November 2004

The Belmont Report was created as a result of a charge to the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research (National Research Act of 1974). Part of The University of Arizona Federal-Wide Assurance is the agreement with the Office of Human Research Protections to abide by the principals in the Belmont Report (see the U of A Federal-Wide Assurance at www.irb.arizona.edu). This article outlines the basic principles of The Belmont Report and the application of those principles. 

• Respect for Persons – there are two basic ideas represented; 1) that individuals are to be treated as autonomous persons and 2) those with diminished autonomy deserve additional protection. The application of this principle is the use of an informed consent form and the opportunity for participants to choose what will or what will not happen to them. Consent for participation of individuals with diminished autonomy may require involvement of a surrogate or advocate.

• Beneficence – the requirement that subject well-being is secured by reducing risk and maximizing the benefits to those individuals involved in research. The application of this principal is the risk/benefit analysis contemplated prior to the conduct of the study.

• Justice – this principle requires that no single group of subjects unfairly bare the burden of research. The goal of equitable selection is to fairly distribute the risks and benefits of research among groups of individuals that stand to benefit from it. The application of this principal is in the scrutiny applied to selecting certain groups or individuals for participation. Subject selection should be related to the goals of the research and not merely on convenience or the manipulability of study subjects.

*Peckman, S. (2002). A Shared Responsibility for Protecting Human Subjects. In R. Amdur & E. Bankert (Eds.), Institutional review board: Management and function (pp. 17-21). Sudbury , MA : Jones and Bartlett.