In emergencies, health research must go beyond public engagement toward a true partnership with those affected

• Published in: Nature medicine Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 308 - 309
• Main Authors: Wright, Katharine, Parker, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Nature Publishing Group US 01.03.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/699/255; 706/134; Bioethics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Research; Biomedicine; Cancer Research; Collaboration; Comment; Community involvement; Community medicine; Community participation; Congo; Cooperative Behavior; Councils; Ebola virus; Emergencies; Epidemics; Global health; Health care access; Human subjects; Humanitarianism; Humans; Immunization; Infectious Diseases; Medical emergencies; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Metabolic Diseases; Molecular Medicine; National security; Neurosciences; Public Health; Public participation; Residence Characteristics; Social aspects; Trust; Vaccines; Viral diseases; Working groups; Congo; United States
• ISSN: 1078-8956; 1546-170X; 1546-170X
• DOI: 10.1038/s41591-020-0758-y

An Ebola virus outbreak taking place in the complex political and social context of The Democratic Republic of the Congo has forced the research community to reflect on their approach to community engagement. Katharine Wright and Michael Parker, on behalf of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics Working Group on research in global health emergencies, say that those affected need to influence research choices from the very beginning and that the value of their knowledge must be recognized.