Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354803
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Interdisciplinary Network for Research into the Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Health (ELSAH). Australia lacks a national academic forum to consider issues involving biotechnology, health resource allocation, (bio)ethics and citizenship. This project will
- establish an interdisciplinary network for research into the social, legal and ethical dimensions of healthcare, biotechnology and medical science;
- co-ordinate this expertise in the national interest;
- assist policy makers, resear ....Interdisciplinary Network for Research into the Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Health (ELSAH). Australia lacks a national academic forum to consider issues involving biotechnology, health resource allocation, (bio)ethics and citizenship. This project will
- establish an interdisciplinary network for research into the social, legal and ethical dimensions of healthcare, biotechnology and medical science;
- co-ordinate this expertise in the national interest;
- assist policy makers, researchers, technology developers and communities to make informed decisions, and
- make health systems more equitable and socially acceptable.
This in turn will build trust, foster informed debate, increase community input into health policy, and help us understand complex social systems and examine the values embedded in them.
Read moreRead less
Regulating Autologous Stem Cell Therapies in Australia. This project aims to develop an ethical and regulatory framework for the use of autologous adult stem cell therapies in Australia. These therapies are increasingly being offered to patients for diseases and conditions that lack scientific evidence of safety and efficacy. This study aims to address this problem using a mixed methods approach to generate empirical data and theoretical, ethical and legal insights that will guide the responsibl ....Regulating Autologous Stem Cell Therapies in Australia. This project aims to develop an ethical and regulatory framework for the use of autologous adult stem cell therapies in Australia. These therapies are increasingly being offered to patients for diseases and conditions that lack scientific evidence of safety and efficacy. This study aims to address this problem using a mixed methods approach to generate empirical data and theoretical, ethical and legal insights that will guide the responsible development, translation and regulation of innovative stem cell therapies in Australia and internationally. Anticipated outcomes will improve patient advocacy and public knowledge about adult stem cell therapies, and facilitate better relationships between patients, researchers and clinicians.Read moreRead less
Investigating which strategies are most effective in overcoming the ethical problems facing information and communications technology professionals. This project will investigate what sorts of ethical problems information and communications technology (ICT) professionals commonly face at work and which strategies are most effective in solving them. An output of this project will be an interactive multimedia-rich website that will enable ICT professionals to deliberate on an ethical problem and c ....Investigating which strategies are most effective in overcoming the ethical problems facing information and communications technology professionals. This project will investigate what sorts of ethical problems information and communications technology (ICT) professionals commonly face at work and which strategies are most effective in solving them. An output of this project will be an interactive multimedia-rich website that will enable ICT professionals to deliberate on an ethical problem and come up with the best option for solving it.Read moreRead less
The Response of Australian Family law to Islamic community processes. The question of whether the Australian legal system should recognise Islamic family law processes has attracted increasing debate in recent years, reflecting similar developments in other countries. Underpinning opposition to legal recognition are concerns that such processes disadvantage Muslim women. Despite these claims, little is presently known about the impact of these processes or about the experiences of Muslim women w ....The Response of Australian Family law to Islamic community processes. The question of whether the Australian legal system should recognise Islamic family law processes has attracted increasing debate in recent years, reflecting similar developments in other countries. Underpinning opposition to legal recognition are concerns that such processes disadvantage Muslim women. Despite these claims, little is presently known about the impact of these processes or about the experiences of Muslim women who use them. This project, which combines expertise in law and religion and family law, aims to provide the first detailed empirical and normative examination of this question in Australia, offering a unique evidence base to inform future policy developments.Read moreRead less
A new ethics for the development and application of genetic technologies in a pluralist society. New technologies for prenatal testing and preimplantation genetic diagnosis will soon grant us an unprecedented power to choose our children's genes. This project will develop an ethical framework to govern the development and use of these technologies and thus help ensure that future Australians enjoy a healthy start to life.
On the cutting edge: promoting best practice in surgical innovation. Surgical innovation leads to beneficial healthcare outcomes, but frequently at an ethical, legal and regulatory cost. This project aims to address these challenges by developing conceptual tools and regulatory mechanisms which promote patient safety and support those who practice, manage and govern surgery.
How do we know what works: ethics and evidence in surgical research. This project will make surgery safer for patients by improving our understanding of evidence in surgery. We will look at the question "what works" in surgery. The resources we develop will help practitioners and regulators to better navigate and manage the complex ethical and practical challenges in this field.
Moral conservatism, human enhancement and the 'Affective Revolution' in moral psychology. Debates between moral conservatives and liberals, about whether enhancing human mental and physical abilities above normal limits is ethically acceptable, have been intractable. Recent developments in moral psychology can be used to transform understandings of these debates and enable us to develop just policies to regulate enhancement technologies.
Conscience and conscientious objection in health care. Medical professionals sometimes decline to provide particular forms of safe, beneficial and legal health care, on the grounds that provision would go against their consciences. Bioethicists and policy makers have failed to identify legitimate limits to the scope of appeals to conscientious objection in health care. This is in large part because the underlying concept ''conscience" is unclear. This project aims to advance bioethical debate by ....Conscience and conscientious objection in health care. Medical professionals sometimes decline to provide particular forms of safe, beneficial and legal health care, on the grounds that provision would go against their consciences. Bioethicists and policy makers have failed to identify legitimate limits to the scope of appeals to conscientious objection in health care. This is in large part because the underlying concept ''conscience" is unclear. This project aims to advance bioethical debate by producing a philosophically and psychologically informed analysis of conscience, and by applying this to discussions about the legitimate limits to conscientious objection in health care. It is expected to result in academic and non-academic publications and enable improvements to Australian health care policy.Read moreRead less
Defining disease: Addressing the problem of overdiagnosis. This project will investigate and define the limits of physical disease, to answer questions about when a presentation is a disease, and when it is simply a risk factor or mild condition. The ensuing account of disease will make a practical contribution to growing international concern about asymptomatic people being diagnosed and treated for conditions that will not cause any health problems ("overdiagnosis"). The research will provide ....Defining disease: Addressing the problem of overdiagnosis. This project will investigate and define the limits of physical disease, to answer questions about when a presentation is a disease, and when it is simply a risk factor or mild condition. The ensuing account of disease will make a practical contribution to growing international concern about asymptomatic people being diagnosed and treated for conditions that will not cause any health problems ("overdiagnosis"). The research will provide normative grounds for evaluating disease claims. Results will reduce the harm caused by people receiving treatment that they do not require, make a practical contribution to debates about the scope of health care, and yield findings that can help to reduce the cost-burdens associated with overdiagnosis.Read moreRead less