2003 Winner
- Craig Frye
- Senior Research Fellow
- Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Melbourne
The misuse of alcohol and drugs impacts all of society. Accordingly, a great deal of research is being undertaken to understand it as a public health crisis. But just how ethical are these studies?
Dealing with such a sensitive and controversial topic, there is a need to ensure that any research conducted is reported accurately and fairly. But who sets the agenda for what is considered fair and ethical, in public health research and reporting?
Craig Fry, a Senior Research Fellow at the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre in Melbourne, has used research into drug misuse to illustrate the need for the development of ethical standards in public health. He has also proposed a framework for achieving this as a model for all public health research.
Craig’s framework addresses such issues as:
- why drug users participate in research;
- whether research subjects should be paid; and
- how to ensure that the rights of research subjects are respected while still obtaining meaningful results.
He also looks at ethical limits for epidemiological research in developing countries, a critical issue with major HIV vaccine trials on the drawing board.
