research paper topics on medical ethics

Services Paper editing services Paper proofreading Business papers Philosophy papers Write my paper Term papers for sale Term paper help Academic term papers Buy research papers College writing services Paper writing help Student papers Original term papers Research paper help Nursing papers for sale Psychology papers Economics papers Medical papers Blog

60 of The Finest Medical Ethics Paper Topics (2023)

Medicine is a technical subject that requires keen attention to detail in everything. Your instructor expects a top-quality paper from you, yet you do not know where to start. Our pros have put together a list of medical ethics research paper topics to get you on track. But first, how should topics for medical ethics paper look like for top-grade papers? Here are tips and tricks from our writers who have been dealing with such topics for decades:

It should deal with a specific medical problem Avoid too much jargon in your topic It should address the latest medical needs of society Do not write on an already existing medical topic.

It’s never easy coming up with excellent medical ethics topics for your research project. However, we have a team of professional writers who came up with pro-tips for identifying top-notch ethics topics in medicine. They include:

Conduct extensive research before settling on a topic
Identify the length of your paper
Check the relevance and currency of the topic
Use the help of a professional research paper writing service

You can be sure that if you abide by the guidelines above, you can find more topics in medical ethics than you thought. Are you ready to explore some of our amazing medical ethics issues topics? Scroll down.

Medical Argumentative Topics

Should everyone put on a mask while outdoors?
Do you agree that finding the coronavirus vaccine can take less than a year?
Can a doctor who has been fired open his/her clinic?
Is it right for laboratories to use rats or guinea pigs as a specimen for vaccines?
Are robots replacing the roles of nurses and doctors in hospitals?
Should doctors receive allowances for working extra hours?

Biomedical Ethics Topics For Papers

Is it ethical to carry out assisted suicide in hospitals?
The implications of conducting selective reproduction
Ethical issues surrounding the acquisition of human organs
Contemporary ethical challenges in family-making
Ethical aspects when dealing with HIV/Aids counselling and testing
Biomedical ethics in saving the life of a pregnant woman

Controversial Medical Ethics Topics

Should people from low-income families receive poor healthcare services?
Is it ethical for people to donate parts of their organs when they are still alive?
Should we trust a coronavirus vaccine that comes before 15 months?
Do medical errors resulting in death amount to a criminal offence?
Should we consider the subject of abortion from the mother’s or child’s perspective?
Is it possible to maintain the confidentiality of medical records in the digital age?

Medical Argumentative Topics For College Students

Are stem cell and genetic research the cause of devastating diseases?
Why did hospitals get out of space during the outbreak of COVID-19?
Should the relief of suffering at the end of life have a place in hospitals?
Is it possible for doctors to develop conflicts of interest with patients?
Should morticians receive mandatory psychological counselling?
Can we have a disease-free world?

Therefore, no matter what topic you’ve chosen, our professional writers ready to write a research paper for you .

Ethical Dilemma Paper Topics

How to deal with religious beliefs that are against science
Medical ethics and how cultural bias causes a dilemma
The best medical ethics when caring for mentally disabled patients
What should be done to doctors when they fail to observe office ethics and standards?
How to deal with varying medical ethics in different countries
Should doctors end the lives of patients who are suffering?

Bioethics Paper Topics

Are physicians accountable to their patients for their actions?
Ways in which doctors can talk to patients who are in their final stages of life
How to advise a patient who refuses to undergo an HIV test
What happens when treatment becomes futile?
How long should it take doctors to report an infectious disease?
Should we consider medical mistakes like any other mistake at work?

Ethical Dilemma Topics For High School Students

Should a doctor tell the patient about a mistake done during treatment?
What happens when a surgeon performs surgery at the wrong place?
Should patients pay for coronavirus treatment in private hospitals?
Should we have male nurses in maternity wards?
What happens when a doctor causes the death of a patient?
Does lack of trust affect the treatment process?

Healthcare Ethics Topics

Why does immunization raise a lot of ethical issues globally?
The ethics behind planning, preparing and responding to global health pandemics
Why doctors should respect a patient’s choice of tuberculosis treatment option
Is human genome editing ethical?
Privacy of patient records while using Big data
Healthcare options for the ageing

Medical Law and Ethics Topics

Effective abortion laws and legislation
Laws that protect patients with disabilities
Medical laws on slaughtering and slaughterhouses
Does anyone have a right to die?
Laws that regulate transplantations of tissues and organs
The physician’s liability according to medical laws

Interesting Bioethics Topics

Genetic and medical data privacy
Cyber-attacks on medical systems and devices
The rise of bio-hackers
Devastating effects of bioterrorism
What happens when a patient refuses treatment?
With-holding patient’s information and telling the truth

We hope that the medical ethics topics above help you get your paper started. If you get stuck, we have expert writing help for students of all levels. Just contact us and buy a research paper online . Let us assist you to attain that A-grade quick and fast!

Medical Ethics

Uncover the latest and most impactful research in Medical Ethics. Explore pioneering discoveries, insightful ideas and new methods from leading researchers in the field.

Latest research

Barriers in providing quality end-of-life care as perceived by nurses working in critical care units: an integrative review.

Yousef Saleh Rubbai
Mei Chan Chong
Mohammad Namazinia

The Burden of Chronic Diseases with the Status of Family Medical History Among Older Adults in India

Mahadev Bramhankar
Mohit Pandey
Rishabh Tyagi

Journey to the grave: when an aneurysm ruptures during surgery

Sohel S. Kazi
Oday Atallah
Bipin Chaurasia

Early neonatal mortality and determinants in Ethiopia: multilevel analysis of Ethiopian demographic and health survey, 2019

Berhan Tekeba
Tadesse Tarik Tamir
Enyew Getaneh Mekonen

"This is not within the scope of our tasks or even duties"—barriers in the identification of domestic violence by healthcare workers

Łukasz Wieczorek
Katarzyna Dąbrowska
Katarzyna Łukowska

Neurocognitive function and medical care utilization in Veterans treated for substance use disorder

James M. Bjork
Jarrod Reisweber
Clara E. Dismuke-Greer

Related journals

BMC Medical Ethics

BMC Medical Ethicsis an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles in relation to the ethical aspects of biomedical...

Asian Bioethics Review

Asian Bioethics Review (ABR) is an international academic journal, based in Asia, providing a forum to express and exchange original ideas on all...

Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine

The Journal of Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine is positioned at the intersection of the humanities, social sciences, and medicine. We...

Find a journal
Publish with us
Track your research

BMC Medical Ethics

Latest collections open to submissions, the ethics of the economics of healthcare.

Guest Edited by Mathias Barra, Lars Sandman and Iestyn Williams

Racial disparities in healthcare

Guest Edited by Shervin Assari and Jordan M. Sang

Islamic medical ethics

Guest Edited by Rosie Duivenbode, Aasim I. Padela and Inass Shaltout

Editor's choice

Most accessed

Compromised informed consent due to functional health literacy challenges in Chinese hospitals

Authors: Dangui Zhang, Zhilin Hu, Zhuojia Wu, Ting Huang, Tingting Huang, Junhao Liu, Hongkun Sun and William Ba-Thein

Issues and implications of the life-sustaining treatment decision act: comparing the data from the survey and clinical data of inpatients at the end-of-life process

Authors: Eunjeong Song, Dongsoon Shin, Jooseon Lee, Seonyoung Yun, Minjeong Eom, Suhee Oh, Heejung Lee, Jiwan Lee and Rhayun Song

Qualitative studies involving users of clinical neurotechnology: a scoping review

Authors: Georg Starke, Tugba Basaran Akmazoglu, Annalisa Colucci, Mareike Vermehren, Amanda van Beinum, Maria Buthut, Surjo R. Soekadar, Christoph Bublitz, Jennifer A. Chandler and Marcello Ienca

The ethical dimension of personal health monitoring in the armed forces: a scoping review

Authors: Dave Bovens, Eva van Baarle, Kirsten Ziesemer and Bert Molewijk

Exploration of clinical ethics consultation in Uganda: a case study of Uganda Cancer Institute

Authors: Mayi Mayega Nanyonga, Paul Kutyabami, Olivia Kituuka and Nelson K. Sewankambo

Most recent articles RSS

View all articles

Controversies and considerations regarding the termination of pregnancy for Foetal Anomalies in Islam

Authors: Abdulrahman Al-Matary and Jaffar Ali

Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: a systematic review

Authors: Chloë FitzGerald and Samia Hurst

Top 10 health care ethics challenges facing the public: views of Toronto bioethicists

Authors: Jonathan M Breslin, Susan K MacRae, Jennifer Bell and Peter A Singer

The four principles: Can they be measured and do they predict ethical decision making?

Authors: Katie Page

Human cloning laws, human dignity and the poverty of the policy making dialogue

Authors: Timothy Caulfield

Most accessed articles RSS

Aims and scope

Become an Editorial Board Member

We are recruiting new, international Editorial Board Members.

Black Lives Matter

A collection of books, journal articles and magazine content that amplifies Black voices and the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement.

BMC Series Blog

Introducing BMC Bioinformatics’ Collection: RNA-seq data analysis

28 August 2024

Introducing BMC Biomedical Engineering’s Collection: Surgical robotics

22 August 2024

2024 BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology Image Competition: the winning images!

16 August 2024

Latest Tweets

Your browser needs to have JavaScript enabled to view this timeline

Important information

Editorial board

For authors

For editorial board members

For reviewers

Manuscript editing services

Annual Journal Metrics

Citation Impact 2023 Journal Impact Factor: 3.0 5-year Journal Impact Factor: 3.1 Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP): 1.384 SCImago Journal Rank (SJR): 0.975 Speed 2023 Submission to first editorial decision (median days): 12 Submission to acceptance (median days): 200 Usage 2023 Downloads: 1,830,857 Altmetric mentions: 1,282

More about our metrics

Peer-review Terminology

The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal:

Identity transparency: Single anonymized

Reviewer interacts with: Editor

Review information published: Review reports. Reviewer Identities reviewer opt in. Author/reviewer communication

More information is available here

ISSN: 1472-6939

General enquiries: [email protected]

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

View all journals

Medical ethics articles from across Nature Portfolio

Latest research and reviews.

Acquisition parameters influence AI recognition of race in chest x-rays and mitigating these factors reduces underdiagnosis bias

Artificial intelligence (AI) models can perform unequally across patient groups and can also be trained to recognize patient demographics. Here, the authors show that image acquisition parameters influence AI models trained to predict patient race from chest x-rays and that mitigating these factors reduces an underdiagnosis bias.

William Lotter

Exploring de-anonymization risks in PET imaging: Insights from a comprehensive analysis of 853 patient scans

Emma Bou Hanna
Sebastian Partarrieu
Florent L. Besson

A trust based framework for the envelopment of medical AI

Lena Christine Zuchowski
Matthias Lukas Zuchowski
Eckhard Nagel

Attitudes of European psychiatrists on psychedelics: a cross-sectional survey study

Marija Franka Žuljević
Darko Duplančić

Unpacking the notion of “serious” genetic conditions: towards implementation in reproductive decision-making?

Erika Kleiderman
Felicity Boardman
Vardit Ravitsky

FaceMotionPreserve: a generative approach for facial de-identification and medical information preservation

Bingquan Zhu

News and Comment

Balancing the rights of the pre-symptomatic child to be found with the risk of harm to others from the screening process.

Anneke Lucassen
Rachel Horton

Not all AI health tools with regulatory authorization are clinically validated

Devices that lack adequate clinical validation pose risks for patient care. A new validation standard is proposed to evaluate FDA authorization as an indication of clinical effectiveness in medical AI.

Sammy Chouffani El Fassi
Adonis Abdullah
Gail E. Henderson

CAR-T treatment is safe and effective in adult patients with Down syndrome and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL)

Eugenio Galli
Alessandro Corrente
Federica Sorà

Disability rights and experiential use of psychedelics in clinical research and practice

Given the renewed interest in the use of psychedelics for the treatment of mental and substance use disorders in recent decades, there has also been renewed discussion and debate about whether it is necessary or beneficial for those who study and deliver psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) to have had personal experience of using psychedelics. This paper provides a brief history of this debate and brings a disability-rights perspective to the discussion, given increasing efforts to dismantle ableism in medical training, practice, and research. Many psychiatric conditions and psychotropic medications, including ones as commonly prescribed as antidepressants, may preclude one from being able to safely and/or effectively use psychedelics. As such, we argue explicitly mandating or even implying the necessity of experiential training for psychedelic researchers and clinicians can perpetuate ableism in medicine by excluding those who cannot safely use psychedelics because of their personal medical histories. As PAP research and practice rapidly grow, we must ensure the field grows with disability inclusion amongst researchers and clinicians.

Maryam Golafshani
Daniel Z. Buchman
M. Ishrat Husain

The EU passes the AI Act and its implications for digital medicine are unclear

On 13 March 2024, the much-anticipated AI Act was passed by the EU parliament and will soon be adopted as EU law. It will apply new requirements for developers and deployers of AI-enabled digital health tools (DHTs), including for a defined class of high-risk AI systems and for general-purpose AI. Although the text of the law is available, complete in all but the final checks of legal wording much is still not known about how the AI Act will affect the digital health landscape in the EU and beyond. The wording of many aspects of the Act is ambiguous, and often high-level objectives are stated, with the detail to come later in associated guidance, standards, and member state law and policy. It is also uncertain how the Act will intersect with pre-existing sector-specific legislation for medical AI. There are future steps in the legislative process that can clarify ambiguity, including standards, guidelines, and implementing laws, and the author remains optimistic the EU will get the implementation right.

Stephen Gilbert

How to bridge innovation and regulation for responsible AI in healthcare

Quality assurance labs should independently test AI health tools.

Brian Anderson

Quick links

Explore articles by subject
Guide to authors
Editorial policies

Custom Essay, Term Paper & Research paper writing services

testimonials

Toll Free: +1 (888) 354-4744

Email: [email protected]

Writing custom essays & research papers since 2008

100 great medical ethics topics for a research project.

One of the most important aspects of writing a great assignment in medicine is coming up with a great topic. There are endless issues and debates that are worth discussing, but we know that students do not always have the time to find medical ethics topics that meet their requirements. This list of medical ethics topics that was put together by our academic experts can be modified to fit numerous situations.

Medical Ethics Essay Topics for College Students

The following medical ethics paper topics are suited for students that have mastered the skill of researching and writing. They are designed for college students that have the time and dedication to put in the work craft a great assignment:

Doctor withholding information from families for extended periods.
Testing fetuses for birth defects to determine abortion cases.
The obligation to treat prisoners serving life-term sentences.
The federal mandate to treat prisoners with degenerative diseases.
Donating organs to relatives in lower need versus non-relatives with greater need.
Privacy rights for minors getting abortions without parental consent.
Patients’ rights to refuse treatment in any state.
The right to refuse an organ donation without a medical reason.
The point in which an unborn baby is considered alive.
Importance of physical health in medical professionals to provide treatment.

Medical Ethics Topics for Essay in Graduate School

The following topics in medical ethics are catered to students at the graduate level. They will require a lot of research and may take several weeks to complete:

Access to birth control for minors without parental consent.
Terminating a pregnancy because of a birth defect.
The ethics in allowing medical students to be more proactive.
End-of-life care patients and access to nutrition.
Advance directives and non-resuscitation orders.
The negative impact a physician’s stress level can have on patients.
The ethical way of using social media in medicine.
How social media has enabled individuals to seek medical care.
The impact online communication has on patient-physician relationships.
Patient favor or gift exchange for special treatment.

Medical Ethics Research Paper Topics for Ph.D. Students

When you work on a Ph.D. you will likely be conduct research on what will become the foundation of your professional expertise. Consider these topics for a Ph.D. capstone project in your area of interest:

The ethics of treating patients without insurance.
The best way to address disparities in health care.
Approaches to dealing with patients that do not want treatment.
Methods for working with surrogate decision-makers.
Required use of masks during pandemics.
The Covid-19 vaccine and its implied risks.
Malpractice cases and the right for doctors to return to work.
The use of animals to test potentially harmful medications.
Using technology to conduct open-heart surgery.
Artificial intelligence to minimize human risk.

Current Medical Ethics Topics for 2023

These medical ethics topics for research papers are what are being discussed in the community today. From medical malpractice to Covid-19, you will find the latest issues here:

Overtime payments and fees for doctors.
Assisted suicide and affordable health.
The risks of selective reproduction.
Allowing technologies to monitor a patient’s health.
Saving the life of a pregnant woman while putting an unborn child at risk.
Human donor lists and the priority assigned to recipients.
HIV/AIDS testing and counseling for teenagers.
Challenges posed in family planning decisions.
The quality of care for low-income families.
Organ donation and ethnic preference.

Controversial Medical Ethics Topics in the News

Here are some medical debate topics ethics that are controversial and should generate a lot of interest from the reading community. Just be sure you conduct ample research to guarantee you are finding and using the latest information:

The vaccine against Covid-19 should be mandatory.
Criminal charges for accidental treatment deaths.
The impact stem cell research has on curing diseases.
The increase of biohackers around the world.
The risk of having genetic and medical data stolen.
Physician liability and legal responsibilities.
Patient information and privacy laws.
Patients’ rights to refuse types of treatment.
Organ and tissue transplant oversight laws.
The impact that bioterrorism has on people.

Medical Ethics Topics for Debate or Presentation

These medical ethics debate topics explore some more serious issues requiring students to think outside-of-the-box and to challenge themselves by developing logical and interesting presentations:

Acquiring patient’s private data for predictive analysis.
How to protect patient data through de-anonymization.
Current regulations provide adequate privacy protection.
Big data risks of exposing patient private information.
Limitations of patient information gathered through databases.
How to protect patients from inherent bias used in public health analysis.
Concerns with forced immunization around the world.
The effectiveness of the response to global pandemics.
The differences in medical ethics around the world.
International ethics in the global community.

Medical Law and Ethics Topics for 2023

Topics in medical law change drastically from year to year. We have gathered the current hot topics related to this field and trust that you will find something you like:

Laws that protect the well-being of patients.
Medical negligence in cases of death.
The rights of patients undergoing surgery.
Preliminary agreements before invasive surgery.
Ethical dilemmas that arise when acknowledging patients’ requests.
Ethical standards across the United States.
The importance of medical ethics in today’s world.
The best way to monitor ethics in the medical field.
The challenges of practicing medicine internationally.
Cultural differences in medical decisions and law.

Medical Ethics Topics for Discussion or Presentation

This medical ethics topics list is perfect for any student that has to participate in a round-table discussion or conduct a presentation on the impact that medical ethics has on society:

The ethical question regarding preventative medicine.
End-of-care decisions regarding patient comfort and care.
Religious beliefs contradict medical decisions and put patients at risk.
Medical ethics versus cultural bias across the United States.
Ethical questions when treating the mentally disabled.
How to deal with medical ethics in third-world countries.
The moral and ethical questions of treating patients without healthcare.
The connection between poor health and financial status.
The cost of healthcare in developed countries versus undeveloped countries.
The major factors that drive the costs of healthcare in the U.S.

Medical Ethics Issues Topics for a Quick Project

There are plenty of reasons why students would need to find a topic they can research and write about in a short amount of time. Consider these ideas for a quick turnaround:

The right to attain complete medical information despite age.
The obligation to report instances of alleged organ trafficking.
The right for patients to have access to all medical records after the age of 15.
Child vaccination is a mandatory requirement of all legal residents.
The ethics behind using surrogate pregnancies on-demand versus health reasons.
Giving the homeless population free healthcare across the United States.
A patient’s right to refuse treatment for religious purposes.
How to improve the selection process in which donor recipients are selected.
Encouraging patients to use homeopathy remedies before medicine.
Accepting eastern medical practices to help patient rehabilitation.

Medical Ethics Research Topics for a Dissertation

Dissertations are long projects that can take several months to several years to complete. Be sure to consider a topic that you know you can handle and one that will make working with your advisor a positive experience:

Allowing patients to opt-in or opt-out of the donor system in specific circumstances.
The legalization of doctor-assisted suicide is a federal right in the United States.
The advancements in technology improve the accuracy of treatments.
Patient confidentiality and treatment during the Covid-19 global pandemic.
Genetic testing, precision medicine, patient privacy, and confidentially challenges.
The extent to which people without healthcare should be provided services.
The international medical community during times of war.
Different examples of cultural humility and volunteerism around the world.
Moral and ethical obligations physicians have to society regardless of country.
The effect of data breaches on the doctor and patient relationship.

For more good medical ethics research topics, contact our support staff who can connect you with a qualified academic professional in this field. He or she can find topics for medical ethics paper to fit any situation and academic level. We are available to help 24/7 and can be reached conveniently by chat, email, and telephone.

Log in using your username and password

Search More Search for this keyword Advanced search
Latest content
Current issue
JME Commentaries
BMJ Journals

Current controversy

Feature article and commentaries, original research, extended essays, student essay, brief reports.

Equity in global bioethics scholarship and practice: walking the talk, together (21 August, 2024) Free Harald Schmidt
Update on the ethical, legal and technical challenges of translating xenotransplantation (10 November, 2023) Rebecca Thom , David Ayares , David K C Cooper , John Dark , Sara Fovargue , Marie Fox , Michael Gusmano , Jayme Locke , Chris McGregor , Brendan Parent , Rommel Ravanan , David Shaw , Anthony Dorling , Antonia J Cronin
Designing AI for mental health diagnosis: challenges from sub-Saharan African value-laden judgements on mental health disorders (19 February, 2024) Free Edmund Terem Ugar , Ntsumi Malele
Machine learning for mental health diagnosis: tackling contributory injustice and epistemic oppression (30 May, 2024) Giorgia Pozzi , Michiel De Proost
Navigating cultural diversity: harnessing AI for mental health diagnosis despite value-laden judgements (27 May, 2024) Hazdalila Yais Haji Razali , Aimi Nadia Mohd Yusof
Old wine in new bottles? What is new with AI for mental health diagnosis? (21 June, 2024) Marcos Paulo de Lucca Silveira
Negotiating cultural sensitivity in medical AI (27 May, 2024) Ji-Young Lee
Designing AI for mental health diagnosis: responding to critics (8 July, 2024) Edmund Terem Ugar , Ntsumi Malele
If it walks like a duck…: Monitored Emergency Use of Unregistered and Experimental Interventions (MEURI) is research (23 November, 2023) G Owen Schaefer
Ethical issues in Nipah virus control and research: addressing a neglected disease (9 December, 2023) Tess Johnson , Euzebiusz Jamrozik , Tara Hurst , Phaik Yeong Cheah , Michael J Parker
Does the Duty of Rescue support a moral obligation to vaccinate? Seasonal influenza and the Institutional Duty of Rescue (27 November, 2023) Abigail Sophie Harmer
Research involving the recently deceased: ethics questions that must be answered (8 December, 2023) Brendan Parent , Olivia S Kates , Wadih Arap , Arthur Caplan , Brian Childs , Neal W Dickert , Mary Homan , Kathy Kinlaw , Ayannah Lang , Stephen Latham , Macey L Levan , Robert D Truog , Adam Webb , Paul Root Wolpe , Rebecca D Pentz
Taking a moral holiday? Physicians’ practical identities at the margins of professional ethics (29 September, 2022) Henk Jasper van Gils-Schmidt , Sabine Salloch
Clinicians’ criteria for fetal moral status: viability and relationality, not sentience (8 November, 2022) Lisa Campo-Engelstein , Elise Andaya
How do US orthopaedic surgeons view placebo-controlled surgical trials? A pilot online survey study (29 September, 2022) Michael H Bernstein , Maayan N Rosenfield , Charlotte Blease , Molly Magill , Richard M Terek , Julian Savulescu , Francesca L Beaudoin , Josiah D Rich , Karolina Wartolowska
Staffing crisis capacity: a different approach to healthcare resource allocation for a different type of scarce resource (1 July, 2022) Catherine R Butler , Laura B Webster , Douglas S Diekema
Ectogenesis rescue case: a reply to Hendricks (21 September, 2023) William Simkulet
Large language models in medical ethics: useful but not expert (22 January, 2024) Andrea Ferrario , Nikola Biller-Andorno

Issue Information

Table of Contents (PDF)
Front Cover
Editorial Board (PDF)

Log In Username Enter your ACP Online username. Password Enter the password that accompanies your username. Remember me Forget your username or password ?
Privacy Policy
Career Connection
Member Forums

If you are unable to login, please try clearing your cookies . We apologize for the inconvenience.

Medical Ethics Issues: Position Papers & Resources

In addition to the ACP Ethics Manual, ACP publishes ethics position papers on a broad range of health care ethics issues including clinical ethics, professionalism, the delivery of health care, teaching, medical research, human rights and other topics. ACP ethics policy is approved by the Board of Regents and serves as the basis for the development of ACP ethics education and practice resources and legislative, regulatory and policy implementation activities.

Current ACP Ethics Policies and Resources

New artificial intelligence, position papers.

Artificial Intelligence in the Provision of Health Care: An American College of Physicians Policy Position Paper (June 4, 2024)

Determination of Death and Organ Transplantation

Standards and Ethics Issues in the Determination of Death: A Position Paper From the American College of Physicians (September 4, 2023)
Ethics, Determination of Death, and Organ Transplantation in Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP) with Controlled Donation after Circulatory Determination of Death (cDCD): American College of Physicians Statement of Concern (April 17, 2021)

Comments and Letters

ACP letter to the Uniform Law Commission Committee about updating the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) (June 7, 2023)
Does Normothermic Regional Perfusion Violate the Ethical Principles Underlying Organ Procurement? Yes. (Chest. 2022;162(2):288-90)
Rebuttal From Dr. DeCamp et al. (Chest. 2022;162(2):292-3)
ACP Letter Regarding Discrimination on Basis of Disability in Health and Human Service Programs Proposed Rule 2023 (November 13, 2023)

Electronic and Online Professionalism

Ethics manual, electronic patient-physician communication, electronic health records, telemedicine, and online professionalism.

Initiating and Discontinuing the Patient–Physician Relationship
The Medical Record
Boundaries and Privacy

Case Studies

Lab Results Reporting, Ethics, and the 21st Century Cures Act Rule on Information Blocking CME/MOC

Ethics, Electronic Health Record Integrity and the Patient-Physician Relationship CME/MOC (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME and MOC by Medscape. 2021)

Ethics, Professionalism, and the Physician Social Media Influencer CME/MOC (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME and MOC by Medscape. 2020)

”Doctor, Can’t You Just Phone a Prescription In?” and Other Ethical Challenges of Telemedicine Encounters CME/MOC (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. MOC and CME by Medscape. 2019)

Maintaining Medical Professionalism Online: Posting of Patient Information CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2018)

Addressing a Colleague's Sexually Explicit Facebook Post CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2017)

Copied and Pasted and Misdiagnosed (or Cloned Notes and Blind Alleys) CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2015)

American College of Physicians Ethical Guidance for Electronic Patient-Physician Communication: Aligning Expectations (J Gen Intern Med. published online 22 June 2020)

Ethical Implications of the Electronic Health Record: In the Service of the Patient (J Gen Intern Med. 2017;32:935-9)

Policy Recommendations to Guide the Use of Telemedicine in Primary Care Settings (Ann Intern Med. 2015;163:787-9)

Online Medical Professionalism: Patient and Public Relationships (Ann Intern Med. 2013;158:620-7)

End-of-Life Care

Care of Patients Near the End of Life
Show Codes, Slow Codes, Full Codes, or No Codes: What Is a Doctor to Do? CME/MOC (ACP Ethic Case Studies Series, MOC and CME by Medscape. 2023)

2011 Letter and 2009 letter to Congressman Blumenauer regarding ACP’s support for legislation to pay for voluntary end-of-life care consultations (see H.R. 1898, the Life Sustaining Treatment Preferences Act of 2009).

Ethics, Determination of Death, and Organ Transplantation in Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP) with Controlled Donation after Circulatory Determination of Death (cDCD): American College of Physicians Statement of Concern

End-of-Life (PEACE) Brochures (ACP. 2014) The PEACE brochures were developed by the Patient Education Work Group, which was convened in conjunction with the Consensus Panel project. Order copies of printed brochures

Improving Your End-of-Life Care Practice
Living with a Serious Illness: Talking with Your Doctor When the Future is Uncertain
When You Have Pain at the End of Life
Making Medical Decisions for a Loved One at the End of Life

ACP-ASIM End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel Papers (1999-2001) ACP convened this Greenwall Foundation supported consensus panel to develop ethical, policy, and clinical recommendations for physicians and other clinicians on end-of-life decisions.

Physician's Guide to End-of-Life Care Edited by Lois Snyder, JD, and Timothy Quill, MD, FACP (ACP Books. 2001)

Advance Directive Forms for Your State Contact Caring Connections, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

National Healthcare Decisions Day, April 16 Details and resources on NHDD and the importance of advance care planning.

Expert Witnesses

To Be or Not to Be: Should I Serve as an Expert Witness? CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2014)

Guidelines for the Physician Expert Witness (Ann Intern Med. 1990;113:789)

Family Caregivers

Ethical Guidance on Family Caregiving, Support, and Visitation in Hospitals and Residential Health Care Facilities, Including During Public Health Emergencies (J Gen Intern Med. 2023 Mar 20:1–8)

Family Caregivers, Patients and Physicians: Ethical Guidance to Optimize Relationships (J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25:255-60)

Family Caregivers, Patients and Physicians: Ethical Guidance to Optimize Relationships (ACP. 2009) (This publication is a longer version of the position paper above.)

Information Resources for Physicians Supporting Family Caregivers (ACP. 2010) This appendix of resources was developed in conjunction with the ACP position paper to help physicians manage relationships with patients and caregivers.

When the Family Caregiver Is a Physician: Negotiating the Ethical Boundaries CME/MOC (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME and MOC by Medscape. 2020)

Genetic Testing and Precision Medicine

Precision Medicine, Genetic Testing, Privacy, and Confidentiality

ACP Comments on privacy protection and human genome sequencing (May 24, 2012) ACP provided comments to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues regarding the ethical implications of evolving notions of privacy and access in relation to the integration of large-scale human genome sequencing into research and clinical care.

Position Papers and Statements

Ethical Considerations in Precision Medicine and Genetic Testing in Internal Medicine Practice Ann Intern Med.2022;175:1322-1323

Genetic Testing and Reuniting Families (July 10, 2018)

Global Health Clinical Experiences

Cultural Humility and Volunteerism

Ethical Obligations Regarding Short-Term Global Health Clinical Experiences (Ann Intern Med. 2018;168:651-7)

Health and Human Rights

"Health and human rights are interrelated. When human rights are promoted, health is promoted ... Physicians have important roles in promoting health and human rights and addressing social inequities." (Ethics Manual, seventh edition).

Obligations of the Physician to Society

Health as a Human Right (Ann Intern Med. doi:10.7326/M23-1900)

ACP's Human Rights Page : ACP policy statements and letters of support, as well as documents related to College advocacy for the humane treatment of prisoners and detainees.

Health Information Privacy, Protection, and Use

Confidentiality
Research Sections within the Research chapter include “Use of Human Biological Materials in Research” and “Internet and Social Media Research”.

Maintaining Medical Professionalism Online: Posting of Patient Information (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2018)

Confidentiality and Privacy: Beyond HIPAA to Honey, Can We Talk? (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2018)

Ethical Guidance for Physicians and Health Care Institutions on Grateful Patient Fundraising: A Position Paper From the American College of Physicians (Ann Intern Med.doi:10.7326/M23-1691)

Health Information Privacy, Protection, and Use in the Expanding Digital Health Ecosystem: A Position Paper of the American College of Physicians (Ann Intern Med.2021;174:994-998)

Pandemics and Ethics -->

Health care system catastrophes.

The Patient-Physician Relationship and Health Care System Catastrophes
Medical Risk to Physician and Patient

When Resources Are Limited During a Public Health Catastrophe: Nondiscrimination and Ethical Allocation Guidance CME/MOC (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. MOC and CME by Medscape. 2023)

Pandemic Treatment Resource Allocation Ethics and Nondiscrimination (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME and MOC by Medscape. 2020)

Stewardship of Health Care Resources: Allocating Mechanical Ventilators During Pandemic Influenza (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. 2017)

ACP supports ACIP recommendation for additional mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose and WHO call for equitable global vaccine distribution (August 17, 2021)

ACP Statement on Global COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Allocation: On Being Ethical and Practical (June 8, 2021)

ACP's Policy Statement on the Ethical Allocation of Vaccines During Pandemics Including COVID-19 (November 23, 2020)

A Wake-up Call for Healthcare Emerging Ethical Lessons from Covid-19 (Modern Healthcare, June 16, 2020)

Non-Discrimination in the Stewardship of Healthcare Resources in Health System Catastrophes, including COVID-19 Pandemic (March 26, 2020)

Internists Say Harassment Based on Race or Ethnic Origin is Never Okay (March 31, 2020)

Universal Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders, Social Worth, and Life-Years: Opposing Discriminatory Approaches to the Allocation of Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Health System Catastrophes (Ann Intern Med.2020;173:230-232)

Patient–Physician Relationship

Patient-physician relationship.

The Physician and the Patient
Initiating and Discontinuing the Patient-Physician Relationship
Third-Party Evaluations
Providing Medical Care to One’s Self; Persons With Whom the Physician has a Preexisting Close Nonprofessional Relationship or a Reporting Relationship; and VIPs
Sexual Contact between Physician and Patient
Gifts from Patients

Confidentiality and privacy, disclosure of medical errors, and informed and surrogate decision making

Informed Decision Making and Consent
Making Decisions Near the End of Life

The Doctor Will See You Shortly. The Ethical Significance of Time for the Patient–Physician Relationship (J Gen Intern Med. 2005;20:1057-62)

Ethics and Time, Time Perception, and the Patient–Physician Relationship (ACP. March 2003) (This publication is a longer version of the position paper above.)

Patient Prejudice? The Patient Said What?... and What Comes Next CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2022)

Confidentiality and Privacy: Beyond HIPAA to Honey, Can We Talk? CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2018)

Preventive Health Screening, Ethics, and the Cognitively Impaired Patient CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2015)

The Difficult Patient: Should You End the Relationship? What Now? An Ethics Case Study CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2014)

Must You Disclose Mistakes Made by Other Physicians? CME (ACP Observer. November 2003)

Physicians and Society

Relation of the Physician to Government
Strikes and Other Joint Actions by Physicians

Physician Work Stoppages and Political Demonstrations—Economic Self-Interest or Patient Advocacy? Where Is the Line? CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2010)

Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia
Toolkit on Issues in Delivering Patient-Centered End-of-Life Care and Responding to a Request for Physician-Assisted Suicide (Member login)

Ethics and the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide (Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:576-8)

Physician–Industry Relations

Conflicts of Interest
Sponsored Research

Physician Open Payments (Sunshine Rule) This ACP webpage provides guidance and related tools for physicians on the Physician Payment Sunshine Rule (also referred to as the National Physician Payment Transparency Program, or Open Payments). The Open Payments system, implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2015, provides a mechanism for the public reporting of physician and teaching hospital financial relationships with industry.

Physician–Industry Relations. Part 1: Individual Physicians (Ann Intern Med. 2002;136:396-402)

Physician–Industry Relations. Part 2: Organizational Issues (Ann Intern Med. 2002;136:403-6)

Practice Models, the Business of Medicine and the Changing Practice Environment

The Changing Practice Environment
Financial Arrangements

Ethics, Professionalism, Physician Employment and Health Care Business Practices CME/MOC

Banning Harmful Health Behaviors as a Condition of Employment: Where There's Smoke There's Fired? CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2018)

Wellness Programs and Patient Goals of Care CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2017)

Obligations and Opportunities: The Role of Clinical Societies in the Ethics of Managed Care (J Am Geriatr Soc. 1998;46:378-80)

Ethical and Professionalism Implications of Physician Employment and Health Care Business Practices CME (Ann Intern Med. published online 15 March 2021)

Assessing the Patient Care Implications of “Concierge” and Other Direct Patient Contracting Practices (Ann Intern Med. 2015;163:949-52)

The Patient-Centered Medical Home: An Ethical Analysis of Principles and Practice (J Gen Intern Med. 2013;28:141-6)

Ethical Considerations for the Use of Patient Incentives to Promote Personal Responsibility for Health: West Virginia Medicaid and Beyond (ACP. 2010)

Pay-for-Performance Principles That Promote Patient-Centered Care: An Ethics Manifesto (Ann Intern Med. 2007;147:792-4)

Pay-for-Performance Principles that Ensure the Promotion of Patient Centered Care—An Ethics Manifesto (ACP. 2007) (This publication is a longer version of the position paper above.)

Medical Professionalism in the Changing Health Care Environment: Revitalizing Internal Medicine by Focusing on the Patient–Physician Relationship (ACP. 2005)

Ethics in Practice: Managed Care and the Changing Health Care Environment (Ann Intern Med. 2004;141:131-6)

Selling Products Out of the Office (Ann Intern Med. 1999;131:863-4)

Prescription Drug Abuse

Prescription Drug Abuse (Ann Intern Med. 2014;160:198-200)

Professionalism

American College of Physicians Pledge (ACP. 1982 [updated; original 1924]) The ACP Pledge is taken by new Fellows at Convocation at each Internal Medicine annual meeting. The Pledge affirms the physician’s membership in an ethical and moral community dedicated to healing, comfort, and altruism.

Physician Charter on Professionalism

Medical Professionalism in the New Millennium: A Physician Charter (Ann Intern Med. 2002;136:243-6)

Ethical and Professionalism Implications of Physician Employment and Health Care Business Practices (Ann Intern Med. published online 15 March 2021)

ACP Professional Accountability Principles (ACP. March 2018)

Professional Attire and the Patient-Physician Relationship CME/MOC (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME and MOC by Medscape. 2020)

Addressing a Colleague's Unprofessional Behavior During Sign-Out CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2018)

Dealing with the "Disruptive" Physician Colleague CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2009)

Professional Well-being and Ethics

The Impaired Physician

Physician Suicide Prevention: The Ethics and Role of the Physician Colleague and the Healing Community CME/MOC

When an Aging Colleague Seems Impaired CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2017)

Physician Suicide Prevention and the Ethics and Role of a Healing Community: An American College of Physicians Policy Paper (J Gen Intern Med. 2021 Sep;36(9):2829-2835)

Physician Impairment and Rehabilitation: Reintegration Into Medical Practice While Ensuring Patient Safety (Ann Intern Med. 2019;170(12):871-879.)

ACP’s Physician Well-being and Professional Satisfaction initiative aims to foster a culture of wellness, reduce administrative burdens on physicians, improve practice efficiency and enhance individual physician well-being. The project website includes tools and programs for individual members, their practices, and ACP Chapters.

Research Ethics and Human Subjects

Research Sections within the chapter include “Protection of Human Subjects,” “Use of Human Biological Materials in Research,” “Placebo Controls,” “Innovative Medical Therapies,” “Scientific Publication,” “Sponsored Research” and “Public Announcement of Research Discoveries.”

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Project

Under a grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges and the DHHS Office of Research Integrity, ACP Ethics staff has implemented member education and support programs on the responsible conduct of office-based research. Workshops have been presented at ACP's annual meeting as well as at several ACP chapter meetings.

Research in the Physician's Office: Navigating the Ethical Minefield (Hastings Cent Rep. 2008)

Volunteering for a Research Study? Talk with Your Doctor About What You Should Know This patient education brochure provides information and guidance to patients who are considering volunteering for a research study. The brochures are designed to facilitate conversations between doctors and their patients. They are intended for distribution in doctors’ offices and come in packages of 50. Access the brochure order form .

Author! Author! Who Should Be Named in a Published Study? An Ethics Case Study CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2014)

When are Industry-Sponsored Trials a Good Match for Community Doctors? CME (ACP-ASIM Observer. 2001)

Research Ethics Training Resources

Revised Common Rule Educational Materials , Department of Health and Human Services
The Research Clinic , Office of Research Integrity, Department of Health and Human Services
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) , Research Ethics and Compliance Training, CITI Program
Responsible Conduct of Research Training , Office of Intramural Research, National Institutes of Health
HIPAA Training and Resources , Department of Health and Human Services
Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science ,University of Virginia
World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)
Council of Science Editors (CSE)
European Association of Science Editors (EASE)

ACP supports National Academies’ call for withdrawal of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for ‘Common Rule’ and for appointing a new commission (Dec. 31, 2015) ACP issued a statement in support of the National Academies' call for withdrawal of the Common Rule NPRM and for appointing a new research ethics commission.

ACP Comments on Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) (Dec. 31, 2015) ACP submitted comments to the Office for Human Research Protections of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, "Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects," also known as the Common Rule. ACP also submitted an earlier round of comments on the proposed rule making on Oct. 25, 2011.

NEW Scientific Integrity and Disinformation -->

Ethics and Academic Discourse, Scientific Integrity, Uncertainty, and Disinformation in Medicine: An American College of Physicians Position Paper (Ann Intern Med.doi:10.7326/M24-0648)

Stewardship of Health Care Resources

"Physicians have a responsibility to practice effective and efficient health care and to use health care resources responsibly in practicing high-value care. Parsimonious care that utilizes the most efficient means to effectively diagnose a condition and treat a patient puts the patient first but also respects the need to use resources wisely and to help ensure that resources are equitably available" (Ethics Manual, seventh edition).

Conflicting duties? The physician's primary duty, first and foremost, is to the individual patient. She or he must advocate for the patient—in a health care system that grows more and more complex by the year—based on the best interests of the patient. But the physician also should use health care resources responsibly and efficiently. Are these duties in conflict? The Ethics Manual and ethics case studies explore these issues and provide help in sorting them out.

Is it rationing? Parsimonious care is not rationing. The goal of medical parsimony is to provide the care necessary for the patient's good on the basis primarily of evidence-based medicine. Although this may have the welcome side effect of preserving resources, reducing resource use is not the intent. It is this difference in intent and action that helps provide a foundation for the ethical distinction between parsimonious medicine and rationing.

Resource Allocation

ACP’s High Value Care Project aims to improve health, avoid harms, and eliminate wasteful practices. The project website offers learning resources for clinicians and medical educators, clinical guidelines, best practice advice, case studies and patient resources on a wide variety of related topics.

Patient Requests for Specific Care: 'Surely You Can Explain to My Insurer That I Need Boniva?' CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2018)

Who Should Get What? Mammography and the Stewardship of Health Care Resources CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2012)

The following ethics case studies were developed through an award from the ABIM Foundation's Putting the Charter into Practice project. Watch a video report of the ACP's work on this project presented by Dr. David Fleming, former President of the College.

Stewardship of Health Care Resources: Allocating Mechanical Ventilators During Pandemic Influenza CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2017)

Stewardship of Health Care Resources: Responding to a Patient's Request for Antibiotics (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2014)

Teaching, Training and the Hidden Curriculum

Attending Physicians and Physicians-in-Training

Resident Duty Hours: To Hand Over or Gloss Over? CME (ACP Ethics Case Studies Series. CME by Medscape. 2017)

Hidden Curricula, Ethics, and Professionalism: Optimizing Clinical Learning Environments in Becoming and Being a Physician (Ann Intern Med. 2018;168:506-8)

CME/MOC activities based on this ACP position paper are available:

Annals offers two CME/MOC activities:

Ethics, Professionalism, and the Hidden Curriculum (Click on “CME/MOC” on the left sidebar.)

Annals On Call – Hidden Curriculum

In this Curbsiders Podcast , Sanjay Desai, MD, coauthor of ACP’s position paper and Internal Medicine program director at Johns Hopkins, reviews several cases that illustrate how institutional norms can shape the practice of medicine. Detailed summaries of the cases discussed are available here .

Archived Ethics Position Papers

Health Information Technology & Privacy (July 2011)

Cognitively Impaired Subjects (November 1989)

Ethics Position Papers by Publication Date

Ethics Research Paper Topics

This page provides a comprehensive list of ethics research paper topics , aiming to guide students through the intricate labyrinth of moral and ethical discussions. Curated meticulously by iResearchNet, the guide not only presents diverse topics across various ethical domains but also imparts invaluable insights on choosing the ideal topic and formulating a compelling research paper. For both newcomers and those well-acquainted with ethics research, this resource stands as a beacon, illuminating the path to academic success.

100 Ethics Research Paper Topics

The vast field of ethics, deeply intertwined with the human experience, requires continual exploration and understanding. For students embarking on academic pursuits, identifying the right ethics research paper topics becomes paramount. Not only does it set the stage for meaningful inquiry, but it also determines the depth and breadth of the discourse. The study of ethics challenges individuals to dissect, question, and offer insights into the moral compass that guides societies. This extensive list has been curated to provide students with a wide array of ethics research paper topics, covering various domains, each reflecting the multi-faceted nature of ethical discussions.

Academic Writing, Editing, Proofreading, And Problem Solving Services

Get 10% off with 24start discount code.

1. Medical Ethics :

Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide
Genetic Engineering
Reproductive Rights
Medical Data Privacy
Informed Consent
Healthcare Resource Allocation
Research on Vulnerable Groups
Organ Donation Ethics
Mental Health Ethics
Medical Tourism

2. Business Ethics :

Corporate Social Responsibility
Whistleblowing
Employee Rights
Ethical Advertising
Insider Trading
Sustainability in Business
Supply Chain Ethics
Consumer Rights
Business in Conflict Zones
Cultural Appropriation in Business

3. Environmental Ethics :

Conservation vs. Industrialization
Animal Rights & Welfare
Climate Change Morality
Genetic Modification of Crops
Resource Depletion
Ecotourism Ethics
Pollution & Accountability
Water Rights & Access
Biodiversity Ethics
Ethical Consumerism

4. Technological Ethics :

AI & Machine Learning Ethics
Digital Privacy
Cybersecurity Ethics
Bioengineering Ethics
Technology & Mental Health
Digital Addiction
Tech Industry Labor Ethics
Automation & Job Ethics
Virtual Reality Morality
Technology in Education Ethics

5. Digital & Media Ethics :

Misinformation & Fake News
Digital Censorship & Freedom of Speech
Representation in Media
Digital Influencers & Ethics
Intellectual Property in the Digital Age
Ethical Journalism in Conflict Zones
Social Media & Privacy Concerns
Ethics of Digital Activism
Gaming Industry Ethics
Media Consumption & Mental Health

6. Social & Cultural Ethics :

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights
Racism & Discrimination
LGBTQ+ Rights & Representation
Immigration & Refugee Ethics
Multiculturalism & Assimilation
Religious Tolerance & Freedom
Indigenous Rights & Representation
Social Welfare System Ethics
Income Inequality & Wealth Distribution
Child Rights & Protection

7. Educational Ethics :

Academic Integrity & Plagiarism
Equal Access to Quality Education
Standardized Testing & Ethics
Educator-Student Relationship Boundaries
Curriculum Bias & Representation
Special Needs Education Ethics
Tuition Fees & Student Debt
Technology in Classroom Ethics
Bilingual Education Ethics
Ethics of School Discipline & Punishments

8. Political & Governance Ethics :

Campaign Financing & Lobbying
Voter Rights & Suppression
Ethical Governance & Corruption
Surveillance & Citizen Privacy
International Diplomacy Ethics
War, Peacekeeping & Military Ethics
Human Rights & Global Governance
Ethics of Sanctions & Economic Pressure
Political Propaganda & Manipulation
Whistleblowing in Government

9. Sports & Recreation Ethics :

Doping & Performance Enhancing Drugs
Athlete Welfare & Rights
Gender & Sports: Equal Representation
Commercialization & Sport Sponsorships
eSports & Digital Gaming Ethics
Youth Sports & Pressure
Olympic Games & Politics
Fan Behavior & Hooliganism
Sports Journalism & Representation
Ethics of Sports Betting & Gambling

10. Art & Aesthetics Ethics :

Art Censorship & Freedom of Expression
Representation & Diversity in Art
Art & Cultural Appropriation
Ethics of Art Restoration & Preservation
Digital Art & Intellectual Property
Ethics of Art Criticism
Art in Public Spaces & Community
Funding & Sponsorship in the Arts
Technology & Art Fusion Ethics
Art as Activism & Political Expression

Within the broad spectrum of ethics research paper topics, lie endless opportunities to engage with pressing questions, challenge established norms, and contribute to the evolving ethical paradigms of the 21st century. As society grapples with new technologies, shifting global dynamics, and unprecedented challenges, the importance of ethical exploration cannot be overstated. We invite every student to dive deep into this list, to find their niche within the vast expanse of ethical topics. By selecting the right ethics research paper topics, they can position themselves at the forefront of dialogues that have the power to reshape our world’s moral landscape.

Browse More Ethics Research Paper Topics:

Applied Ethics
Care Ethics
Comparative Ethics
Descriptive Ethics
Evolutionary Ethics
Feminist Ethics
Meta-Ethics
Normative Ethics
Professional Ethics
Religious Ethics

The Range of Ethics Research Paper Topics

Introduction to Ethics as a Discipline At the heart of human existence lies the perennial question: What ought we to do? Ethics, a sophisticated branch of philosophy, is dedicated to answering this question, probing deep into the realms of right and wrong, duty, and responsibility. As societies, technologies, and cultures evolve, the exploration of ethical tenets has expanded, encompassing various domains and scenarios, from everyday life choices to complex geopolitical decisions.

Historical Context of Ethics Tracing back to antiquity, the ethical compass was set by seminal thinkers. Ancient Greeks, through the philosophical musings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, dissected concepts of virtue, the purpose of life, and societal duties. Concurrently, in the East, doctrines of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism were offering profound insights into ethical living, highlighting righteousness, duty, and the cosmic order. These foundational thoughts provided the architecture for successive generations to build upon, creating a rich tapestry of ethical frameworks.

Evolution of Ethical Considerations The journey from medieval to modern times witnessed a fascinating evolution of ethics. The Middle Ages were dominated by religious ethics, where moral codes were often derived from religious scriptures and divine interventions. Philosophers like Thomas Aquinas sought to reconcile reason with faith. The Renaissance and Enlightenment periods championed human reason, leading to secular ethical theories. Thinkers like Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart Mill introduced deontological and utilitarian perspectives, respectively. Fast-forwarding to the contemporary era, we’re in an age that grapples with challenges birthed by rapid technological advancements, sociopolitical changes, and a globalized world, each demanding nuanced ethical considerations.

Diverse Areas of Study within Ethics Ethics now sprawls across various disciplines, each reflecting the pressing concerns of the age. Medical ethics, for instance, navigates the intricate maze of patient rights, bioengineering, and health equity. Business ethics is centered around corporate governance, sustainability, consumer rights, and corporate social responsibilities. Environmental ethics is a testimony to our growing realization of Earth’s fragility, prompting discourses on conservation, animal rights, and sustainable development. These subdivisions elucidate the vastness and depth of the ethical universe, emphasizing its applicability in multifarious sectors.

Relevance in Today’s Interconnected World Today, the tapestry of global interconnectivity has heightened the importance of ethical considerations. Information dissemination is rapid; societies are interwoven in complex ways, where a decision in one corner of the world can reverberate globally. This hyperconnected ecosystem underscores the pivotal role of ethics, be it in global trade, international diplomacy, technological advancements, or individual behavioral patterns.

Case Studies Illustrating Depth and Breadth of Ethical Inquiries :

The Trolley Problem : Delving beyond its elementary rendition, it spawns intricate debates on individual vs. collective good, direct vs. indirect harm, and the essence of moral decisions.
Facebook-Cambridge Analytica Scandal : This case becomes a lens to inspect broader issues: the sanctity of individual data, the ethics of persuasion, and the overarching responsibilities of digital behemoths.
Fast Fashion Dilemmas : Beyond the immediate issues of labor rights and sustainability, it beckons discussions on consumerism, cultural commodification, and the ethics of globalization.
Gene Editing and CRISPR : A groundbreaking technology that calls into question the ethics of playing ‘God’, altering genetic codes, potential misuse, and the overarching implications for humanity’s evolution.
Refugee Crisis : An intersection of geopolitical maneuvers, human rights, nationalism vs. globalism, and the ethical responsibilities of nations and individuals.

The Global Impact of Ethics Research Ethical research isn’t a mere academic endeavor; its ramifications ripple through the global fabric. Policies, laws, international treaties, corporate strategies, and even grassroots movements are often anchored in rigorous ethical discussions. For instance, international climate accords are informed by environmental ethics, dictating the shared responsibilities of nations. Similarly, discussions on data privacy regulations are imbued with digital ethics, reflecting the collective consensus on individual rights in the digital age.

Conclusion Stressed on the Limitless Possibilities of Research in Ethics Ethics, with its expansive history and multifaceted nature, continues to be a beacon, illuminating the intricacies of human actions and intentions. The extensive array of “ethics research paper topics” is testament to its sprawling scope, touching upon nearly every facet of human existence. As we stand at the precipice of monumental global changes, the canvas of ethical research beckons scholars, students, and thinkers to engage, question, and sculpt the moral landscape of the future. With every ethical inquiry, we edge closer to understanding the complexities of the human psyche, societal constructs, and the broader universe, unveiling limitless possibilities.

How to Choose Ethics Research Paper Topics

Embarking on a scholarly voyage begins with a crucial decision – choosing the right topic. In the vast domain of academic research, the topic serves as the foundation stone, shaping the trajectory of the entire study. Especially when navigating the intricate waters of “ethics research paper topics,” this choice is paramount. A judiciously chosen topic can serve as a mirror, reflecting societal concerns, personal beliefs, and scholarly gaps, ensuring the research not only informs but also inspires.

Align with Personal Interest : Your passion becomes the heartbeat of your research. When selecting among various ethics research paper topics, gravitate towards those that genuinely intrigue you. An authentic interest will sustain your enthusiasm throughout the research process, making challenges more surmountable and discoveries more exhilarating. Remember, when you’re invested emotionally and intellectually, your writing exudes a palpable fervor that resonates with readers.
Consider Societal Relevance : The rapidly changing societal landscape constantly births new ethical dilemmas. Aim for topics that are at the forefront of current debates, as they will be both timely and impactful. Such topics will also allow you to contribute constructively to real-world discussions, ensuring your research isn’t just an academic exercise but a tool for societal introspection.
Assess Available Resources : Before finalizing a topic, gauge the availability of research materials. Whether it’s online databases, libraries, or expert interviews, a robust collection of resources will be instrumental. A topic with abundant scholarly materials offers a richer backdrop against which you can position your arguments.
Seek Feedback : Engage in preliminary discussions about potential topics with peers, mentors, or professionals in the ethics arena. Their feedback can offer fresh perspectives, highlight overlooked challenges, and even introduce you to invaluable resources. This collaborative approach can fine-tune your choice, ensuring it’s well-rounded and robust.
Evaluate Scope : In the vast ocean of ethics research paper topics, it’s easy to either drown in overly broad topics or find oneself restricted in extremely niche areas. A well-defined scope ensures your research remains focused yet comprehensive. Consider drafting preliminary research questions to test the waters; if you find them too vast or too constrained, it might be time to recalibrate.
Anticipate Challenges : Each topic brings its unique set of challenges. From counterarguments and controversial perspectives to gaps in existing literature, anticipating these hurdles equips you for a smoother research journey. Strategizing in advance can help mitigate potential roadblocks, ensuring your research remains on track.
Cross-disciplinary Potential : Some of the most enriching ethics research paper topics are those that straddle multiple disciplines. Consider topics that interweave ethics with fields like technology, biology, sociology, or law. Such intersections can offer multifaceted insights, elevate your research’s depth, and cater to a more diverse readership.
Originality Counts : While established topics offer the comfort of abundant resources, there’s undeniable merit in exploring uncharted territories. Whether it’s introducing a novel perspective to a known issue or probing a relatively untouched area, originality can significantly elevate your research’s value.
Ethical Implications : Being in the realm of ethics, it’s paramount to introspect on the moral ramifications of your chosen topic. Will it spark meaningful discourse? Will it challenge established beliefs or reinforce them? Ensure that your topic is not just analytically sound but also ethically potent.
Future Potential : A hallmark of impactful research is its potential to birth further studies. As you sift through ethics research paper topics, reflect on their prospective contributions. Can your topic pave the way for subsequent research? Can it evolve with changing societal dynamics? A topic with longevity ensures your research remains relevant beyond its immediate publication.

The odyssey of crafting a research paper is both challenging and rewarding, with the initial choice of topic setting the stage for what follows. While there’s a myriad of “ethics research paper topics” to delve into, ensuring alignment with personal interest, societal relevance, and scholarly depth can transform your research from mundane to monumental. As budding scholars, harnessing the power of a well-chosen topic is the first step in leaving an indelible imprint in the annals of academic and societal discourse.

How to Write an Ethics Research Paper

Writing an ethics research paper is an intricate blend of philosophy, societal observations, and rigorous academic inquiry. Unlike many other disciplines where facts and figures predominantly steer the content, ethics brings in the added layer of moral scrutiny and philosophical debate. Thus, crafting a paper in this domain demands not only academic rigor but also a thoughtful understanding of the ever-evolving moral compass of society.

Start with a Strong Thesis : The thesis is the linchpin of your research, offering readers a concise insight into your central argument. Given the philosophical nature of ethics, it’s paramount to ensure that your thesis is both precise and thought-provoking. It should be a reflection of your stance while being open to interrogation.
Ensure Unbiased Representation : Ethical discussions often tread on contentious grounds. While you’ll have your perspective, it’s crucial to present all sides of an argument fairly. This ensures the paper doesn’t become a personal opinion piece but stands as an unbiased academic exploration.
Incorporate Varied Philosophical Perspectives : Ethics has been debated for millennia, with various philosophical theories emerging over time. Draw from these diverse traditions – be it utilitarianism, deontological ethics, virtue ethics, or others – to enrich your paper’s theoretical foundation.
Engage with Contemporary Issues : While ethical principles might be timeless, their applications evolve with societal changes. Anchor your paper in contemporary scenarios, drawing parallels or distinctions between age-old principles and modern-day dilemmas.
Prioritize Depth Over Breadth : Given the vast expanse of ethical debates, it’s tempting to touch upon multiple issues. However, a focused deep dive into one specific issue often yields more scholarly rewards than a superficial sweep across several.
Cite Reliable Sources : Establish the credibility of your arguments by leaning on reputable sources. Whether you’re quoting ancient philosophers or referencing modern ethicists, ensure your sources are authoritative and relevant.
Interact with Counterarguments : A well-rounded ethics research paper doesn’t shy away from counterarguments. Instead, it actively engages with them, dissecting their logic and either refuting or integrating their insights. This not only strengthens your primary argument but also showcases a holistic understanding of the topic.
Maintain a Logical Flow : The nature of ethical discussions can be abstract. Hence, maintaining a clear and logical flow in your paper is vital. Each section should seamlessly lead to the next, with clear transitions ensuring the reader remains engaged and oriented throughout.
Seek Peer Reviews : Given the subjective nature of ethics, obtaining feedback from peers or mentors can be invaluable. They might offer alternative interpretations, point out potential biases, or suggest additional resources to bolster your arguments.
Conclude with Future Implications : Round off your paper by discussing the potential implications of your findings. How might they influence future ethical debates, policy decisions, or societal behaviors? This not only adds relevance to your research but also underscores its significance in the broader ethical discourse.

Embarking on the journey of writing an ethics research paper is a commendable endeavor. It’s a pursuit that demands meticulous research, unbiased representation, and deep philosophical introspection. While the path might be laden with challenges, the rewards – in the form of enriched understandings, ignited debates, and potential societal impacts – are profound. As scholars delving into the realm of ethics, let’s strive to craft papers that not only dissect ethical quandaries but also illuminate paths towards a more reflective and just society.

iResearchNet’s Custom Writing Services

Navigating the intricate domain of ethics research requires a combination of profound knowledge, unique insights, and unwavering dedication. Recognizing these challenges, iResearchNet is proud to introduce its suite of premier writing services. Tailored to cater to the nuanced demands of ethics research, our offerings are designed to support, enhance, and elevate your academic pursuits.

Expert Degree-Holding Writers : At the heart of iResearchNet is a team of seasoned writers, each holding advanced degrees from reputed institutions. Their profound academic backgrounds ensure that your research paper benefits from both depth and expertise.
Custom Written Works : Every ethical dilemma, every academic requirement is unique. Respecting this uniqueness, our services prioritize custom-written works, ensuring your paper is original, relevant, and perfectly tailored to your needs.
In-depth Research : The strength of an ethics research paper lies in its foundational research. Our writers delve deep, exploring varied resources, to ensure your paper is backed by comprehensive and credible research.
Custom Formatting : Academic standards can be strict, and formatting nuances can be intricate. Whether you require APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, or Harvard styles, our team is adept at delivering impeccable formatting tailored to your specific requirements.
Top Quality : Quality isn’t just a feature; it’s a promise. Every paper crafted by iResearchNet embodies the highest academic standards, ensuring it stands out in any scholarly arena.
Customized Solutions : Whether you need a comprehensive research paper, an essay, or just an annotated bibliography, our services are flexible, offering solutions customized to your precise academic demands.
Flexible Pricing : We understand the financial constraints students often face. Hence, our pricing model is designed to be competitive and flexible, ensuring top-tier services without breaking the bank.
Short Deadlines : In the fast-paced world of academia, time is often of the essence. Catering to urgent requirements, we pride ourselves on delivering quality work even with deadlines as short as three hours.
Timely Delivery : Your deadlines are our commitment. Our team works diligently to ensure that every project, no matter how complex, is delivered on time, every time.
24/7 Support : Questions, clarifications, or just a status check – our support team is available round the clock. With a dedication to serving you, we ensure you’re never left in the dark.
Absolute Privacy : Your trust is paramount. Every interaction, every piece of information shared remains confidential, safeguarding your academic and personal privacy.
Easy Order Tracking : With our intuitive order tracking system, you’re always in the loop. Monitor the progress of your paper, interact with the writer, and provide feedback, all at your fingertips.
Money-Back Guarantee : Your satisfaction is our success. While we strive for perfection, if for any reason our work doesn’t meet your expectations, our money-back guarantee ensures you’re never at a loss.

At iResearchNet, our dedication to excellence is unwavering. Whether you’re just starting your ethics research journey or are looking for the final touches, our comprehensive suite of services promises to be your steadfast academic ally. With an ensemble of expert writers, a commitment to quality, and a passion for ethics, we assure you of top-tier services, making every ethics research paper not just an assignment but a masterpiece.

Empower Your Academic Journey with iResearchNet!

The path to academic excellence is laden with challenges – tight deadlines, intricate research demands, and the pursuit of originality. Such challenges often eclipse the joy of exploration and learning. But what if there was an ally, a guiding hand, ensuring that these hurdles became stepping stones to success? Enter iResearchNet, your trusted partner in transforming academic challenges into opportunities.

What sets iResearchNet apart isn’t just our commitment to quality; it’s the holistic experience we provide. Our roster of expert degree-holding writers ensures each paper resonates with depth and expertise. With our emphasis on custom-tailored solutions, you’re not just getting a research paper; you’re receiving a work of academic art, crafted just for you. Add to that our 24/7 support, money-back guarantee, and impeccable formatting skills, and you have a service that’s not just unique but unparalleled.

Procrastination can often be academia’s worst enemy. Instead of awaiting the eleventh hour, take a proactive step now. Engage with iResearchNet and watch your academic stresses melt away. With us by your side, not only will you meet deadlines, but you’ll do so with flair and finesse. So, why wait? Embark on a seamless, stress-free academic journey with iResearchNet today. Your future self will thank you!

ORDER HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM PAPER

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Publications
Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

Advanced Search
Journal List
Rom J Morphol Embryol
v.61(1); Jan-Mar 2020

A research on abortion: ethics, legislation and socio-medical outcomes. Case study: Romania

Andreea mihaela niţă.

1 Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Craiova, Romania

Cristina Ilie Goga

This article presents a research study on abortion from a theoretical and empirical point of view. The theoretical part is based on the method of social documents analysis, and presents a complex perspective on abortion, highlighting items of medical, ethical, moral, religious, social, economic and legal elements. The empirical part presents the results of a sociological survey, based on the opinion survey method through the application of the enquiry technique, conducted in Romania, on a sample of 1260 women. The purpose of the survey is to identify Romanians perception on the decision to voluntary interrupt pregnancy, and to determine the core reasons in carrying out an abortion.

The analysis of abortion by means of medical and social documents

Abortion means a pregnancy interruption “before the fetus is viable” [ 1 ] or “before the fetus is able to live independently in the extrauterine environment, usually before the 20 th week of pregnancy” [ 2 ]. “Clinical miscarriage is both a common and distressing complication of early pregnancy with many etiological factors like genetic factors, immune factors, infection factors but also psychological factors” [ 3 ]. Induced abortion is a practice found in all countries, but the decision to interrupt the pregnancy involves a multitude of aspects of medical, ethical, moral, religious, social, economic, and legal order.

In a more simplistic manner, Winston Nagan has classified opinions which have as central element “abortion”, in two major categories: the opinion that the priority element is represented by fetus and his entitlement to life and the second opinion, which focuses around women’s rights [ 4 ].

From the medical point of view, since ancient times there have been four moments, generally accepted, which determine the embryo’s life: ( i ) conception; ( ii ) period of formation; ( iii ) detection moment of fetal movement; ( iv ) time of birth [ 5 ]. Contemporary medicine found the following moments in the evolution of intrauterine fetal: “ 1 . At 18 days of pregnancy, the fetal heartbeat can be perceived and it starts running the circulatory system; 2 . At 5 weeks, they become more clear: the nose, cheeks and fingers of the fetus; 3 . At 6 weeks, they start to function: the nervous system, stomach, kidneys and liver of the fetus, and its skeleton is clearly distinguished; 4 . At 7 weeks (50 days), brain waves are felt. The fetus has all the internal and external organs definitively outlined. 5 . At 10 weeks (70 days), the unborn child has all the features clearly defined as a child after birth (9 months); 6 . At 12 weeks (92 days, 3 months), the fetus has all organs definitely shaped, managing to move, lacking only the breath” [ 6 ]. Even if most of the laws that allow abortion consider the period up to 12 weeks acceptable for such an intervention, according to the above-mentioned steps, there can be defined different moments, which can represent the beginning of life. Nowadays, “abortion is one of the most common gynecological experiences and perhaps the majority of women will undergo an abortion in their lifetimes” [ 7 ]. “Safe abortions carry few health risks, but « every year, close to 20 million women risk their lives and health by undergoing unsafe abortions » and 25% will face a complication with permanent consequences” [ 8 , 9 ].

From the ethical point of view, most of the times, the interruption of pregnancy is on the border between woman’s right over her own body and the child’s (fetus) entitlement to life. Judith Jarvis Thomson supported the supremacy of woman’s right over her own body as a premise of freedom, arguing that we cannot force a person to bear in her womb and give birth to an unwanted child, if for different circumstances, she does not want to do this [ 10 ]. To support his position, the author uses an imaginary experiment, that of a violinist to which we are connected for nine months, in order to save his life. However, Thomson debates the problem of the differentiation between the fetus and the human being, by carrying out a debate on the timing which makes this difference (period of conception, 10 weeks of pregnancy, etc.) and highlighting that for people who support abortion, the fetus is not an alive human being [ 10 ].

Carol Gilligan noted that women undergo a true “moral dilemma”, a “moral conflict” with regards to voluntary interruption of pregnancy, such a decision often takes into account the human relationships, the possibility of not hurting the others, the responsibility towards others [ 11 ]. Gilligan applied qualitative interviews to a number of 29 women from different social classes, which were put in a position to decide whether or not to commit abortion. The interview focused on the woman’s choice, on alternative options, on individuals and existing conflicts. The conclusion was that the central moral issue was the conflict between the self (the pregnant woman) and others who may be hurt as a result of the potential pregnancy [ 12 ].

From the religious point of view, abortion is unacceptable for all religions and a small number of abortions can be seen in deeply religious societies and families. Christianity considers the beginning of human life from conception, and abortion is considered to be a form of homicide [ 13 ]. For Christians, “at the same time, abortion is giving up their faith”, riot and murder, which means that by an abortion we attack Jesus Christ himself and God [ 14 ]. Islam does not approve abortion, relying on the sacral life belief as specified in Chapter 6, Verse 151 of the Koran: “Do not kill a soul which Allah has made sacred (inviolable)” [ 15 ]. Buddhism considers abortion as a negative act, but nevertheless supports for medical reasons [ 16 ]. Judaism disapproves abortion, Tanah considering it to be a mortal sin. Hinduism considers abortion as a crime and also the greatest sin [ 17 ].

From the socio-economic point of view, the decision to carry out an abortion is many times determined by the relations within the social, family or financial frame. Moreover, studies have been conducted, which have linked the legalization of abortions and the decrease of the crime rate: “legalized abortion may lead to reduced crime either through reductions in cohort sizes or through lower per capita offending rates for affected cohorts” [ 18 ].

Legal regulation on abortion establishes conditions of the abortion in every state. In Europe and America, only in the XVIIth century abortion was incriminated and was considered an insignificant misdemeanor or a felony, depending on when was happening. Due to the large number of illegal abortions and deaths, two centuries later, many states have changed legislation within the meaning of legalizing voluntary interruption of pregnancy [ 6 ]. In contemporary society, international organizations like the United Nations or the European Union consider sexual and reproductive rights as fundamental rights [ 19 , 20 ], and promotes the acceptance of abortion as part of those rights. However, not all states have developed permissive legislation in the field of voluntary interruption of pregnancy.

Currently, at national level were established four categories of legislation on pregnancy interruption area:

( i ) Prohibitive legislations , ones that do not allow abortion, most often outlining exceptions in abortion in cases where the pregnant woman’s life is endangered. In some countries, there is a prohibition of abortion in all circumstances, however, resorting to an abortion in the case of an imminent threat to the mother’s life. Same regulation is also found in some countries where abortion is allowed in cases like rape, incest, fetal problems, etc. In this category are 66 states, with 25.5% of world population [ 21 ].

( ii ) Restrictive legislation that allow abortion in cases of health preservation . Loosely, the term “health” should be interpreted according to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition as: “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” [ 22 ]. This type of legislation is adopted in 59 states populated by 13.8% of the world population [ 21 ].

( iii ) Legislation allowing abortion on a socio-economic motivation . This category includes items such as the woman’s age or ability to care for a child, fetal problems, cases of rape or incest, etc. In this category are 13 countries, where we have 21.3% of the world population [ 21 ].

( iv ) Legislation which do not impose restrictions on abortion . In the case of this legislation, abortion is permitted for any reason up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions (Romania – 14 weeks, Slovenia – 10 weeks, Sweden – 18 weeks), the interruption of pregnancy after this period has some restrictions. This type of legislation is adopted in 61 countries with 39.5% of the world population [21].

The Centre for Reproductive Rights has carried out from 1998 a map of the world’s states, based on the legislation typology of each country (Figure (Figure1 1 ).

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is RJME-61-1-283-fig1.jpg

The analysis of states according to the legislation regarding abortion. Source: Centre for Reproductive Rights. The World’s Abortion Laws, 2018 [ 23 ]

An unplanned pregnancy, socio-economic context or various medical problems [ 24 ], lead many times to the decision of interrupting pregnancy, regardless the legislative restrictions. In the study “Unsafe abortion: global and regional estimates of the incidence of unsafe abortion and associated mortality in 2008” issued in 2011 by the WHO , it was determined that within the states with restrictive legislation on abortion, we may also encounter a large number of illegal abortions. The illegal abortions may also be resulting in an increased risk of woman’s health and life considering that most of the times inappropriate techniques are being used, the hygienic conditions are precarious and the medical treatments are incorrectly administered [ 25 ]. Although abortions done according to medical guidelines carry very low risk of complications, 1–3 unsafe abortions contribute substantially to maternal morbidity and death worldwide [ 26 ].

WHO has estimated for the year 2008, the fact that worldwide women between the ages of 15 and 44 years carried out 21.6 million “unsafe” abortions, which involved a high degree of risk and were distributed as follows: 0.4 million in the developed regions and a number of 21.2 million in the states in course of development [ 25 ].

Case study: Romania

Legal perspective on abortion

In Romania, abortion was brought under regulation by the first Criminal Code of the United Principalities, from 1864.

The Criminal Code from 1864, provided the abortion infringement in Article 246, on which was regulated as follows: “Any person, who, using means such as food, drinks, pills or any other means, which will consciously help a pregnant woman to commit abortion, will be punished to a minimum reclusion (three years).

The woman who by herself shall use the means of abortion, or would accept to use means of abortion which were shown or given to her for this purpose, will be punished with imprisonment from six months to two years, if the result would be an abortion. In a situation where abortion was carried out on an illegitimate baby by his mother, the punishment will be imprisonment from six months to one year.

Doctors, surgeons, health officers, pharmacists (apothecary) and midwives who will indicate, will give or will facilitate these means, shall be punished with reclusion of at least four years, if the abortion took place. If abortion will cause the death of the mother, the punishment will be much austere of four years” (Art. 246) [ 27 ].

The Criminal Code from 1864, reissued in 1912, amended in part the Article 246 for the purposes of eliminating the abortion of an illegitimate baby case. Furthermore, it was no longer specified the minimum of four years of reclusion, in case of abortion carried out with the help of the medical staff, leaving the punishment to the discretion of the Court (Art. 246) [ 28 ].

The Criminal Code from 1936 regulated abortion in the Articles 482–485. Abortion was defined as an interruption of the normal course of pregnancy, being punished as follows:

“ 1 . When the crime is committed without the consent of the pregnant woman, the punishment was reformatory imprisonment from 2 to 5 years. If it caused the pregnant woman any health injury or a serious infirmity, the punishment was reformatory imprisonment from 3 to 6 years, and if it has caused her death, reformatory imprisonment from 7 to 10 years;

2 . When the crime was committed by the unmarried pregnant woman by herself, or when she agreed that someone else should provoke the abortion, the punishment is reformatory imprisonment from 3 to 6 months, and if the woman is married, the punishment is reformatory imprisonment from 6 months to one year. Same penalty applies also to the person who commits the crime with the woman’s consent. If abortion was committed for the purpose of obtaining a benefit, the punishment increases with another 2 years of reformatory imprisonment.

If it caused the pregnant woman any health injuries or a severe disablement, the punishment will be reformatory imprisonment from one to 3 years, and if it has caused her death, the punishment is reformatory imprisonment from 3 to 5 years” (Art. 482) [ 29 ].

The criminal legislation from 1936 specifies that it is not considered as an abortion the interruption from the normal course of pregnancy, if it was carried out by a doctor “when woman’s life was in imminent danger or when the pregnancy aggravates a woman’s disease, putting her life in danger, which could not be removed by other means and it is obvious that the intervention wasn’t performed with another purpose than that of saving the woman’s life” and “when one of the parents has reached a permanent alienation and it is certain that the child will bear serious mental flaws” (Art. 484, Par. 1 and Par. 2) [ 29 ].

In the event of an imminent danger, the doctor was obliged to notify prosecutor’s office in writing, within 48 hours after the intervention, on the performance of the abortion. “In the other cases, the doctor was able to intervene only with the authorization of the prosecutor’s office, given on the basis of a medical certificate from hospital or a notice given as a result of a consultation between the doctor who will intervene and at least a professor doctor in the disease which caused the intervention. General’s Office Prosecutor, in all cases provided by this Article, shall be obliged to maintain the confidentiality of all communications or authorizations, up to the intercession of any possible complaints” (Art. 484) [ 29 ].

The legislation of 1936 provided a reformatory injunction from one to three years for the abortions committed by doctors, sanitary agents, pharmacists, apothecary or midwives (Art. 485) [ 29 ].

Abortion on demand has been legalized for the first time in Romania in the year 1957 by the Decree No. 463, under the condition that it had to be carried out in a hospital and to be carried out in the first quarter of the pregnancy [ 30 ]. In the year 1966, demographic policy of Romania has dramatically changed by introducing the Decree No. 770 from September 29 th , which prohibited abortion. Thus, the voluntary interruption of pregnancy became a crime, with certain exceptions, namely: endangering the mother’s life, physical or mental serious disability; serious or heritable illness, mother’s age over 45 years, if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest or if the woman gave birth to at least four children who were still in her care (Art. 2) [ 31 ].

In the Criminal Code from 1968, the abortion crime was governed by Articles 185–188.

The Article 185, “the illegal induced abortion”, stipulated that “the interruption of pregnancy by any means, outside the conditions permitted by law, with the consent of the pregnant woman will be punished with imprisonment from one to 3 years”. The act referred to above, without the prior consent from the pregnant woman, was punished with prison from two to five years. If the abortion carried out with the consent of the pregnant woman caused any serious body injury, the punishment was imprisonment from two to five years, and when it caused the death of the woman, the prison sentence was from five to 10 years. When abortion was carried out without the prior consent of the woman, if it caused her a serious physical injury, the punishment was imprisonment from three to six years, and if it caused the woman’s death, the punishment was imprisonment from seven to 12 years (Art. 185) [ 32 ].

“When abortion was carried out in order to obtain a material benefit, the maximum punishment was increased by two years, and if the abortion was made by a doctor, in addition to the prison punishment could also be applied the prohibition to no longer practice the profession of doctor”.

Article 186, “abortion caused by the woman”, stipulated that “the interruption of the pregnancy course, committed by the pregnant woman, was punished with imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years”, quoting the fact that by the same punishment was also sanctioned “the pregnant woman’s act to consent in interrupting the pregnancy course made out by another person” (Art. 186) [ 26 ].

The Regulations of the Criminal Code in 1968, also provided the crime of “ownership of tools or materials that can cause abortion”, the conditions of this holding being met when these types of instruments were held outside the hospital’s specialized institutions, the infringement shall be punished with imprisonment from three months to one year (Art. 187) [ 32 ].

Furthermore, the doctors who performed an abortion in the event of extreme urgency, without prior legal authorization and if they did not announce the competent authority within the legal deadline, they were punished by imprisonment from one month to three months (Art. 188) [ 32 ].

In the year 1985, it has been issued the Decree No. 411 of December 26 th , by which the conditions imposed by the Decree No. 770 of 1966 have been hardened, meaning that it has increased the number of children, that a woman could have in order to request an abortion, from four to five children [ 33 ].

The Articles 185–188 of the Criminal Code and the Decree No. 770/1966 on the interruption of the pregnancy course have been abrogated by Decree-Law No. 1 from December 26 th , 1989, which was published in the Official Gazette No. 4 of December 27 th , 1989 (Par. 8 and Par. 12) [ 34 ].

The Criminal Code from 1968, reissued in 1997, maintained Article 185 about “the illegal induced abortion”, but drastically modified. Thus, in this case of the Criminal Code, we identify abortion as “the interruption of pregnancy course, by any means, committed in any of the following circumstances: ( a ) outside medical institutions or authorized medical practices for this purpose; ( b ) by a person who does not have the capacity of specialized doctor; ( c ) if age pregnancy has exceeded 14 weeks”, the punishment laid down was the imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years” (Art. 185, Par. 1) [ 35 ]. For the abortion committed without the prior consent of the pregnant woman, the punishment consisted in strict prison conditions from two to seven years and with the prohibition of certain rights (Art. 185, Par. 2) [ 35 ].

For the situation of causing serious physical injury to the pregnant woman, the punishment was strict prison from three to 10 years and the removal of certain rights, and if it had as a result the death of the pregnant woman, the punishment was strict prison from five to 15 years and the prohibition of certain rights (Art. 185, Par. 3) [ 35 ].

The attempt was punished for the crimes specified in the various cases of abortion.

Consideration should also be given in the Criminal Code reissued in 1997 for not punishing the interruption of the pregnancy course carried out by the doctor, if this interruption “was necessary to save the life, health or the physical integrity of the pregnant woman from a grave and imminent danger and that it could not be removed otherwise; in the case of a over fourteen weeks pregnancy, when the interruption of the pregnancy course should take place from therapeutic reasons” and even in a situation of a woman’s lack of consent, when it has not been given the opportunity to express her will, and abortion “was imposed by therapeutic reasons” (Art. 185, Par. 4) [ 35 ].

Criminal Code from 2004 covers abortion in Article 190, defined in the same way as in the prior Criminal Code, with the difference that it affects the limits of the punishment. So, in the event of pregnancy interruption, in accordance with the conditions specified in Paragraph 1, “the penalty provided was prison time from 6 months to one year or days-fine” (Art. 190, Par. 1) [ 36 ].

Nowadays, in Romania, abortion is governed by the criminal law of 2009, which entered into force in 2014, by the section called “aggression against an unborn child”. It should be specified that current criminal law does not punish the woman responsible for carrying out abortion, but only the person who is involved in carrying out the abortion. There is no punishment for the pregnant woman who injures her fetus during pregnancy.

In Article 201, we can find the details on the pregnancy interruption infringement. Thus, the pregnancy interruption can be performed in one of the following circumstances: “outside of medical institutions or medical practices authorized for this purpose; by a person who does not have the capacity of specialist doctor in Obstetrics and Gynecology and the right of free medical practice in this specialty; if gestational age has exceeded 14 weeks”, the punishment is the imprisonment for six months to three years, or fine and the prohibition to exercise certain rights (Art. 201, Par. 1) [ 37 ].

Article 201, Paragraph 2 specifies that “the interruption of the pregnancy committed under any circumstances, without the prior consent of the pregnant woman, can be punished with imprisonment from 2 to 7 years and with the prohibition to exercise some rights” (Art. 201, Par. 1) [ 37 ].

If by facts referred to above (Art. 201, Par. 1 and Par. 2) [ 37 ] “it has caused the pregnant woman’s physical injury, the punishment is the imprisonment from 3 to 10 years and the prohibition to exercise some rights, and if it has had as a result the pregnant woman’s death, the punishment is the imprisonment from 6 to 12 years and the prohibition to exercise some rights” (Art. 201, Par. 3) [ 37 ]. When the facts have been committed by a doctor, “in addition to the imprisonment punishment, it will also be applied the prohibition to exercise the profession of doctor (Art. 201, Par. 4) [ 37 ].

Criminal legislation specifies that “the interruption of pregnancy does not constitute an infringement with the purpose of a treatment carried out by a specialist doctor in Obstetrics and Gynecology, until the pregnancy age of twenty-four weeks is reached, or the subsequent pregnancy interruption, for the purpose of treatment, is in the interests of the mother or the fetus” (Art. 201, Par. 6) [ 37 ]. However, it can all be found in the phrases “therapeutic purposes” and “the interest of the mother and of the unborn child”, which predisposes the text of law to an interpretation, finally the doctors are the only ones in the position to decide what should be done in such cases, assuming direct responsibility [ 38 ].

Article 202 of the Criminal Code defines the crime of harming an unborn child, pointing out the punishments for the various types of injuries that can occur during pregnancy or in the childbirth period and which can be caused by the mother or by the persons who assist the birth, with the specification that the mother who harms her fetus during pregnancy is not punished and does not constitute an infringement if the injury has been committed during pregnancy or during childbirth period if the facts have been “committed by a doctor or by an authorized person to assist the birth or to follow the pregnancy, if they have been committed in the course of the medical act, complying with the specific provisions of his profession and have been made in the interest of the pregnant woman or fetus, as a result of the exercise of an inherent risk in the medical act” (Art. 202, Par. 6) [ 37 ].

The fact situation in Romania

During the period 1948–1955, called “the small baby boom” [ 39 ], Romania registered an average fertility rate of 3.23 children for a woman. Between 1955 and 1962, the fertility rate has been less than three children for a woman, and in 1962, fertility has reached an average of two children for a woman. This phenomenon occurred because of the Decree No. 463/1957 on liberalization of abortion. After the liberalization from 1957, the abortion rate has increased from 220 abortions per 100 born-alive children in the year 1960, to 400 abortions per 100 born-alive children, in the year 1965 [ 40 ].

The application of provisions of Decrees No. 770 of 1966 and No. 411 of 1985 has led to an increase of the birth rate in the first three years (an average of 3.7 children in 1967, and 3.6 children in 1968), followed by a regression until 1989, when it was recorded an average of 2.2 children, but also a maternal death rate caused by illegal abortions, raising up to 85 deaths of 100 000 births in the year of 1965, and 170 deaths in 1983. It was estimated that more than 80% of maternal deaths between 1980–1989 was caused by legal constraints [ 30 ].

After the Romanian Revolution in December 1989 and after the communism fall, with the abrogation of Articles 185–188 of the Criminal Code and of the Decree No. 770/1966, by the Decree of Law No. 1 of December 26 th , 1989, abortion has become legal in Romania and so, in the following years, it has reached the highest rate of abortion in Europe. Subsequently, the number of abortion has dropped gradually, with increasing use of birth control [ 41 ].

Statistical data issued by the Ministry of Health and by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) in Romania show corresponding figures to a legally carried out abortion. The abortion number is much higher, if it would take into account the number of illegal abortion, especially those carried out before 1989, and those carried out in private clinics, after the year 1990. Summing the declared abortions in the period 1958–2014, it is to be noted the number of them, 22 037 747 exceeds the current Romanian population. A detailed statistical research of abortion rate, in terms of years we have exposed in Table Table1 1 .

The number of abortions declared in Romania in the period 1958–2016


1958	112 100	1970	292 410	1982	468 041	1994	530 191	2006	150 246
1959	578 000	1971	330 000	1983	–	1995	502 840	2007	137 226
1960	774 000	1972	381 000	1984	303 123	1996	456 221	2008	137 226
1961	865 000	1973	376 000	1985	302 838	1997	347 126	2009	115 457
1962	967 000	1974	335 000	1986	183 959	1998	271 496	2010	101 915
1963	1 037 000	1975	359 417	1987	182 442	1999	259 888	2011	101 915
1964	1 100 000	1976	383 000	1988	185 416	2000	257 865	2012	88 135
1965	1 115 000	1977	379 000	1989	193 084	2001	254 855	2013	86 432
1966	973 000	1978	394 000	1990	992 265	2002	247 608	2014	78 371
1967	206 000	1979	404 000	1991	866 934	2003	224 807	2015	70 447
1968	220 000	1980	413 093	1992	691 863	2004	191 038	2016	63 085
1969	258 000	1981	–	1993	585 761	2005	163 459

Source: Pro Vita Association (Bucharest, Romania), National Institute of Statistics (INS – Romania), EUROSTAT [ 42 , 43 , 44 ]

Data issued by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in June 2016, for the period 1989–2014, in matters of reproductive behavior, indicates a fertility rate for Romania with a continuous decrease, in proportion to the decrease of the number of births, but also a lower number of abortion rate reported to 100 deliveries (Table (Table2 2 ).

Reproductive behavior in Romania in 1989–2014


Total fertility rate (births per woman)	2.2	1.8	1.6	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.0	1.36	1.40	1.44
Live births (1000s)	369.5	314.7	275.3	260.4	250.0	246.7	236.6	231.3	236.9	237.3	234.6	234.5	220.4	210.5	212.5	216.3	221.0	219.5	214.7	221.9	222.4	212.2	196.2	201.1	182.3	183.7
Abortion rate (legally induced abortions per 100 live births)	–	315.3	314.9	265.7	234.3	214.9	212.5	197.2	146.5	114.4	110.8	110.0	115.6	117.6	105.8	88.3	73.9	68.5	63.9	57.6	52.2	48.0	52.7	43.7	47.2	42.7

Source: United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Transformative Monitoring for Enhanced Equity (TransMonEE) Data. Country profiles: Romania, 1989–2015 [ 45 ].

By analyzing data issued for the period 1990–2015 by the International Organization of Health , UNICEF , United Nations Fund for Population Activity (UNFPA), The World Bank and the United Nations Population Division, it is noticed that maternal mortality rate has currently dropped as compared with 1990 (Table (Table3 3 ).

Maternal mortality estimation in Romania in 1990–2015


2015	31 [22–44]	56	179	1.1
2010	30 [26–35]	61	202	1.2
2005	33 [28–38]	71	217	1.1
2000	51 [44–58]	110	222	1.5
1995	77 [66–88]	180	241	2.1
1990	124 [108–141]	390	318	5.2

Source: World Health Organization (WHO), Global Health Observatory Data. Maternal mortality country profiles: Romania, 2015 [ 46 ].

Opinion survey: women’s opinion on abortion

Argument for choosing the research theme

Although the problematic on abortion in Romania has been extensively investigated and debated, it has not been carried out in an ample sociological study, covering Romanian women’s perception on abortion. We have assumed making a study at national level, in order to identify the opinion on abortion, on the motivation to carry out an abortion, and to identify the correlation between religious convictions and the attitude toward abortion.

Examining the literature field of study

In the conceptual register of the research, we have highlighted items, such as the specialized literature, legislation, statistical documents.

Formulation of hypotheses and objectives

The first hypothesis was that Romanian women accept abortion, having an open attitude towards this act. Thus, the first objective of the research was to identify Romanian women’s attitude towards abortion.

The second hypothesis, from which we started, was that high religious beliefs generate a lower tolerance towards abortion. Thus, the second objective of our research has been to identify the correlation between the religious beliefs and the attitude towards abortion.

The third hypothesis of the survey was that, the main motivation in carrying out an abortion is the fact that a woman does not want a baby, and the main motivation for keeping the pregnancy is that the person wants a baby. In this context, the third objective of the research was to identify main motivation in carrying out an abortion and in maintaining a pregnancy.

Another hypothesis was that modern Romanian legislation on the abortion is considered fair. Based on this hypothesis, we have assumed the fourth objective, which is to identify the degree of satisfaction towards the current regulatory provisions governing the abortion.

Research methodology

The research method is that of a sociological survey by the application of the questionnaire technique. We used the sampling by age and residence looking at representative numbers of population from more developed as well as underdeveloped areas.

Determination of the sample to be studied

Because abortion is a typical women’s experience, we have chosen to make the quantitative research only among women. We have constructed the sample by selecting a number of 1260 women between the ages of 15 and 44 years (the most frequently encountered age among women who give birth to a child). We also used the quota sampling techniques, taking into account the following variables: age group and the residence (urban/rural), so that the persons included in the sample could retain characteristic of the general population.

By the sample of 1260 women, we have made a percentage of investigation of 0.03% of the total population.

The Questionnaires number applied was distributed as follows (Table (Table4 4 ).

The sampling rates based on the age, and the region of residence


Women in North-West	Urban	37 898	58 839	50 527	54 944	53 962	60 321	316 491
Women in North-West	Rural	36 033	37 667	36 515	41 837	43 597	42 877	238 526
Sample in North-West	Urban	11	18	15	17	16	18	95
Sample in North-West	Rural	11	11	11	13	13	13	72
Women in the Center	Urban	32 661	46 697	46 713	54 031	52 590	59 084	291 776
Women in the Center	Rural	29 052	31 767	29 562	34 402	35 334	35 502	195 619
Sample in the Center	Urban	10	14	14	16	16	18	88
Sample in the Center	Rural	9	9	9	10	11	11	59
Women in North-East	Urban	38 243	50 228	45 924	51 818	49 959	63 157	299 329
Women in North-East	Rural	63 466	51 814	47 524	60 495	67 009	65 717	356 025
Sample in North-East	Urban	11	15	14	16	15	19	90
Sample in North-East	Rural	19	16	14	18	20	20	107
Women in South-East	Urban	31 556	40 879	43 317	53 461	53 756	67 135	290 104
Women in South-East	Rural	34 494	32 446	29 987	37 828	41 068	42 836	218 659
Sample in South-East	Urban	10	12	13	16	16	20	87
Sample in South-East	Rural	10	10	9	11	12	13	65
Women in South Muntenia	Urban	30 480	38 066	40 049	47 820	49 272	64 739	270 426
Women in South Muntenia	Rural	52 771	55 286	49 106	60 496	67 660	74 401	359 720
Sample in South Muntenia	Urban	9	11	12	14	15	19	80
Sample in South Muntenia	Rural	16	17	15	18	20	22	108
Women in Bucharest–Ilfov	Urban	41 314	83 927	90 607	102 972	86 833	98 630	504 283
Women in Bucharest–Ilfov	Rural	5385	7448	7952	9997	9400	10 096	50 278
Sample in Bucharest–Ilfov	Urban	12	25	27	31	26	30	151
Sample in Bucharest–Ilfov	Rural	2	2	2	3	3	3	15
Women in South-West Oltenia	Urban	26 342	31 155	33 493	39 064	39 615	50 516	220 185
Women in South-West Oltenia	Rural	31 223	29 355	26 191	32 946	36 832	40 351	196 898
Sample in South-West Oltenia	Urban	8	9	10	12	12	15	66
Sample in South-West Oltenia	Rural	9	9	8	10	11	12	59
Women in West	Urban	30 258	45 687	39 583	44 808	44 834	54 155	259 325
Women in West	Rural	19 205	20 761	19 351	22 788	24 333	26 792	133 230
Sample in West	Urban	9	14	12	13	14	16	78
Sample in West	Rural	6	6	6	7	7	8	40
Total women		540 381	662 022	636 401	749 707	756 054	856 309	4 200 874
Total sample		162	198	191	225	227	257	1260

Source: Sample built, based on the population data issued by the National Institute of Statistics (INS – Romania) based on population census conducted in 2011 [ 47 ].

Data collection

Data collection was carried out by questionnaires administered by 32 field operators between May 1 st –May 31 st , 2018.

The analysis of the research results

In the next section, we will present the main results of the quantitative research carried out at national level.

Almost three-quarters of women included in the sample agree with carrying out an abortion in certain circumstances (70%) and only 24% have chosen to support the answer “ No, never ”. In modern contemporary society, abortion is the first solution of women for which a pregnancy is not desired. Even if advanced medical techniques are a lot safer, an abortion still carries a health risk. However, 6% of respondents agree with carrying out abortion regardless of circumstances (Table (Table5 5 ).

Opinion on the possibility of carrying out an abortion



Yes, under certain circumstances	70%
No, never	24%
Yes, regardless the situation	6%
Total	100%

Although abortions carried out after 14 weeks are illegal, except for medical reasons, more than half of the surveyed women stated they would agree with abortion in certain circumstances. At the opposite pole, 31% have mentioned they would never agree on abortions after 14 weeks. Five percent were totally accepting the idea of abortion made to a pregnancy that has exceeded 14 weeks (Table (Table6 6 ).

Opinion on the possibility of carrying out an abortion after the period of 14 weeks of pregnancy



Yes, under certain circumstances	64%
No, never	31%
Yes, regardless the situation	5%
Total	100%

For 53% of respondents, abortion is considered a crime as well as the right of a women. On the other hand, 28% of the women considered abortion as a crime and 16% associate abortion with a woman’s right (Table (Table7 7 ).

Opinion on abortion: at the border between crime and a woman’s right



A crime and a woman’s right	53%
A crime	28%
A woman’s right	16%
I don’t know	2%
I don’t answer	1%
Total	100%

Opinions on what women abort at the time of the voluntary pregnancy interruption are split in two: 59% consider that it depends on the time of the abortion, and more specifically on the pregnancy development stage, 24% consider that regardless of the period in which it is carried out, women abort a child, and 14% have opted a fetus (Table (Table8 8 ).

Abortion of a child vs. abortion of a fetus



Both, depending on the moment when the abortion takes place	59%
A child	24%
A fetus	14%
I don’t answer	3%
Total	100%

Among respondents who consider that women abort a child or a fetus related to the time of abortion, 37.5% have considered that the difference between a baby and a fetus appears after 14 weeks of pregnancy (the period legally accepted for abortion). Thirty-three percent of them have mentioned that the distinction should be performed at the first few heartbeats; 18.1% think it is about when the child has all the features definitively outlined and can move by himself; 2.8% consider that the difference appears when the first encephalopathy traces are being felt and the child has formed all internal and external organs. A percentage of 1.7% of respondents consider that this difference occurs at the beginning of the central nervous system, and 1.4% when the unborn child has all the features that we can clearly see to a newborn child (Table (Table9 9 ).

The opinion on the moment that makes the difference between a fetus and a child



Over 14 weeks (the period legally accepted for abortion)	37.5%
From the very first heart beat (18 days)	33.3%
When the child has all organs contoured and can move by himself (12 weeks)	18.1%
When the first encephalon traces are being felt and the child has formed all internal and external organs (seven weeks)	2.8%
At the beginning of the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, stomach (six weeks)	1.7%
When the unborn child has all the characteristics that we can clearly observe to a child after birth	1.4%
When you can clearly distinguish his features (nose, cheeks, eyes) (five weeks)	1.2%
Other	1%
I don’t know	3%
Total	100%

We noticed that highly religious people make a clear association between abortion and crime. They also consider that at the time of pregnancy interruption it is aborted a child and not a fetus. However, unexpectedly, we noticed that 27% of the women, who declare themselves to be very religious, have also stated that they see abortion as a crime but also as a woman’s right. Thirty-one percent of the women, who also claimed profound religious beliefs, consider that abortion may be associated with the abortion of a child but also of a fetus, this depending on the time of abortion (Tables (Tables10 10 and and11 11 ).

The correlation between the level of religious beliefs and the perspective on abortion seen as a crime or a right



		A woman’s right	A crime	Both depending on the moment when it took place	Not know	No
Are you a religious person?	A very religious and practicant person	1%	11%	12%	–	–	24%
	A very religious but non practicant person	4%	7%	15%	–	1%	27%
	A relatively religious and practicant person	5%	6%	13%	–	–	24%
	Relatively religious but non practicant person	6%	4%	13%	2%	–	25%
Total		16%	28%	53%	2%	1%	100%

The correlation between the level of religious beliefs and the perspective on abortion procedure conducted on a fetus or a child



		A fetus	A child	Both depending on the time of abortion	Not know
Are you a religious person?	A very religious and practicant person	2%	8%	14%	–	24%
	A very religious but non practicant person	3%	7%	17%	–	27%
	A relatively religious and practicant person	4%	5%	16%	3%	28%
	Relatively religious but non practicant person	5%	4%	12%	3%	24%
Total		14%	24%	59%	6%	100%

More than half of the respondents have opted for the main reason for abortion the appearance of medical problems to the child. Baby’s health represents the main concern of future mothers, and of each parent, and the birth of a child with serious health issues, is a factor which frightens any future parent, being many times, at least theoretically, one good reason for opting for abortion. At the opposite side, 12% of respondents would not choose abortion under any circumstances. Other reasons for which women would opt for an abortion are: if the woman would have a medical problem (22%) or would not want the child (10%) (Table (Table12 12 ).

Potential reasons for carrying out an abortion



If the child would have a medical problem (genetic or developmental abnormalities of fetus)	55%
If I would have a medical problem	22%
In any of these situations, I would abort	12%
If the child would not be desired	10%
I don’t know	1%
Total	100%

Most of the women want to give birth to a child, 56% of the respondents, representing also the reason that would determine them to keep the child. Morality (26%), faith (10%) or legal restrictions (4%), are the three other reasons for which women would not interrupt a pregnancy. Only 2% of the respondents have mentioned other reasons such as health or age.

A percentage of 23% of the surveyed people said that they have done an abortion so far, and 77% did not opted for a surgical intervention either because there was no need, or because they have kept the pregnancy (Table (Table13 13 ).

Rate of abortion among women in the sample



No	77%
Yes	23%
Total	100%

Most respondents, 87% specified that they have carried out an abortion during the first 14 weeks – legally accepted limit for abortion: 43.6% have made abortion in the first four weeks, 39.1% between weeks 4–8, and 4.3% between weeks 8–14. It should be noted that 8.7% could not appreciate the pregnancy period in which they carried out abortion, by opting to answer with the option “ I don’t know ”, and a percentage of 4.3% refused to answer to this question.

Performing an abortion is based on many reasons, but the fact that the women have not wanted a child is the main reason mentioned by 47.8% of people surveyed, who have done minimum an abortion so far. Among the reasons for the interruption of pregnancy, it is also included: women with medical problems (13.3%), not the right time to be a mother (10.7%), age motivation (8.7%), due to medical problems of the child (4.3%), the lack of money (4.3%), family pressure (4.3%), partner/spouse did not wanted. A percentage of 3.3% of women had different reasons for abortion, as follows: age difference too large between children, career, marital status, etc. Asked later whether they regretted the abortion, a rate of 69.6% of women who said they had at least one abortion regret it (34.8% opted for “ Yes ”, and 34.8% said “ Yes, partially ”). 26.1% of surveyed women do not regret the choice to interrupted the pregnancy, and 4.3% chose to not answer this question. We noted that, for women who have already experienced abortion, the causes were more diverse than the grounds on which the previous question was asked: “What are the reasons that determined you to have an abortion?” (Table (Table14 14 ).

The reasons that led the women in the sample to have an abortion



I did not desired the child	47.8%
Because of my medical problems	13.3%
It was not the right time	10.7%
I was too young	8.7%
Because the child had health problems (genetic or developmental abnormalities of fetus)	4.3%
Because I did not have financial resources (I couldn’t afford raising a child)	4.3%
Because of the pressure of my family	4.3%
The partner/husband did not wanted	4.3%
Other reasons	3.3%
Total	100%

The majority of the respondents (37.5%) considered that “nervous depression” is the main consequence of abortion, followed by “insomnia and nightmares” (24.6%), “disorders in alimentation” and “affective disorders” (each for 7.7% of respondents), “deterioration of interpersonal relationships” and “the feeling of guilt”(for 6.3% of the respondents), “sexual disorders” and “panic attacks” (for 6.3% of the respondents) (Table (Table15 15 ).

Opinion on the consequences of abortion



Nervous depression	37.5%
Insomnia and nightmares	24.6%
Disorders in alimentation	7.7%
Affective disorders	7.7%
Deterioration of interpersonal relationships	6.3%
The feeling of guilt	6.3%
Sexual disorders	3.3%
Panic attacks	3.3%
Other reasons	3.3%
Total	100%

Over half of the respondents believe that abortion should be legal in certain circumstances, as currently provided by law, 39% say it should be always legal, and only 6% opted for the illegal option (Table (Table16 16 ).

Opinion on the legal regulation of abortion



Legal in certain terms	53%
Always legal	39%
Illegal	6%
I don’t know	2%
Total	100%

Although the current legislation does not punish pregnant women who interrupt pregnancy or intentionally injured their fetus, survey results indicate that 61% of women surveyed believe that the national law should punish the woman and only 28% agree with the current legislation (Table (Table17 17 ).

Opinion on the possibility of punishing the woman who interrupts the course of pregnancy or injures the fetus



Yes	61%
No	28%
I don’t know	7%
I don’t answer	4%
Total	100%

For the majority of the respondents (40.6%), the penalty provided by the current legislation, the imprisonment between six months and three years or a fine and deprivation of certain rights for the illegal abortion is considered fair, for a percentage of 39.6% the punishment is too small for 9.5% of the respondents is too high. Imprisonment between two and seven years and deprivation of certain rights for an abortion performed without the consent of the pregnant woman is considered too small for 65% of interviewees. Fourteen percent of them think it is fair and only 19% of respondents consider that Romanian legislation is too severe with people who commit such an act considering the punishment as too much. The imprisonment from three to 10 years and deprivation of certain rights for the facts described above, if an injury was caused to the woman, is considered to be too small for more than half of those included in the survey, 64% and almost 22% for nearly a quarter of them. Only 9% of the respondents mentioned that this legislative measure is too severe for such actions (Table (Table18 18 ).

Opinion on the regulation of abortion of the Romanian Criminal Code (Art. 201)



Reasonable	40.6%	14%	22%
Too small	39.6%	65%	64%
Too big	9.5%	19%	9%
I don’t know	6.6%	2%	3%
I don’t answer	3.7%	–	2%
Total	100%	100%	100%

Conclusions

After analyzing the results of the sociological research regarding abortion undertaken at national level, we see that 76% of the Romanian women accept abortion, indicating that the majority accepts only certain circumstances (a certain period after conception, for medical reasons, etc.). A percentage of 64% of the respondents indicated that they accept the idea of abortion after 14 weeks of pregnancy (for solid reasons or regardless the reason). This study shows that over 50% of Romanian women see abortion as a right of women but also a woman’s crime and believe that in the moment of interruption of a pregnancy, a fetus is aborted. Mostly, the association of abortion with crime and with the idea that a child is aborted is frequently found within very religious people. The main motivation for Romanian women in taking the decision not to perform an abortion is that they would want the child, and the main reason to perform an abortion is the child’s medical problems. However, it is noted that, in real situations, in which women have already done at least one abortion, most women resort to abortion because they did not want the child towards the hypothetical situation in which women felt that the main reason of abortion is a medical problem. Regarding the satisfaction with the current national legislation of the abortion, the situation is rather surprising. A significant percentage (61%) of respondents felt as necessary to punish the woman who performs an illegal abortion, although the legislation does not provide a punishment. On the other hand, satisfaction level to the penalties provided by law for various violations of the legal conditions for conducting abortion is low, on average only 25.5% of respondents are being satisfied with these, the majority (average 56.2%) considering the penalties as unsatisfactory. Understood as a social phenomenon, intensified by human vulnerabilities, of which the most obvious is accepting the comfort [ 48 ], abortion today is no longer, in Romanian society, from a legal or religious perspective, a problem. Perceptions on the legislative sanction, moral and religious will perpetual vary depending on beliefs, environment, education, etc. The only and the biggest social problem of Romania is truly represented by the steadily falling birth rate.

Conflict of interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Get the Reddit app

The sub is currently going dark based on a vote by users. The sub will be back up tomorrow night. Welcome to the Residency subreddit, a community of interns and residents who are just trying to make it through training! This is a subreddit specifically for interns and residents to get together and discuss issues concerning their training and medicine/surgery.

What is a good medical ethics topic for a research paper?

Here are some pointers to get you thinking:

An unpopular opinion in medicine that you secretly have.

Something controversial.

Something that doesn’t get talked about enough, or gets talked about too much.

a medical misconception that is out there.

Something engaging.

Something that non-medical folks might read.

Something that YOU would find interesting to read.

Feel free to DM to share your thoughts!

By continuing, you agree to our User Agreement and acknowledge that you understand the Privacy Policy .

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app

You’ve set up two-factor authentication for this account.

Enter a 6-digit backup code

Create your username and password.

Reddit is anonymous, so your username is what you’ll go by here. Choose wisely—because once you get a name, you can’t change it.

Reset your password

Enter your email address or username and we’ll send you a link to reset your password

Check your inbox

An email with a link to reset your password was sent to the email address associated with your account

Choose a Reddit account to continue

Open access
Published: 26 August 2024

Evaluating panel discussions in ESP classes: an exploration of international medical students’ and ESP instructors’ perspectives through qualitative research

Elham Nasiri ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0644-1646 1 &
Laleh Khojasteh ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6393-2759 1

BMC Medical Education volume 24 , Article number: 925 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

65 Accesses

Metrics details

This study investigates the effectiveness of panel discussions, a specific interactive teaching technique where a group of students leads a pre-planned, topic-focused discussion with audience participation, in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses for international medical students. This approach aims to simulate professional conference discussions, preparing students for future academic and clinical environments where such skills are crucial. While traditional group presentations foster critical thinking and communication, a gap exists in understanding how medical students perceive the complexities of preparing for and participating in panel discussions within an ESP setting. This qualitative study investigates the perceived advantages and disadvantages of these discussions from the perspectives of both panelists (medical students) and the audience (peers). Additionally, the study explores potential improvements based on insights from ESP instructors. Utilizing a two-phase design involving reflection papers and focus group discussions, data were collected from 46 medical students and three ESP instructors. Thematic analysis revealed that panel discussions offer unique benefits compared to traditional presentations, including enhanced engagement and more dynamic skill development for both panelists and the audience. Panelists reported gains in personal and professional development, including honing critical thinking, communication, and presentation skills. The audience perceived these discussions as engaging learning experiences that fostered critical analysis and information synthesis. However, challenges such as academic workload and concerns about discussion quality were also identified. The study concludes that panel discussions, when implemented effectively, can be a valuable tool for enhancing critical thinking, communication skills, and subject matter knowledge in ESP courses for medical students. These skills are transferable and can benefit students in various academic and professional settings, including future participation in medical conferences. This research provides valuable insights for ESP instructors seeking to integrate panel discussions into their curriculum, ultimately improving student learning outcomes and preparing them for future success in professional communication.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

In the field of medical education, the acquisition and application of effective communication skills are crucial for medical students in today’s global healthcare environment [ 1 ]. This necessitates not only strong English language proficiency but also the ability to present complex medical information clearly and concisely to diverse audiences.

Language courses, especially English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses for medical students, are highly relevant in today’s globalized healthcare environment [ 2 ]. In non-English speaking countries like Iran, these courses are particularly important as they go beyond mere language instruction to include the development of critical thinking, cultural competence, and professional communication skills [ 3 ]. Proficiency in English is crucial for accessing up-to-date research, participating in international conferences, and communicating with patients and colleagues from diverse backgrounds [ 4 ]. Additionally, ESP courses help medical students understand and use medical terminologies accurately, which is essential for reading technical articles, listening to audio presentations, and giving spoken presentations [ 5 ]. In countries where English is not the primary language, ESP courses ensure that medical professionals can stay current with global advancements and collaborate effectively on an international scale [ 6 ]. Furthermore, these courses support students who may seek to practice medicine abroad, enhancing their career opportunities and professional growth [ 7 ].

Moreover, ESP courses enable medical professionals to communicate effectively with international patients, which is crucial in multicultural societies and for medical tourism, ensuring that patient care is not compromised due to language barriers [ 8 ]. Many medical textbooks, journals, and online resources are available primarily in English, and ESP courses equip medical students with the necessary language skills to access and comprehend these resources, ensuring they are well-informed about the latest medical research and practices [ 9 ].

Additionally, many medical professionals from non-English speaking countries aim to take international certification exams, such as the USMLE or PLAB, which are conducted in English, and ESP courses prepare students for these exams by familiarizing them with the medical terminology and language used in these assessments [ 10 ]. ESP courses also contribute to the professional development of medical students by improving their ability to write research papers, case reports, and other academic documents in English, which is essential for publishing in international journals and contributing to global medical knowledge [ 11 ]. In the increasingly interdisciplinary field of healthcare, collaboration with professionals from other countries is common, and ESP courses facilitate effective communication and collaboration with international colleagues, fostering innovation and the exchange of ideas [ 12 ].

With the rise of telemedicine and online medical consultations, proficiency in English is essential for non-English speaking medical professionals to provide remote healthcare services to international patients, and ESP courses prepare students for these modern medical practices [ 13 ].

Finally, ESP courses often include training on cultural competence, which is crucial for understanding and respecting the cultural backgrounds of patients and colleagues, leading to more empathetic and effective patient care and professional interactions [ 14 ]. Many ESP programs for medical students incorporate group presentations as a vital component of their curriculum, recognizing the positive impact on developing these essential skills [ 15 ].

Group projects in language courses, particularly in ESP for medical students, are highly relevant for several reasons. They provide a collaborative environment that mimics real-world professional settings, where healthcare professionals often work in multidisciplinary teams [ 16 ]. These group activities foster not only language skills but also crucial soft skills such as teamwork, leadership, and interpersonal communication, which are essential in medical practice [ 17 ].

The benefits of group projects over individual projects in language learning are significant. Hartono, Mujiyanto [ 18 ] found that group presentation tasks in ESP courses led to higher self-efficacy development compared to individual tasks. Group projects encourage peer learning, where students can learn from each other’s strengths and compensate for individual weaknesses [ 19 ]. They also provide a supportive environment that can reduce anxiety and increase willingness to communicate in the target language [ 20 ]. However, it is important to note that group projects also come with challenges, such as social loafing and unequal contribution, which need to be managed effectively [ 21 ].

Traditional lecture-based teaching methods, while valuable for knowledge acquisition, may not effectively prepare medical students for the interactive and collaborative nature of real-world healthcare settings [ 22 ]. Panel discussions (hereafter PDs), an interactive teaching technique where a group of students leads a pre-planned, topic-focused discussion with audience participation, are particularly relevant in this context. They simulate professional conference discussions and interdisciplinary team meetings, preparing students for future academic and clinical environments where such skills are crucial [ 23 ].

PDs, also known as moderated discussions or moderated panels, are a specific type of interactive format where a group of experts or stakeholders engage in a facilitated conversation on a particular topic or issue [ 22 ]. In this format, a moderator guides the discussion, encourages active participation from all panelists, and fosters a collaborative environment that promotes constructive dialogue and critical thinking [ 24 ]. The goal is to encourage audience engagement and participation, which can be achieved through various strategies such as asking open-ended questions, encouraging counterpoints and counterarguments, and providing opportunities for audience members to pose questions or share their own experiences [ 25 ]. These discussions can take place in-person or online, and can be designed to accommodate diverse audiences and settings [ 26 ].

In this study, PD is considered a speaking activity where medical students are assigned specific roles to play during the simulation, such as a physician, quality improvement specialist, policymaker, or patient advocate. By taking on these roles, students can gain a better understanding of the diverse perspectives and considerations that come into play in real-world healthcare discussions [ 23 ]. Simulating PDs within ESP courses can be a powerful tool for enhancing medical students’ learning outcomes in multiple areas. This approach improves language proficiency, academic skills, and critical thinking abilities, while also enabling students to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders in the medical field [ 27 , 28 ].

Theoretical framework

The panel discussions in our study are grounded in the concept of authentic assessment (outlined by Villarroel, Bloxham [ 29 ]), which involves designing tasks that mirror real-life situations and problems. In the context of medical education, this approach is particularly relevant as it prepares students for the complex, multidisciplinary nature of healthcare communication. Realism can be achieved through two means: providing a realistic context that describes and delivers a frame for the problem to be solved and creating tasks that are similar to those faced in real and/or professional life [ 30 ]. In our study, the PDs provide a realistic context by simulating scenarios where medical students are required to discuss and present complex medical topics in a professional setting, mirroring the types of interactions they will encounter in their future careers.

The task of participating in PDs also involves cognitive challenge, as students are required to think critically about complex medical topics, analyze information, and communicate their findings effectively. This type of task aims to generate processes of problem-solving, application of knowledge, and decision-making that correspond to the development of cognitive and metacognitive skills [ 23 ]. For medical students, these skills are crucial in developing clinical reasoning and effective patient communication. The PDs encourage students to go beyond the textual reproduction of fragmented and low-order content and move towards understanding, establishing relationships between new ideas and previous knowledge, linking theoretical concepts with everyday experience, deriving conclusions from the analysis of data, and examining both the logic of the arguments present in the theory and its practical scope [ 24 , 25 , 27 ].

Furthermore, the evaluative judgment aspect of our study is critical in helping students develop criteria and standards about what a good performance means in medical communication. This involves students judging their own performance and regulating their own learning [ 31 ]. In the context of panel discussions, students reflect on their own work, compare it with desired standards, and seek feedback from peers and instructors. By doing so, students can develop a sense of what constitutes good performance in medical communication and what areas need improvement [ 32 ]. Boud, Lawson and Thompson [ 33 ] argue that students need to build a precise judgment about the quality of their work and calibrate these judgments in the light of evidence. This skill is particularly important for future medical professionals who will need to continually assess and improve their communication skills throughout their careers.

The theoretical framework presented above highlights the importance of authentic learning experiences in medical education. By drawing on the benefits of group work and panel discussions, university instructor-researchers aimed to provide medical students with a unique opportunity to engage with complex cases and develop their communication and collaboration skills. As noted by Suryanarayana [ 34 ], authentic learning experiences can lead to deeper learning and improved retention. Considering the advantages of group work in promoting collaborative problem-solving and language development, the instructor-researchers designed a panel discussion task that simulates real-world scenarios, where students can work together to analyze complex cases, share knowledge, and present their findings to a simulated audience.

While previous studies have highlighted the benefits of interactive learning experiences and critical thinking skills in medical education, a research gap remains in understanding how medical students perceive the relevance of PDs in ESP courses. This study aims to address this gap by investigating medical students’ perceptions of PD tasks in ESP courses and how these perceptions relate to their language proficiency, critical thinking skills, and ability to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders in the medical field. This understanding can inform best practices in medical education, contributing to the development of more effective communication skills for future healthcare professionals worldwide [ 23 ]. The research questions guiding this study are:

What are the perceived advantages of PDs from the perspectives of panelists and the audience?

What are the perceived disadvantages of PDs from the perspectives of panelists and the audience?

How can PDs be improved for panelists and the audience based on the insights of ESP instructors?

Methodology

Aim and design.

For this study, a two-phase qualitative design was employed to gain an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of PDs from the perspectives of both student panelists and the audience (Phase 1) and to acquire an in-depth understanding of the suggested strategies provided by experts to enhance PPs for future students (Phase 2).

Participants and context of the study

This study was conducted in two phases (Fig. 1 ) at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS), Shiraz, Iran.

Participants of the study in two phases

In the first phase, the student participants were 46 non-native speakers of English and international students who studied medicine at SUMS. Their demographic characteristics can be seen in Table 1 .

These students were purposefully selected because they were the only SUMS international students who had taken the ESP (English for Specific Purposes) course. The number of international students attending SUMS is indeed limited. Each year, a different batch of international students joins the university. They progress through a sequence of English courses, starting with General English 1 and 2, followed by the ESP course, and concluding with academic writing. At the time of data collection, the students included in the study were the only international students enrolled in the ESP course. This mandatory 3-unit course is designed to enhance their language and communication skills specifically tailored to their profession. As a part of the Medicine major curriculum, this course aims to improve their English language proficiency in areas relevant to medicine, such as understanding medical terminology, comprehending original medicine texts, discussing clinical cases, and communicating with patients, colleagues, and other healthcare professionals.

Throughout the course, students engage in various interactive activities, such as group discussions, role-playing exercises, and case studies, to develop their practical communication skills. In this course, medical students receive four marks out of 20 for their oral presentations, while the remaining marks are allocated to their written midterm and final exams. From the beginning of the course, they are briefed about PDs, and they are shown two YouTube-downloaded videos about PDs at medical conferences, a popular format for discussing and sharing knowledge, research findings, and expert opinions on various medical topics.

For the second phase of the study, a specific group of participants was purposefully selected. This group consisted of three faculty members from SUMS English department who had extensive experience attending numerous conferences at national and international levels, particularly in the medical field, as well as working as translators and interpreters in medical congresses. Over the course of ten years, they also gained considerable experience in PDs. They were invited to discuss strategies helpful for medical students with PDs.

Panel discussion activity design and implementation

When preparing for a PD session, medical students received comprehensive guidance on understanding the roles and responsibilities of each panel member. This guidance was aimed at ensuring that each participant was well-prepared and understood their specific role in the discussion.

Moderators should play a crucial role in steering the conversation. They are responsible for ensuring that all panelists have an opportunity to contribute and that the audience is engaged effectively. Specific tasks include preparing opening remarks, introducing panelists, and crafting transition questions to facilitate smooth topic transitions. The moderators should also manage the time to ensure balanced participation and encourage active audience involvement.

Panelists are expected to be subject matter experts who bring valuable insights and opinions to the discussion. They are advised to conduct thorough research on the topic and prepare concise talking points. Panelists are encouraged to draw from their medical knowledge and relevant experiences, share evidence-based information, and engage with other panelists’ points through active listening and thoughtful responses.

The audience plays an active role in the PDs. They are encouraged to participate by asking questions, sharing relevant experiences, and contributing to the dialogue. To facilitate this, students are advised to take notes during the discussion and think of questions or comments they can contribute during the Q&A segment.

For this special course, medical students were advised to choose topics either from their ESP textbook or consider current medical trends, emerging research, and pressing issues in their field. Examples included breast cancer, COVID-19, and controversies in gene therapy. The selection process involved brainstorming sessions and consultation with the course instructor to ensure relevance and appropriateness.

To accommodate the PD sessions within the course structure, students were allowed to start their PD sessions voluntarily from the second week. However, to maintain a balance between peer-led discussions and regular course content, only one PD was held weekly. This approach enabled the ESP lecturer to deliver comprehensive content while also allowing students to engage in these interactive sessions.

A basic time structure was suggested for each PD (Fig. 2 ):

Time allocation for panel discussion stages in minutes

To ensure the smooth running of the course and maintain momentum, students were informed that they could cancel their PD session only once. In such cases, they were required to notify the lecturer and other students via the class Telegram channel to facilitate rescheduling and minimize disruptions. This provision was essential in promoting a sense of community among students and maintaining the course’s continuity.

Research tools and data collection

The study utilized various tools to gather and analyze data from participants and experts, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the research topic.

Reflection papers

In Phase 1 of the study, 46 medical students detailed their perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of panel discussions from dual perspectives: as panelists (presenters) and as audience members (peers).

Participants were given clear instructions and a 45-minute time frame to complete the reflection task. With approximately 80% of the international language students being native English speakers and the rest fluent in English, the researchers deemed this time allocation reasonable. The questions and instructions were straightforward, facilitating quick comprehension. It was estimated that native English speakers would need about 30 min to complete the task, while non-native speakers might require an extra 15 min for clarity and expression. This time frame aimed to allow students to respond thoughtfully without feeling rushed. Additionally, students could request more time if needed.

Focus group discussion

In phase 2 of the study, a focus group discussion was conducted with three expert participants. The purpose of the focus group was to gather insights from expert participants, specifically ESP (English for Specific Purposes) instructors, on how presentation dynamics can be improved for both panelists and the audience.

According to Colton and Covert [ 35 ], focus groups are useful for obtaining detailed input from experts. The appropriate size of a focus group is determined by the study’s scope and available resources [ 36 ]. Morgan [ 37 ] suggests that small focus groups are suitable for complex topics where specialist participants might feel frustrated if not allowed to express themselves fully.

The choice of a focus group over individual interviews was based on several factors. First, the exploratory nature of the study made focus groups ideal for interactive discussions, generating new ideas and in-depth insights [ 36 ]. Second, while focus groups usually involve larger groups, they can effectively accommodate a limited number of experts with extensive knowledge [ 37 ]. Third, the focus group format fostered a more open environment for idea exchange, allowing participants to engage dynamically [ 36 ]. Lastly, conducting a focus group was more time- and resource-efficient than scheduling three separate interviews [ 36 ].

Data analysis

The first phase of the study involved a thorough examination of the data related to the research inquiries using thematic analysis. This method was chosen for its effectiveness in uncovering latent patterns from a bottom-up perspective, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of complex educational phenomena [ 38 ]. The researchers first familiarized themselves with the data by repeatedly reviewing the reflection papers written by the medical students. Next, an initial round of coding was independently conducted to identify significant data segments and generate preliminary codes that reflected the students’ perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of presentation dynamics PDs from both the presenter and audience viewpoints [ 38 ].

The analysis of the reflection papers began with the two researchers coding a subset of five papers independently, adhering to a structured qualitative coding protocol [ 39 ]. They convened afterward to compare their initial codes and address any discrepancies. Through discussion, they reached an agreement on the codes, which were then analyzed, organized into categories and themes, and the frequency of each code was recorded [ 38 ].

After coding the initial five papers, the researchers continued to code the remaining 41 reflection paper transcripts in batches of ten, meeting after each batch to review their coding, resolve any inconsistencies, and refine the coding framework as needed. This iterative process, characterized by independent coding, joint reviews, and consensus-building, helped the researchers establish a robust and reliable coding approach consistently applied to the complete dataset [ 40 ]. Once all 46 reflection paper transcripts were coded, the researchers conducted a final review and discussion to ensure accurate analysis. They extracted relevant excerpts corresponding to the identified themes and sub-themes from the transcripts to provide detailed explanations and support for their findings [ 38 ]. This multi-step approach of separate initial coding, collaborative review, and frequency analysis enhanced the credibility and transparency of the qualitative data analysis.

To ensure the trustworthiness of the data collected in this study, the researchers adhered to the Guba and Lincoln standards of scientific accuracy in qualitative research, which encompass credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability [ 41 ] (Table 2 ).

The analysis of the focus group data obtained from experts followed the same rigorous procedure applied to the student participants’ data. Thematic analysis was employed to examine the experts’ perspectives, maintaining consistency in the analytical approach across both phases of the study. The researchers familiarized themselves with the focus group transcript, conducted independent preliminary coding, and then collaboratively refined the codes. These codes were subsequently organized into categories and themes, with the frequency of each code recorded. The researchers engaged in thorough discussions to ensure agreement on the final themes and sub-themes. Relevant excerpts from the focus group transcript were extracted to provide rich, detailed explanations of each theme, thereby ensuring a comprehensive and accurate analysis of the experts’ insights.

1. What are the advantages of PDs from the perspective of panelists and the audience?

The analysis of the advantages of PDs from the perspectives of both panelists and audience members revealed several key themes and categories. Tables 2 and 3 present the frequency and percentage of responses for each code within these categories.

From the panelists’ perspective (Table 3 ), the overarching theme was “Personal and Professional Development.” The most frequently reported advantage was knowledge sharing (93.5%), followed closely by increased confidence (91.3%) and the importance of interaction in presentations (91.3%).

Notably, all categories within this theme had at least one code mentioned by over 80% of participants, indicating a broad range of perceived benefits. The category of “Effective teamwork and communication” was particularly prominent, with collaboration (89.1%) and knowledge sharing (93.5%) being among the most frequently cited advantages. This suggests that PDs are perceived as valuable tools for fostering interpersonal skills and collective learning. In the “Language mastery” category, increased confidence (91.3%) and better retention of key concepts (87.0%) were highlighted, indicating that PDs are seen as effective for both language and content learning.

The audience perspective (Table 4 ), encapsulated under the theme “Enriching Learning Experience,” showed similarly high frequencies across all categories.

The most frequently mentioned advantage was exposure to diverse speakers (93.5%), closely followed by the range of topics covered (91.3%) and increased audience interest (91.3%). The “Broadening perspectives” category was particularly rich, with all codes mentioned by over 70% of participants. This suggests that audience members perceive PDs as valuable opportunities for expanding their knowledge and viewpoints. In the “Language practice” category, the opportunity to practice language skills (89.1%) was the most frequently cited advantage, indicating that even as audience members, students perceive significant language learning benefits.

Comparing the two perspectives reveals several interesting patterns:

High overall engagement: Both panelists and audience members reported high frequencies across all categories, suggesting that PDs are perceived as beneficial regardless of the role played.

Language benefits: While panelists emphasized increased confidence (91.3%) and better retention of concepts (87.0%), audience members highlighted opportunities for language practice (89.1%). This indicates that PDs offer complementary language learning benefits for both roles.

Interactive learning: The importance of interaction was highly rated by panelists (91.3%), while increased audience interest was similarly valued by the audience (91.3%). This suggests that PDs are perceived as an engaging, interactive learning method from both perspectives.

Professional development: Panelists uniquely emphasized professional growth aspects such as experiential learning (84.8%) and real-world application (80.4%). These were not directly mirrored in the audience perspective, suggesting that active participation in PDs may offer additional professional development benefits.

Broadening horizons: Both groups highly valued the diversity aspect of PDs. Panelists appreciated diversity and open-mindedness (80.4%), while audience members valued diverse speakers (93.5%) and a range of topics (91.3%).

2. What are the disadvantages of PDs from the perspective of panelists and the audience?

The analysis of the disadvantages of panel discussions (PDs) from the perspectives of both panelists and audience members revealed several key themes and categories. Tables 4 and 5 present the frequency and percentage of responses for each code within these categories.

From the panelists’ perspective (Table 5 ), the theme “Drawbacks of PDs” was divided into two main categories: “Academic Workload Challenges” and “Coordination Challenges.” The most frequently reported disadvantage was long preparation (87.0%), followed by significant practice needed (82.6%) and the time-consuming nature of PDs (80.4%). These findings suggest that the primary concern for panelists is the additional workload that PDs impose on their already demanding academic schedules. The “Coordination Challenges” category, while less prominent than workload issues, still presented significant concerns. Diverse panel skills (78.3%) and finding suitable panelists (73.9%) were the most frequently cited issues in this category, indicating that team dynamics and composition are notable challenges for panelists.

The audience perspective (Table 6 ), encapsulated under the theme “Drawbacks of PDs,” was divided into two main categories: “Time-related Issues” and “Interaction and Engagement Issues.” In the “Time-related Issues” category, the most frequently mentioned disadvantage was the inefficient use of time (65.2%), followed by the perception of PDs as too long and boring (60.9%). Notably, 56.5% of respondents found PDs stressful due to overwhelming workload from other studies, and 52.2% considered them not very useful during exam time. The “Interaction and Engagement Issues” category revealed more diverse concerns. The most frequently mentioned disadvantage was the repetitive format (82.6%), followed by limited engagement with the audience (78.3%) and the perception of PDs as boring (73.9%). The audience also noted issues related to the panelists’ preparation and coordination, such as “Not practiced and natural” (67.4%) and “Coordination and Interaction Issues” (71.7%), suggesting that the challenges faced by panelists directly impact the audience’s experience.

Workload concerns: Both panelists and audience members highlighted time-related issues. For panelists, this manifested as long preparation times (87.0%) and difficulty balancing with other studies (76.1%). For the audience, it appeared as perceptions of inefficient use of time (65.2%) and stress due to overwhelming workload from other studies (56.5%).

Engagement issues: While panelists focused on preparation and coordination challenges, the audience emphasized the quality of the discussion and engagement. This suggests a potential mismatch between the efforts of panelists and the expectations of the audience.

Boredom and repetition: The audience frequently mentioned boredom (73.9%) and repetitive format (82.6%) as issues, which weren’t directly mirrored in the panelists’ responses. This indicates that while panelists may be focused on content preparation, the audience is more concerned with the delivery and variety of the presentation format.

Coordination challenges: Both groups noted coordination issues, but from different perspectives. Panelists struggled with team dynamics and finding suitable co-presenters, while the audience observed these challenges manifesting as unnatural or unpracticed presentations.

Academic pressure: Both groups acknowledged the strain PDs put on their academic lives, with panelists viewing it as a burden (65.2%) and the audience finding it less useful during exam times (52.2%).

3. How can PDs be improved for panelists and the audience from the experts’ point of view?

The presentation of data for this research question differs from the previous two due to the unique nature of the information gathered. Unlike the quantifiable student responses in earlier questions, this data stems from expert opinions and a reflection discussion session, focusing on qualitative recommendations for improvement rather than frequency of responses (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The complexity and interconnectedness of expert suggestions, coupled with the integration of supporting literature, necessitate a more narrative approach (Creswell & Poth, 2018). This format allows for a richer exploration of the context behind each recommendation and its potential implications (Patton, 2015). Furthermore, the exploratory nature of this question, aimed at generating ideas for improvement rather than measuring prevalence of opinions, is better served by a detailed, descriptive presentation (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This approach enables a more nuanced understanding of how PDs can be enhanced, aligning closely with the “how” nature of the research question and providing valuable insights for potential implementation (Yin, 2018).

The experts provided several suggestions to address the challenges faced by students in panel discussions (PDs) and improve the experience for both panelists and the audience. Their recommendations focused on six key areas: time management and workload, preparation and skill development, engagement and interactivity, technological integration, collaboration and communication, and institutional support.

To address the issue of time management and heavy workload, one expert suggested teaching students to “ break down the task to tackle the time-consuming nature of panel discussions and balance it with other studies .” This approach aims to help students manage the extensive preparation time required for PDs without compromising their other academic responsibilities. Another expert emphasized “ enhancing medical students’ abilities to prioritize tasks , allocate resources efficiently , and optimize their workflow to achieve their goals effectively .” These skills were seen as crucial not only for PD preparation but also for overall academic success and future professional practice.

Recognizing the challenges of long preparation times and the perception of PDs being burdensome, an expert proposed “ the implementation of interactive training sessions for panelists .” These sessions were suggested to enhance coordination skills and improve the ability of group presenters to engage with the audience effectively. The expert emphasized that such training could help students view PDs as valuable learning experiences rather than additional burdens, potentially increasing their motivation and engagement in the process.

To combat issues of limited engagement and perceived boredom, experts recommended increasing engagement opportunities for the audience through interactive elements like audience participation and group discussions. They suggested that this could transform PDs from passive listening experiences to active learning opportunities. One expert suggested “ optimizing time management and restructuring the format of panel discussions ” to address inefficiency during sessions. This restructuring could involve shorter presentation segments interspersed with interactive elements to maintain audience attention and engagement.

An innovative solution proposed by one expert was “ using ChatGPT to prepare for PDs by streamlining scenario presentation preparation and role allocation. ” The experts collectively discussed the potential of AI to assist medical students in reducing their workload and saving time in preparing scenario presentations and allocating roles in panel discussions. They noted that AI could help generate initial content drafts, suggest role distributions based on individual strengths, and even provide practice questions for panelists, significantly reducing preparation time while maintaining quality.

Two experts emphasized the importance of enhancing collaboration and communication among panelists to address issues related to diverse panel skills and coordination challenges. They suggested establishing clear communication channels and guidelines to improve coordination and ensure a cohesive presentation. This could involve creating structured team roles, setting clear expectations for each panelist, and implementing regular check-ins during the preparation process to ensure all team members are aligned and progressing.

All experts were in agreement that improving PDs would not be possible “ if nothing is done by the university administration to reduce the ESP class size for international students .” They believed that large class sizes in ESP or EFL classes could negatively influence group oral presentations, hindering language development and leading to uneven participation. The experts suggested that smaller class sizes would allow for more individualized attention, increased speaking opportunities for each student, and more effective feedback mechanisms, all of which are crucial for developing strong presentation skills in a second language.

Research question 1: what are the advantages of PDs from the perspective of panelists and the audience?

The results of this study reveal significant advantages of PDs for both panelists and audience members in the context of medical education. These findings align with and expand upon previous research in the field of educational presentations and language learning.

Personal and professional development for panelists

The high frequency of reported benefits in the “Personal and Professional Development” theme for panelists aligns with several previous studies. The emphasis on language mastery, particularly increased confidence (91.3%) and better retention of key concepts (87.0%), supports the findings of Hartono, Mujiyanto [ 42 ], Gedamu and Gezahegn [ 15 ], Li [ 43 ], who all highlighted the importance of language practice in English oral presentations. However, our results show a more comprehensive range of benefits, including professional growth aspects like experiential learning (84.8%) and real-world application (80.4%), which were not as prominently featured in these earlier studies.

Interestingly, our findings partially contrast with Chou [ 44 ] study, which found that while group oral presentations had the greatest influence on improving students’ speaking ability, individual presentations led to more frequent use of metacognitive, retrieval, and rehearsal strategies. Our results suggest that PDs, despite being group activities, still provide significant benefits in these areas, possibly due to the collaborative nature of preparation and the individual responsibility each panelist bears. The high frequency of knowledge sharing (93.5%) and collaboration (89.1%) in our study supports Harris, Jones and Huffman [ 45 ] emphasis on the importance of group dynamics and varied perspectives in educational settings. However, our study provides more quantitative evidence for these benefits in the specific context of PDs.

Enriching learning experience for the audience

The audience perspective in our study reveals a rich learning experience, with high frequencies across all categories. This aligns with Agustina [ 46 ] findings in business English classes, where presentations led to improvements in all four language skills. However, our study extends these findings by demonstrating that even passive participation as an audience member can lead to significant perceived benefits in language practice (89.1%) and broadening perspectives (93.5% for diverse speakers). The high value placed on diverse speakers (93.5%) and range of topics (91.3%) by the audience supports the notion of PDs as a tool for expanding knowledge and viewpoints. This aligns with the concept of situated learning experiences leading to deeper understanding in EFL classes, as suggested by Li [ 43 ] and others [ 18 , 31 ]. However, our study provides more specific evidence for how this occurs in the context of PDs.

Interactive learning and engagement

Both panelists and audience members in our study highly valued the interactive aspects of PDs, with the importance of interaction rated at 91.3% by panelists and increased audience interest at 91.3% by the audience. This strong emphasis on interactivity aligns with Azizi and Farid Khafaga [ 19 ] study on the benefits of dynamic assessment and dialogic learning contexts. However, our study provides more detailed insights into how this interactivity is perceived and valued by both presenters and audience members in PDs.

Professional growth and real-world application

The emphasis on professional growth through PDs, particularly for panelists, supports Li’s [ 43 ] assertion about the power of oral presentations as situated learning experiences. Our findings provide more specific evidence for how PDs contribute to professional development, with high frequencies reported for experiential learning (84.8%) and real-world application (80.4%). This suggests that PDs may be particularly effective in bridging the gap between academic learning and professional practice in medical education.

Research question 2: what are the disadvantages of pds from the perspective of panelists and the audience?

Academic workload challenges for panelists.

The high frequency of reported challenges in the “Academic Workload Challenges” category for panelists aligns with several previous studies in medical education [ 47 , 48 , 49 ]. The emphasis on long preparation (87.0%), significant practice needed (82.6%), and the time-consuming nature of PDs (80.4%) supports the findings of Johnson et al. [ 24 ], who noted that while learners appreciate debate-style journal clubs in health professional education, they require additional time commitment. This is further corroborated by Nowak, Speed and Vuk [ 50 ], who found that intensive learning activities in medical education, while beneficial, can be time-consuming for students.

Perceived value of pds relative to time investment

While a significant portion of the audience (65.2%) perceived PDs as an inefficient use of time, the high frequency of engagement-related concerns (82.6% for repetitive format, 78.3% for limited engagement) suggests that the perceived lack of value may be more closely tied to the quality of the experience rather than just the time investment. This aligns with Dyhrberg O’Neill [ 27 ] findings on debate-based oral exams, where students perceived value despite the time-intensive nature of the activity. However, our results indicate a more pronounced concern about the return on time investment in PDs. This discrepancy might be addressed through innovative approaches to PD design and implementation, such as those proposed by Almazyad et al. [ 22 ], who suggested using AI tools to enhance expert panel discussions and potentially improve efficiency.

Coordination challenges for panelists

The challenges related to coordination in medical education, such as diverse panel skills (78.3%) and finding suitable panelists (73.9%), align with previous research on teamwork in higher education [ 21 ]. Our findings support the concept of the free-rider effect discussed by Hall and Buzwell [ 21 ], who explored reasons for non-contribution in group projects beyond social loafing. This is further elaborated by Mehmood, Memon and Ali [ 51 ], who proposed that individuals may not contribute their fair share due to various factors including poor communication skills or language barriers, which is particularly relevant in medical education where clear communication is crucial [ 52 ]. Comparing our results to other collaborative learning contexts in medical education, Rodríguez-Sedano, Conde and Fernández-Llamas [ 53 ] measured teamwork competence development in a multidisciplinary project-based learning environment. They found that while teamwork skills improved over time, initial coordination challenges were significant. This aligns with our findings on the difficulties of coordinating diverse panel skills and opinions in medical education settings.

Our results also resonate with Chou’s [ 44 ] study comparing group and individual oral presentations, which found that group presenters often had a limited understanding of the overall content. This is supported by Wilson, Ho and Brookes [ 54 ], who examined student perceptions of teamwork in undergraduate science degrees, highlighting the challenges and benefits of collaborative work, which are equally applicable in medical education [ 52 ].

Quality of discussions and perception for the audience

The audience perspective in our study reveals significant concerns about the quality and engagement of PDs in medical education. The high frequency of issues such as repetitive format (82.6%) and limited engagement with the audience (78.3%) aligns with Parmar and Bickmore [ 55 ] findings on the importance of addressing individual audience members and gathering feedback. This is further supported by Nurakhir et al. [ 25 ], who explored students’ views on classroom debates as a strategy to enhance critical thinking and oral communication skills in nursing education, which shares similarities with medical education. Comparing our results to other interactive learning methods in medical education, Jones et al. [ 26 ] reviewed the use of journal clubs and book clubs in pharmacy education. They found that while these methods enhanced engagement, they also faced challenges in maintaining student interest over time, similar to the boredom issues reported in our study of PDs in medical education. The perception of PDs as boring (73.9%) and not very useful during exam time (52.2%) supports previous research on the stress and pressure experienced by medical students [ 48 , 49 ]. Grieve et al. [ 20 ] specifically examined student fears of oral presentations and public speaking in higher education, which provides context for the anxiety and disengagement observed in our study of medical education. Interestingly, Bhuvaneshwari et al. [ 23 ] found positive impacts of panel discussions in educating medical students on specific modules. This contrasts with our findings and suggests that the effectiveness of PDs in medical education may vary depending on the specific context and implementation.

Comparative analysis and future directions

Our study provides a unique comparative analysis of the challenges faced by both panelists and audience members in medical education. The alignment of concerns around workload and time management between the two groups suggests that these are overarching issues in the implementation of PDs in medical curricula. This is consistent with the findings of Pasandín et al. [ 56 ], who examined cooperative oral presentations in higher education and their impact on both technical and soft skills, which are crucial in medical education [ 52 ]. The mismatch between panelist efforts and audience expectations revealed in our study is a novel finding that warrants further investigation in medical education. This disparity could be related to the self-efficacy beliefs of presenters, as explored by Gedamu and Gezahegn [ 15 ] in their study of TEFL trainees’ attitudes towards academic oral presentations, which may have parallels in medical education. Looking forward, innovative approaches could address some of the challenges identified in medical education. Almazyad et al. [ 22 ] proposed using AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance expert panel discussions in pediatric palliative care, which could potentially address some of the preparation and engagement issues identified in our study of medical education. Additionally, Ragupathi and Lee [ 57 ] discussed the role of rubrics in higher education, which could provide clearer expectations and feedback for both panelists and audience members in PDs within medical education.

Research question 3: how can PDs be improved for panelists and the audience from the experts’ point of view?

The expert suggestions for improving PDs address several key challenges identified in previous research on academic presentations and student workload management. These recommendations align with current trends in educational technology and pedagogical approaches, while also considering the unique needs of medical students.

The emphasis on time management and workload reduction strategies echoes findings from previous studies on medical student stress and academic performance. Nowak, Speed and Vuk [ 50 ] found that medical students often struggle with the fast-paced nature of their courses, which can lead to reduced motivation and superficial learning approaches. The experts’ suggestions for task breakdown and prioritization align with Rabbi and Islam [ 58 ] recommendations for reducing workload stress through effective assignment prioritization. Additionally, Popa et al. [ 59 ] highlight the importance of acceptance and planning in stress management for medical students, supporting the experts’ focus on these areas.

The proposed implementation of interactive training sessions for panelists addresses the need for enhanced presentation skills in professional contexts, a concern highlighted by several researchers [ 17 , 60 ]. This aligns with Grieve et al. [ 20 ] findings on student fears of oral presentations and public speaking in higher education, emphasizing the need for targeted training. The focus on interactive elements and audience engagement also reflects current trends in active learning pedagogies, as demonstrated by Pasandín et al. [ 56 ] in their study on cooperative oral presentations in engineering education.

The innovative suggestion to use AI tools like ChatGPT for PD preparation represents a novel approach to leveraging technology in education. This aligns with recent research on the potential of AI in scientific research, such as the study by Almazyad et al. [ 22 ], which highlighted the benefits of AI in supporting various educational tasks. However, it is important to consider potential ethical implications and ensure that AI use complements rather than replaces critical thinking and creativity.

The experts’ emphasis on enhancing collaboration and communication among panelists addresses issues identified in previous research on teamwork in higher education. Rodríguez-Sedano, Conde and Fernández-Llamas [ 53 ] noted the importance of measuring teamwork competence development in project-based learning environments. The suggested strategies for improving coordination align with best practices in collaborative learning, as demonstrated by Romero-Yesa et al. [ 61 ] in their qualitative assessment of challenge-based learning and teamwork in electronics programs.

The unanimous agreement on the need to reduce ESP class sizes for international students reflects ongoing concerns about the impact of large classes on language learning and student engagement. This aligns with research by Li [ 3 ] on issues in developing EFL learners’ oral English communication skills. Bosco et al. [ 62 ] further highlight the challenges of teaching and learning ESP in mixed classes, supporting the experts’ recommendation for smaller class sizes. Qiao, Xu and bin Ahmad [ 63 ] also emphasize the implementation challenges for ESP formative assessment in large classes, further justifying the need for reduced class sizes.

These expert recommendations provide a comprehensive approach to improving PDs, addressing not only the immediate challenges of preparation and delivery but also broader issues of student engagement, workload management, and institutional support. By implementing these suggestions, universities could potentially transform PDs from perceived burdens into valuable learning experiences that enhance both academic and professional skills. This aligns with Kho and Ting [ 64 ] systematic review on overcoming oral presentation anxiety among tertiary ESL/EFL students, which emphasizes the importance of addressing both challenges and strategies in improving presentation skills.

This study has shed light on the complex challenges associated with PDs in medical education, revealing a nuanced interplay between the experiences of panelists and audience members. The findings underscore the need for a holistic approach to implementing PDs that addresses both the academic workload concerns and the quality of engagement.

Our findings both support and extend previous research on the challenges of oral presentations and group work in medical education settings. The high frequencies of perceived challenges across multiple categories for both panelists and audience members suggest that while PDs may offer benefits, they also present significant obstacles that need to be addressed in medical education. These results highlight the need for careful consideration in the implementation of PDs in medical education, with particular attention to workload management, coordination strategies, and audience engagement techniques. Future research could focus on developing and testing interventions to mitigate these challenges while preserving the potential benefits of PDs in medical education.

Moving forward, medical educators should consider innovative approaches to mitigate these challenges. This may include:

Integrating time management and stress coping strategies into the PD preparation process [ 59 ].

Exploring the use of AI tools to streamline preparation and enhance engagement [ 22 ].

Developing clear rubrics and expectations for both panelists and audience members [ 57 ].

Incorporating interactive elements to maintain audience interest and participation [ 25 ].

Limitations and future research

One limitation of this study is that it focused on a specific population of medical students, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other student populations. Additionally, the study relied on self-report data from panelists and audience members, which may introduce bias and affect the validity of the results. Future research could explore the effectiveness of PDs in different educational contexts and student populations to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the benefits and challenges of panel discussions.

Future research should focus on evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions and exploring how PDs can be tailored to the unique demands of medical education. By addressing the identified challenges, PDs have the potential to become a more valuable and engaging component of medical curricula, fostering both academic and professional development. Ultimately, the goal should be to transform PDs from perceived burdens into opportunities for meaningful learning and skill development, aligning with the evolving needs of medical education in the 21st century.

Future research could also examine the long-term impact of PDs on panelists’ language skills, teamwork, and communication abilities. Additionally, exploring the effectiveness of different training methods and tools, such as AI technology, in improving coordination skills and reducing workload stress for panelists could provide valuable insights for educators and administrators. Further research could also investigate the role of class size and audience engagement in enhancing the overall effectiveness of PDs in higher education settings. By addressing these gaps in the literature, future research can contribute to the ongoing development and improvement of PDs as a valuable learning tool for students in higher education.

However, it is important to note that implementing these changes may require significant institutional resources and a shift in pedagogical approaches. Future research could focus on piloting these recommendations and evaluating their effectiveness in improving student outcomes and experiences with PDs.

Data availability

We confirm that the data supporting the findings are available within this article. Raw data supporting this study’s findings are available from the corresponding author, upon request.

Abbreviations

Artificial Intelligence

English as a Foreign Language

English for Specific Purposes

Panel Discussion

Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Harden RM, Laidlaw JM. Essential skills for a medical teacher: an introduction to teaching and learning in medicine. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2020.

Ibrahim Mohamed O, Al Jadaan DO. English for Specific purposes (Esp) Needs Analysis for Health Sciences students: a cross-sectional study at a University in the UAE. English for Specific purposes (Esp) Needs Analysis for Health Sciences Students: A Cross-Sectional Study at a University in the UAE.

Li Y, Heron M. English for general academic purposes or English for specific purposes? Language learning needs of medical students at a Chinese university. Theory Pract Lang Stud. 2021;11(6):621–31.

Article Google Scholar

Chan SMH, Mamat NH, Nadarajah VD. Mind your language: the importance of English language skills in an International Medical Programme (IMP). BMC Med Educ. 2022;22(1):405.

Cortez Faustino BS, Ticas de Córdova CK, de la Hernández DI. Teaching English for specific purposes: contents and methodologies that could be implemented in the English for Medical purposes (EMP) course for the doctor of Medicine Major at the University of El Salvador. Universidad de El Salvador; 2022.

BENYAMINA E-Z BOUKAHLAH. Enhancing Specialty Language learning through content-based instruction: students of Paramedical Institute of Tiaret as a case study. Université IBN KHALDOUN-Tiaret; 2023.

Prikazchikov M. Medical English course for russian-speaking dentists: a needs analysis study. Iowa State University; 2024.

Kim C, Lee SY, Park S-H. Is Korea Ready to be a key player in the Medical Tourism Industry? An English Education Perspective. Iran J Public Health. 2020;49(2):267–73.

Google Scholar

Syakur A, Zainuddin H, Hasan MA. Needs analysis English for specific purposes (esp) for vocational pharmacy students. Budapest International Research and Critics in Linguistics and Education (BirLE). Journal. 2020;3(2):724–33.

Chan S, Taylor L. Comparing writing proficiency assessments used in professional medical registration: a methodology to inform policy and practice. Assess Writ. 2020;46:100493.

Hyland K, Jiang FK. Delivering relevance: the emergence of ESP as a discipline. Engl Specif Purp. 2021;64:13–25.

Maftuna B. The role of English in ESP. Am J Adv Sci Res. 2024;1(2):1–5.

LEON LI, HUMANIZING THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE. COURSE: NEW TEACHING METHODS FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS. Language, Culture and Change. 2022:243.

Dahm MR, Yates L. Rapport, empathy and professional identity: Some challenges for international medical graduates speaking English as a second or foreign language. Multilingual Healthcare: A Global View on Communicative Challenges. 2020:209 – 34.

Gedamu AD, Gezahegn TH. TEFL trainees’ attitude to and self-efficacy beliefs of academic oral presentation. Cogent Educ. 2023;10(1):2163087.

Saliu B, Hajrullai H. Best practices in the English for specific purpose classes at the language center. Procedia-Social Behav Sci. 2016;232:745–9.

Clokie TL, Fourie E. Graduate employability and communication competence: are undergraduates taught relevant skills? Bus Prof Communication Q. 2016;79(4):442–63.

Hartono H, Mujiyanto J, Fitriati SW, Sakhiyya Z, Lotfie MM, Maharani MM. English Presentation Self-Efficacy Development of Indonesian ESP students: the effects of Individual versus Group Presentation tasks. Int J Lang Educ. 2023;7(3):361–76.

Azizi Z, Farid Khafaga A. Scaffolding via Group-dynamic Assessment to positively affect motivation, learning anxiety, and willingness to Communicate: a Case Study of High School Students. J Psycholinguist Res. 2023;52(3):831–51.

Grieve R, Woodley J, Hunt SE, McKay A. Student fears of oral presentations and public speaking in higher education: a qualitative survey. J Furth High Educ. 2021;45(9):1281–93.

Hall D, Buzwell S. The problem of free-riding in group projects: looking beyond social loafing as reason for non-contribution. Act Learn High Educ. 2013;14(1):37–49.

Almazyad M, Aljofan F, Abouammoh NA, Muaygil R, Malki KH, Aljamaan F, et al. Enhancing Expert Panel discussions in Pediatric Palliative Care: innovative scenario development and summarization with ChatGPT-4. Cureus. 2023;15(4):e38249.

Bhuvaneshwari S, Rashmi R, Deepika K, Anirudh VM, Vijayamathy A, Rekha S, Kathiravan R. Impact of panel discussion in educating AETCOM First Module among Undergraduate Medical Students. Latin Am J Pharmacy: Life Sci J. 2023;42(6):407–12.

Johnson BR, Logan LD, Darley A, Stone RH, Smith SE, Osae SP, et al. A scoping review for Debate-Style Journal Clubs in Health Professional Education. Am J Pharm Educ. 2023;87(6):100064.

Nurakhir A, Palupi FN, Langeveld C, Nurmalia D. Students’ views of classroom debates as a strategy to enhance critical thinking and oral communication skills. 2020.

Jones EP, Nelson NR, Thorpe CT, Rodgers PT, Carlson RB. Use of journal clubs and book clubs in pharmacy education: a scoping review. Currents Pharm Teach Learn. 2022;14(1):110–9.

Dyhrberg O’Neill L. Assessment of student debates in support of active learning? Students’ perceptions of a debate-based oral final exam. Act Learn High Educ. 2024.

Dyment JE, O’Connell TS. Assessing the quality of reflection in student journals: a review of the research. Teach High Educ. 2011;16(1):81–97.

Villarroel V, Bloxham S, Bruna D, Bruna C, Herrera-Seda C. Authentic assessment: creating a blueprint for course design. Assess Evaluation High Educ. 2018;43(5):840–54.

Schultz M, Young K, Gunning K, Harvey T. Defining and measuring authentic assessment: a case study in the context of tertiary science. Assess Evaluation High Educ. 2022;47(1):77–94.

Sundrarajun C, Kiely R. The oral presentation as a context for learning and assessment. Innov Lang Learn Teach. 2010;4(2):101–17.

Wyatt-Smith C, Adie L. The development of students’ evaluative expertise: enabling conditions for integrating criteria into pedagogic practice. J Curriculum Stud. 2021;53(4):399–419.

Boud D, Lawson R, Thompson DG. The calibration of student judgement through self-assessment: disruptive effects of assessment patterns. High Educ Res Dev. 2015;34(1):45–59.

A. S. Enhancing Meaningful Learning experiences through Comprehension and Retention by students. Twentyfirst Century Publications Patiala. 2023;49.

Colton D, Covert RW. Designing and constructing instruments for social research and evaluation. Wiley; 2007.

Krueger RA, Casey MA. Focus group interviewing. Handbook of practical program evaluation. 2015:506 – 34.

Morgan DL. Handbook of interview research: Context and method. Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications Thousand; 2002.

Braun V, Clarke V. Conceptual and design thinking for thematic analysis. Qualitative Psychol. 2022;9(1):3.

Elliott V. Thinking about the coding process in qualitative data analysis. Qualitative Rep. 2018;23(11).

Syed M, Nelson SC. Guidelines for establishing reliability when coding narrative data. Emerg Adulthood. 2015;3(6):375–87.

Lincoln Y. Naturalistic inquiry: Sage; 1985.

Hartono H, Mujiyanto J, Fitriati SW, Sakhiyya Z, Lotfie MM, Maharani MM. English presentation self-efficacy development of Indonesian ESP students: the effects of Individual versus Group Presentation tasks. Int J Lang Educ. 2023;7(3).

Li X. Teaching English oral presentations as a situated task in an EFL classroom: a quasi-experimental study of the effect of video-assisted self-reflection. Revista Signos. 2018;51(98):359–81.

Chou M-h. The influence of learner strategies on oral presentations: a comparison between group and individual performance. Engl Specif Purp. 2011;30(4):272–85.

Harris A, Jones M, Huffman J. Teachers leading educational reform. The power of. 2017.

Agustina L. Stimulating students to speak up through presentation in business English class. J Appl Stud Lang. 2019;3(1):21–8.

Babal JC, Abraham O, Webber S, Watterson T, Moua P, Chen J. Student pharmacist perspectives on factors that influence wellbeing during pharmacy school. Am J Pharm Educ. 2020;84(9):ajpe7831.

Moir F, Yielder J, Sanson J, Chen Y. Depression in medical students: current insights. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2018;323:33.

Pavlinac Dodig I, Lusic Kalcina L, Demirovic S, Pecotic R, Valic M, Dogas Z. Sleep and lifestyle habits of medical and non-medical students during the COVID-19 lockdown. Behav Sci. 2023;13(5):407.

Nowak G, Speed O, Vuk J. Microlearning activities improve student comprehension of difficult concepts and performance in a biochemistry course. Currents Pharm Teach Learn. 2023;15(1):69–78.

Mehmood K, Memon S, Ali F. Language barriers to Effective Communication in speaking English: a phenomenological study of Pakistan International cricketers. Pakistan Lang Humanit Rev. 2024;8(1):107–14.

Buelow JR, Downs D, Jorgensen K, Karges JR, Nelson D. Building interdisciplinary teamwork among allied health students through live clinical case simulations. J Allied Health. 2008;37(2):e109–23.

Rodríguez-Sedano FJ, Conde M, Fernández-Llamas C, editors. Measuring teamwork competence development in a multidisciplinary project based learning environment. Learning and Collaboration Technologies Design, Development and Technological Innovation: 5th International Conference, LCT 2018, Held as Part of HCI International 2018, Las Vegas, NV, USA, July 15–20, 2018, Proceedings, Part I 5; 2018: Springer.

Wilson L, Ho S, Brookes RH. Student perceptions of teamwork within assessment tasks in undergraduate science degrees. Assess Evaluation High Educ. 2018;43(5):786–99.

Parmar D, Bickmore T. Making it personal: addressing individual audience members in oral presentations using augmented reality. Proc ACM Interact Mob Wearable Ubiquitous Technol. 2020;4(2):1–22.

Pasandín AMR, Pérez IP, Iglesias PO, Díaz JJG. Cooperative oral presentations in higher education to enhance technical and soft skills in engineering students. Int J Continuing Eng Educ Life Long Learn. 2023;33(6):592–607.

Ragupathi K, Lee A. Beyond fairness and consistency in grading: The role of rubrics in higher education. Diversity and inclusion in global higher education: Lessons from across Asia. 2020:73–95.

Rabbi MF, Islam MS. The effect of academic stress and Mental anxiety among the students of Khulna University. Edukasiana: Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan. 2024;3(3):280–99.

Popa CO, Schenk A, Rus A, Szasz S, Suciu N, Szabo DA, Cojocaru C. The role of acceptance and planning in stress management for medical students. Acta Marisiensis-Seria Med. 2020;66(3):101–5.

Christianson M, Payne S. Helping students develop skills for better presentations: Using the 20x20 format for presentation training. 語学研究. 2012;26:1–15.

Romero-Yesa S, Fonseca D, Aláez M, Amo-Filva D. Qualitative assessment of a challenge-based learning and teamwork applied in electronics program. Heliyon. 2023;9(12).

Bosco TJ, Gabriel B, Florence M, Gilbert N. Towards effective teaching and learning ESP in mixed classes: students’ interest, challenges and remedies. Int J Engl Literature Social Sci. 2020;5(2):506–16.

Qiao L, Xu Y, bin Ahmad N, An Analysis Of Implementation Challenges For English, For Specific Purposes (Esp) Formative Assessment Via Blended Learning Mode At Chinese Vocational Polytechnics. Journal Of Digital Education, Communication, And Arts (DECA). 2023;6(02):64–76.

Kho MG-W, Ting S-H. Overcoming oral presentation anxiety: a systematic review of Tertiary ESL/EFL Students’ challenges and strategies. Qeios. 2023.

Download references

We confirm that no funding was received for this work.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of English Language, School of Paramedical Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Elham Nasiri & Laleh Khojasteh

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

L.KH was involved in writing the proposal, reviewing the text, analyzing the data, and writing the manuscript. E. N was involvedin designing the research and collecting and analyzing the data. Both authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laleh Khojasteh .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

Our study, entitled “Evaluating Panel Discussions in ESP Classes: An Exploration of International Medical Students’ and ESP Instructors’ Perspectives through Qualitative Research,” was reviewed by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the School of Paramedical Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS). The IRB reviewed the study on August 14th, 2024, and determined that formal ethics approval or a reference number was not required. This decision was based on the fact that the research posed minimal risk to participants and focused solely on their educational experiences without involving any intervention or the collection of sensitive personal data.

Consent for publication

Not Applicable.

Competing interests

We confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication and that this work did not receive any financial support.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Nasiri, E., Khojasteh, L. Evaluating panel discussions in ESP classes: an exploration of international medical students’ and ESP instructors’ perspectives through qualitative research. BMC Med Educ 24 , 925 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05911-3

Download citation

Received : 08 May 2024

Accepted : 14 August 2024

Published : 26 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05911-3

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Group oral presentations
Medical students
Panel discussions
ESP courses

BMC Medical Education

ISSN: 1472-6920

General enquiries: [email protected]

Skip to main content
Skip to FDA Search
Skip to in this section menu
Skip to footer links

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Search
Menu
News & Events
FDA Newsroom
Press Announcements

FDA Approves and Authorizes Updated mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines to Better Protect Against Currently Circulating Variants

FDA News Release

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved and granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) to include a monovalent (single) component that corresponds to the Omicron variant KP.2 strain of SARS-CoV-2. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been updated with this formula to more closely target currently circulating variants and provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. Today’s actions relate to updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by ModernaTX Inc. and Pfizer Inc.

In early June, the FDA advised manufacturers of licensed and authorized COVID-19 vaccines that the COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) should be monovalent JN.1 vaccines. Based on the further evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and a rise in cases of COVID-19, the agency subsequently determined and advised manufacturers that the preferred JN.1-lineage for the COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) is the KP.2 strain, if feasible.

“Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “These updated vaccines meet the agency’s rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.”

The updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines include Comirnaty and Spikevax, both of which are approved for individuals 12 years of age and older, and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, both of which are authorized for emergency use for individuals 6 months through 11 years of age.

What You Need to Know

Unvaccinated individuals 6 months through 4 years of age are eligible to receive three doses of the updated, authorized Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or two doses of the updated, authorized Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.
Individuals 6 months through 4 years of age who have previously been vaccinated against COVID-19 are eligible to receive one or two doses of the updated, authorized Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines (timing and number of doses to administer depends on the previous COVID-19 vaccine received).
Individuals 5 years through 11 years of age regardless of previous vaccination are eligible to receive a single dose of the updated, authorized Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines; if previously vaccinated, the dose is administered at least 2 months after the last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine.
Individuals 12 years of age and older are eligible to receive a single dose of the updated, approved Comirnaty or the updated, approved Spikevax; if previously vaccinated, the dose is administered at least 2 months since the last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine.
Additional doses are authorized for certain immunocompromised individuals ages 6 months through 11 years of age as described in the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine fact sheets.

Individuals who receive an updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may experience similar side effects as those reported by individuals who previously received mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and as described in the respective prescribing information or fact sheets. The updated vaccines are expected to provide protection against COVID-19 caused by the currently circulating variants. Barring the emergence of a markedly more infectious variant of SARS-CoV-2, the FDA anticipates that the composition of COVID-19 vaccines will need to be assessed annually, as occurs for seasonal influenza vaccines.

For today’s approvals and authorizations of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, the FDA assessed manufacturing and nonclinical data to support the change to include the 2024-2025 formula in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The updated mRNA vaccines are manufactured using a similar process as previous formulas of these vaccines. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to hundreds of millions of people in the U.S., and the benefits of these vaccines continue to outweigh their risks.

On an ongoing basis, the FDA will review any additional COVID-19 vaccine applications submitted to the agency and take appropriate regulatory action.

The approval of Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) (2024-2025 Formula) was granted to BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH. The EUA amendment for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula) was issued to Pfizer Inc.

The approval of Spikevax (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) (2024-2025 Formula) was granted to ModernaTX Inc. and the EUA amendment for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula) was issued to ModernaTX Inc.

Related Information

Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) (2024-2025 Formula)
Spikevax (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) (2024-2025 Formula)
Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula)
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula)
FDA Resources for the Fall Respiratory Illness Season
Updated COVID-19 Vaccines for Use in the United States Beginning in Fall 2024
June 5, 2024, Meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, radiation-emitting electronic products, and for regulating tobacco products.

Alzheimer's disease & dementia
Arthritis & Rheumatism
Attention deficit disorders
Autism spectrum disorders
Biomedical technology
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Gastroenterology
Gerontology & Geriatrics
Health informatics
Inflammatory disorders
Medical economics
Medical research
Medications
Neuroscience
Obstetrics & gynaecology
Oncology & Cancer
Ophthalmology
Overweight & Obesity
Parkinson's & Movement disorders
Psychology & Psychiatry
Radiology & Imaging
Sleep disorders
Sports medicine & Kinesiology
Vaccination
Breast cancer
Cardiovascular disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Colon cancer
Coronary artery disease
Heart attack
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Kidney disease
Lung cancer
Multiple sclerosis
Myocardial infarction
Ovarian cancer
Post traumatic stress disorder
Rheumatoid arthritis
Schizophrenia
Skin cancer
Type 2 diabetes
Full List »

share this!

August 28, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

peer-reviewed publication

miR-10b inhibition: A strategy for treating metastatic breast cancer

by Impact Journals LLC

A new research paper was published in Oncotarget , titled "Inhibition of miR-10b treats metastatic breast cancer by targeting stem cell-like properties."

As stated within the paper, despite advances in breast cancer screening and treatment, the prognosis for metastatic disease remains dismal, with only a 30% five-year survival rate. This poor outcome is largely due to the failure of current therapeutics to target the unique properties of metastatic cells. One of the key drivers of metastasis is miR-10b, a small noncoding RNA implicated in cancer cell invasion, migration, viability, and proliferation.

Researchers Alan Halim, Nasreen Al-Qadi, Elizabeth Kenyon, Kayla N. Conner, Sujan Kumar Mondal, Zdravka Medarova, and Anna Moore from Michigan State University's Precision Health Program, College of Human Medicine, and College of Veterinary Medicine, and Transcode Therapeutics Inc. in Newton, Massachusetts, provide transcriptional evidence that inhibiting miR-10b with MN-anti-miR10b—a nanodrug designed to deliver anti-miR-10b antisense oligomers to cancer cells—activates developmental processes in cancer cells. They observed increased miR-10b expression in stem-like cancer cells.

In mouse models of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, MN-anti-miR10b has been shown to prevent the onset of metastasis and eliminate existing metastases when combined with chemotherapy, even after treatment has been discontinued.

"Our results demonstrate that inhibition of miR-10b using MN-anti-miR10b decreases the stemness of breast cancer cells, supporting dedifferentiation as a mechanism through which the nanodrug may function as a therapy ," explained the researchers.

Explore further

Feedback to editors

Silicon exoskeletons for blood cells: Engineered blood cells successfully transfused between species

25 minutes ago

Neuroscientists explore the intersection of music and memory

Scientists discover a new cardiovascular risk factor and identify a drug able to reduce its effects

Norovirus study shows how bile acids in breast milk affect newborn gut health

2 hours ago

Immunotherapy research offers new hope for children with primary liver carcinomas

Study unveils novel treatment for blocking SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells

3 hours ago

Novel pathway could lead to potential treatment for metabolic liver disease

Music study links dulled emotional reactions in anhedonia with prolonged activity of the brain's attentional networks

New anti-cancer 'degrader' targets protein essential to infant leukemia

AI-based tongue imaging could help enable non-invasive detection of coronary artery disease

Drug-chemo combo increases cancer treatment efficacy

Jul 30, 2024

Study identifies new treatment target for metastatic cancer

May 9, 2023

Treatment of aggressive breast cancer: Discovery of a new protein involved in the development of metastases

Jan 31, 2024

Editorial: Subpopulations of AIB1-expressing breast cancer cells enable invasion and metastasis

Sep 6, 2023

Protein could offer therapeutic target for breast cancer metastasis

Feb 5, 2020

1975 to 2019 saw 58% decrease in breast cancer mortality

Jan 17, 2024

Recommended for you

Smart mask monitors breath for signs of health

22 hours ago

High-resolution brain tumor mapping reveals possible reason why some patients don't respond to new drug

Aug 29, 2024

Gene therapy gets a turbo boost from researchers

Let us know if there is a problem with our content.

Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form . For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines ).

Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request

Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.

Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.

E-mail the story

Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Medical Xpress in any form.

Newsletter sign up

Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties.

More information Privacy policy

Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience

We keep our content available to everyone. Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.

E-mail newsletter

IMAGES

Medical Ethics: The Four Topics Model
Medical Ethics Lecture Series. It is mainly the introduction.
Medical Ethics Study + Practice Test 1
Fascinating Essay On Medical Ethics ~ Thatsnotus
(PDF) Professionalism and Ethics in Health Care
Ethical Issues Involved in Medicine Free Essay Example

VIDEO

ETHICAL ISSUES IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
Making Healthcare More Ethical
How I Read and Organize Academic (Machine Learning) Papers
Research and publication Ethics Oct 2021 Question paper| #VTU
Medical Ethics 3rd Semester All Technologies Lecture 1
⚖️Ethical Principles in Research🩺

COMMENTS

The top 10 most-read medical ethics articles in 2021
The most popular articles published this year in the AMA Journal of Ethics covered health equity, patient autonomy, Holocaust lessons, and more.
Fundamentals of Medical Ethics
The editors announce a new Perspective series exploring key ethical questions facing medicine today; the hope is that medical ethics can keep pace with the evolution — and revolutions — in ...
60 Best Medical Ethics Paper Topics To Research
60 of The Finest Medical Ethics Paper Topics (2023) Medicine is a technical subject that requires keen attention to detail in everything. Your instructor expects a top-quality paper from you, yet you do not know where to start. Our pros have put together a list of medical ethics research paper topics to get you on track.
Articles
BMC Medical Ethics explores all aspects of medical ethics, from basic research through to clinical and international policy. This includes topics such as ...
The 10 most-read medical ethics articles in 2022
The most popular articles published this year in the AMA Journal of Ethics covered the medical-dental divide, health equity and more.
Recent articles and discoveries in Medical Ethics
Find the latest research papers and news in Medical Ethics. Read stories and opinions from top researchers in our research community.
Fundamentals of Medical Ethics
Fundamentals of Medical Ethics. A series of Perspective articles exploring some key ethical questions facing medicine today. New ethical dilemmas arise as medicine evolves, but careful ...
Home page
BMC Medical Ethics is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles in relation to the ethical aspects of biomedical research and clinical practice, including professional choices and conduct, medical technologies, healthcare systems and health policies. We are recruiting new, international Editorial Board Members.
Homepage
Journal of Medical Ethics. is a leading journal covering the whole field of medical ethics, promoting ethical reflection and conduct in scientific research and medical practice. Journal of Medical Ethics is an official journal of the Institute of Medical Ethics and a Plan S compliant Transformative Journal.
Medical ethics
Ethical and social implications of public-private partnerships in the context of genomic/big health data collection This paper reports on the findings of an international workshop organised by ...
Ethics of care and moral resilience in health care practice: A scoping
Conclusion This review identified a dearth of research in ethics of care and moral resilience in healthcare practice. Further empirical investigation may provide a deeper understanding of the translation of ethics of care and moral resilience to health care practice to facilitate workplace culture.
Ethics and Highly Innovative Research on Brain Diseases
Despite exciting advances, conducting brain research and appropriately implementing interventions or insights derived from it raise both familiar and new ethical challenges.
Ethics in medical research: General principles with special reference
Ethics in medical research deals with the conflicts of interest across various levels. Guidelines have been proposed for standardized ethical practice throughout the globe. The four fundamental principles of ethics which are being underscored are autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. Some special ethical issues have particular ...
Ethics in Medical Research and Publication
To present the basic principles and standards of Ethics in medical research and publishing, as well as the need for continuing education in the principles and ethics in science and publication in biomedicine. An analysis of relevant materials and documents, ...
100 Medical Ethics Topics for Top Students In 2023
This is a collection of 100 research topics on medical ethics, divided into several sub-categories for a variety of situations. Free to use and share.
Current Issue
Original research; Extended essays; Student essay; Brief reports; Responses; ... Monitored Emergency Use of Unregistered and Experimental Interventions (MEURI) is research (23 November, 2023) G Owen Schaefer. ... Large language models in medical ethics: useful but not expert (22 January, 2024)
Medical Professionalism and Ethics
The foundation of medical professionalism and ethics is trust, truth, human values, and strong societal commitment. Our professional responsibilities as medical educators have immediate and long-term impact on the quality of training, patient care, and overall image of the professional group in the society.
The top 10 ethical issues medical students should be taught
Get key background from the AMA on the emerging medical ethics topics that medical students should be learning about in medical school.
Medical Ethics Issues: Position Papers & Resources
In addition to the ACP Ethics Manual, ACP publishes ethics position papers on a broad range of health care ethics issues including clinical ethics, professionalism, the delivery of health care, teaching, medical research, human rights and other topics. ACP ethics policy is approved by the Board of Regents and serves as the basis for the ...
Ethics Research Paper Topics
This page provides a comprehensive list of ethics research paper topics, aiming to guide students through the intricate labyrinth of moral and ethical discussions. Curated meticulously by iResearchNet, the guide not only presents diverse topics across various ethical domains but also imparts invaluable insights on choosing the ideal topic and formulating a compelling research paper. For both ...
Medical Ethics
Research Report Archived May 21, 2008. Infrastructure to Monitor Utilization and Outcomes of Gene-Based Applications: An Assessment. The field of ethics studies principles of right and wrong. There is hardly an area in medicine that doesn't have an ethical aspect. For example, there are ethical issues relating to End of life care: Should a ...
What Covid Has Taught the World about Ethics
The ethical issues prompted by Covid are not new, and informed guidance can help policymakers navigate trade-offs among key values and implement ethical principles in future health emergencies.
A research on abortion: ethics, legislation and socio-medical outcomes
This article presents a research study on abortion from a theoretical and empirical point of view. The theoretical part is based on the method of social documents analysis, and presents a complex perspective on abortion, highlighting items of medical, ethical, moral, religious, social, economic and legal elements.
What is a good medical ethics topic for a research paper?
Here are some bio-medical ethics topics, that you can consider for your research paper: Medical Ethics in Asia versus Europe. Medical ethics: a detailed analysis. Ethical Issues in stem cell research and Therapy. The ethical issues and legal considerations with euthanasia.
Transforming simulation in healthcare to enhance interprofessional
Simulation in healthcare, empowered by big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), has the potential to drive transformative innovations towards enhanced interprofessional collaboration (IPC). This convergence of technologies revolutionizes medical education, offering healthcare professionals (HCPs) an immersive, iterative, and dynamic simulation platform for hands-on learning and ...
Evaluating panel discussions in ESP classes: an exploration of
This study investigates the effectiveness of panel discussions, a specific interactive teaching technique where a group of students leads a pre-planned, topic-focused discussion with audience participation, in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses for international medical students. This approach aims to simulate professional conference discussions, preparing students for future academic ...
FDA Approves and Authorizes Updated mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines to Better
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved and granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) to include a monovalent (single ...
miR-10b inhibition: A strategy for treating metastatic breast cancer
A new research paper was published in Oncotarget, titled "Inhibition of miR-10b treats metastatic breast cancer by targeting stem cell-like properties." Topics Conditions

60 of The Finest Medical Ethics Paper Topics (2023)

Medical Argumentative Topics

Biomedical Ethics Topics For Papers

Controversial Medical Ethics Topics

Medical Argumentative Topics For College Students

Ethical Dilemma Paper Topics

Bioethics Paper Topics

Ethical Dilemma Topics For High School Students

Healthcare Ethics Topics

Medical Law and Ethics Topics

Interesting Bioethics Topics

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Medical Ethics

Latest research

The Burden of Chronic Diseases with the Status of Family Medical History Among Older Adults in India

Journey to the grave: when an aneurysm ruptures during surgery

Early neonatal mortality and determinants in Ethiopia: multilevel analysis of Ethiopian demographic and health survey, 2019

"This is not within the scope of our tasks or even duties"—barriers in the identification of domestic violence by healthcare workers

Neurocognitive function and medical care utilization in Veterans treated for substance use disorder

Related journals

BMC Medical Ethics

Asian Bioethics Review

Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine

BMC Medical Ethics

Racial disparities in healthcare

Islamic medical ethics

Editor's choice

Compromised informed consent due to functional health literacy challenges in Chinese hospitals

Issues and implications of the life-sustaining treatment decision act: comparing the data from the survey and clinical data of inpatients at the end-of-life process

Qualitative studies involving users of clinical neurotechnology: a scoping review

The ethical dimension of personal health monitoring in the armed forces: a scoping review

Exploration of clinical ethics consultation in Uganda: a case study of Uganda Cancer Institute

Controversies and considerations regarding the termination of pregnancy for Foetal Anomalies in Islam

Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: a systematic review

Top 10 health care ethics challenges facing the public: views of Toronto bioethicists

The four principles: Can they be measured and do they predict ethical decision making?

Human cloning laws, human dignity and the poverty of the policy making dialogue

Aims and scope

Become an Editorial Board Member

Black Lives Matter

Trending BMC Medical Ethics articles

BMC Series Blog

Introducing BMC Bioinformatics’ Collection: RNA-seq data analysis

Introducing BMC Biomedical Engineering’s Collection: Surgical robotics

2024 BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology Image Competition: the winning images!

Latest Tweets

Important information

Annual Journal Metrics

Peer-review Terminology

Medical ethics articles from across Nature Portfolio

Acquisition parameters influence AI recognition of race in chest x-rays and mitigating these factors reduces underdiagnosis bias

Exploring de-anonymization risks in PET imaging: Insights from a comprehensive analysis of 853 patient scans

A trust based framework for the envelopment of medical AI

Attitudes of European psychiatrists on psychedelics: a cross-sectional survey study

Unpacking the notion of “serious” genetic conditions: towards implementation in reproductive decision-making?

FaceMotionPreserve: a generative approach for facial de-identification and medical information preservation

News and Comment

Not all AI health tools with regulatory authorization are clinically validated

CAR-T treatment is safe and effective in adult patients with Down syndrome and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL)

Disability rights and experiential use of psychedelics in clinical research and practice

The EU passes the AI Act and its implications for digital medicine are unclear

How to bridge innovation and regulation for responsible AI in healthcare

Quick links

Writing custom essays & research papers since 2008

Medical Ethics Essay Topics for College Students

Medical Ethics Topics for Essay in Graduate School

Medical Ethics Research Paper Topics for Ph.D. Students

Current Medical Ethics Topics for 2023

Controversial Medical Ethics Topics in the News

Medical Ethics Topics for Debate or Presentation

Medical Law and Ethics Topics for 2023

Medical Ethics Topics for Discussion or Presentation

Medical Ethics Issues Topics for a Quick Project

Medical Ethics Research Topics for a Dissertation

Log in using your username and password

You are here

Current controversy

Issue Information

Medical Ethics Issues: Position Papers & Resources

Current ACP Ethics Policies and Resources