Case 52. Vulnerable Populations

The issue of informed consent here is particularly complex and not easy to resolve. In the case of vulnerable populations -- disabled, severely handicapped and minors, informed consent is a well trod path hinged on very traditional scientific research on human populations. In the case, the informed consent rule of the subject or the subject's legally authorized representative may be appropriate. Also the consultation with legal authorities to be consistent with state or federal regulations, or an institutional review board may also be appropriate. But informed consent for sociologists rarely falls in the neat pattern of the medical researcher. Instead, exploratory research, investigations of ill defined problems, marginal populations and populations particularly at risk (which includes most illegal immigrants, those whose families or environments may contain informal illegal activities, most minorities, children and youth exposed to gangs, and a variety of lifestyles not included in ordinary research, comprise much of what young investigators are attracted to and undertake. Minority researchers are particularly vulnerable to the issue of "informed consent" rules, as well as rules on vulnerable populations and most of all reporting findings. New rules should be established to protect sources, even at the expense of some communication under scientific rules.