Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Research in Long Term Care1

Ethical issues in long term care situations that have received greatest emphasis include informed consent, competence, confidentiality, and conflict of interest. Examined in a meta-research study were ongoing research projects of the personal autonomy initiative of the Retirement Research Foundation. Guidelines were developed emphasizing the appropriate setting and context of review for research in long-term care, clinical assessment of decisional capacity, and institutional arrangements to minimize conflict of interest.