Informed consent is primarily an application of which Belmont principle?

Informed consent is primarily rooted in the Belmont principle of Respect for Persons. This principle emphasizes the importance of honoring individual autonomy and the right of people to make informed decisions about their participation in research. Informed consent requires that individuals are provided with comprehensive information about the study, including its purpose, risks, benefits, and their rights as participants. This process is designed to ensure that individuals can exercise their autonomy by making decisions that align with their personal values and interests.

Respect for Persons also involves recognizing the vulnerability of certain populations and ensuring that protections are in place for those who may have diminished autonomy. By prioritizing the process of informed consent, researchers acknowledge the dignity of each participant and empower them through the opportunity to voluntarily decide whether to partake in the research.

The other Belmont principles, such as beneficence and non-maleficence, while they play critical roles in ethical research, focus more on the implications of research on participants (such as minimizing harm and maximizing benefits) rather than on the autonomy and decision-making rights of individuals, which are the core concerns of informed consent. Justice is primarily concerned with fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of research among various groups, which does not directly address the issue of individuals’ autonomy in decision-making regarding participation.