What can be considered “benefits” when weighing the risk/benefit ratio for participants?
When research includes any element of risk, the committee is obligated to evaluate the extent of the risk and whether participants will receive any personal benefit sufficient to justify that level of risk. A “personal benefit” is something specific to the person (such as an opportunity to receive special training or an individual assessment of a particular health risk) that goes beyond any inducement (such as payment or entry in a raffle) offered as an incentive to participate. Sometimes the most honest answer is that participants will receive no direct benefit (other than the satisfaction of contributing to research that may eventually benefit others).
