People, Not Just Data

The NYT checks into an article in this month's Bulletin of the World Health Organization that calls for improved ethics for conducting longitudinal health surveys in developing countries. Written by UNC scientists, the article poses many questions regarding the long-term ethics for well known survey sites -- studies of fertility in Niakhar, Senegal, of diarrhea in Matlab, Bangladesh, and of AIDS in Rakai, Uganda. "Does consent from the male head of family obligate the whole family to join? Does a grandfather's consent in a long-term study bind even his unborn descendants?" says the article.