Case Study 3 – Consent
A 14-year-old youth suffering depression does not want to discuss his problems with his parents. He seeks help from a community health centre. On his first visit he is provided with counselling and asked to return for a second visit where the possibility of medication will be discussed. He is reassured that his parents do not have to be involved if he does not want them to be. Researchers from the centre are looking for people to take part in a study that will find out if a new investigational drug can help in the treatment of depression. They invite the fourteen-year-old to participate in the randomised controlled trial. The researchers say that parental consent is not needed for the 14-year-old to access treatment so they do not need to obtain parental consent for him to participate in the research.
Questions
Is the researcher’s view correct?
Does it depend on the nature of the reasarch?
