The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research created the Belmont Report Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research. The Belmont Report sets forth the basic ethical principles required for research involving human subjects. This post explains the three key principles of the Belmont Report that include respect for persons (autonomy), beneficence, and justice.
Respect for Persons Respect for persons incorporates at least two ethical convictions: first, that individuals should be treated as autonomous agents, and second, that persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection. The principle of respect for persons thus divides into two separate moral requirements: the requirement to acknowledge autonomy and the requirement to protect those with diminished autonomy.
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Further, the study also received approval from the institutional review board of the Montreal Children's Hospital. The participants have the right to decide whether or not to participate in the research voluntarily, and (96.7%) of which completed the entire 12 months of follow-up (Kramer et al., 2001).
Beneficence
The second Belmont Report principle is the principle of beneficence. Beneficence was applied in this trial by ensuring to acting in such a way to benefit the subjects while promoting their welfare and safety. The study has applied the principle of beneficence that include access to a potentially valuable intervention, increased understanding of breastfeeding, and enjoying the positive outcomes. The potential risks were avoided in the design of the study as all infants were breastfed. The study refrains from randomly assign infants to be breastfed vs formula-fed.