Informed Consent in Clinical and Clinical Research Settings

Abstract

Obtaining informed consent is considered the cornerstone of ethical oversight in clinical practice and clinical research. It refers to how patients or research participants agree to receive particular treatments or procedures in the full knowledge and understanding of possible consequences in terms of risks and benefits. Anthropology helps us to understand the complexity of informed consent in illustrating how clinical and research encounters are embedded in cultural settings and conducted in diverse contexts. It provides a lens through which to examine communication between clinicians/researchers and patients/participants who bring different cultural understandings, experiences, perspectives, and knowledge to the consent process.