The Belmont Report
The Belmont Report summarizes the basic ethical principles and guidelines identified by the commission to assist in the protection of human subjects in research. The report focuses on three main areas, (1) the boundaries between research and practice, (2) the basic ethical principles that should underlie the conduct of research (autonomy, beneficence, justice) and the protection of human subjects, and (3) the application of these principles into practice. The report outlines general recommendations regarding obtaining informed consent, the assessment of risk and benefit, and the recruitment of participants. The Belmont Report lays out many of the ethical considerations that, to this day, are used in formulating regulations and in ensuring the protection of human study volunteers. Keywords: belmont report; research ethics; human subjects; biomedical research