Why Obtain Informed Consent?
Informed consent should be obtained for ethical and legal reasons. The American Nurses Association’s Ethical Principles in the Conduct, Dissemination, and Implementation of Nursing Research states that the investigator respects autonomous research participants’ capacity to consent to participate in research and to determine the degree and duration of that participation without negative consequences (p.4). AACN’s Standards for Acute and Critical Care Nursing Practice also emphasizes this responsibility. Informed consent is a legal requirement when federal funding is involved. The federal government has mandated specific guidelines to be followed for achieving informed consent for federally funded research projects. Some states have also enacted laws to protect the rights of human subjects. Both investigators and caregivers involved in research studies are bound by these regulations. State laws apply to all researchers in a state, not just those who receive federal funding. An organizati
