is performed. Phase I drug studies (CLINICAL TRIALS, PHASE I AS TOPIC) and research involving healthy volunteers are examples of nontherapeutic human experimentation.

Facilities that collect, store, and distribute tissues, e.g., cell lines, microorganisms, blood, sperm, milk, breast tissue, for use by others. Other uses may include transplantation and comparison of diseased tissues in the identification of cancer.

An institutional policy of granting authority to health personnel to perform procedures on patients or to remove organs from cadavers for transplantation unless an objection is registered by family members or by the patient prior to death. This also includes emergency care of minors without prior parental consent.

The ability to understand the nature and effect of the act in which the individual is engaged. (From Black's Law Dictionary, 6th ed).

Revealing of information, by oral or written communication.

Research into the cause, transmission, amelioration, elimination, or enhancement of inherited disorders and traits.

The use of humans as investigational subjects.

Fundamental claims of patients, as expressed in statutes, declarations, or generally accepted moral principles. (Bioethics Thesaurus) The term is used for discussions of patient rights as a group of many rights, as in a hospital's posting of a list of patient rights.

Clusters of topics that fall within the domain of BIOETHICS, the field of study concerned with value questions that arise in biomedicine and health care delivery.

Informed consent given by someone other than the patient or research subject.

A medical specialty concerned with the skin, its structure, functions, diseases, and treatment.

The teaching or training of patients concerning their own health needs.

The privacy of information and its protection against unauthorized disclosure.

Promotion and protection of the rights of patients, frequently through a legal process.

Research that involves the application of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to medicine.

Works about pre-planned studies of the safety, efficacy, or optimum dosage schedule (if appropriate) of one or more diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques selected according to predetermined criteria of eligibility and observed for predefined evidence of favorable and unfavorable effects. This concept includes clinical trials conducted both in the U.S. and in other countries.

The act or practice of literary composition, the occupation of writer, or producing or engaging in literary work as a profession.

Systematic organization, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of specialized information, especially of a scientific or technical nature (From ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983). It often involves authenticating or validating information.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Criteria and standards used for the determination of the appropriateness of the inclusion of patients with specific conditions in proposed treatment plans and the criteria used for the inclusion of subjects in various clinical trials and other research protocols.

A person who has not attained the age at which full civil rights are accorded.

Surgery which could be postponed or not done at all without danger to the patient. Elective surgery includes procedures to correct non-life-threatening medical problems as well as to alleviate conditions causing psychological stress or other potential risk to patients, e.g., cosmetic or contraceptive surgery.

Operations carried out for the correction of deformities and defects, repair of injuries, and diagnosis and cure of certain diseases. (Taber, 18th ed.)