Abstract

Author(s): Molero Jurado, María del Mar1; Gázquez Linares, José Jesús2; Pérez-Fuentes, María del Carmen3

Introduction: Ethics, is an essential dimension of human research, and must be considered a normal practice.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the use of different regulatory standards of ethics in human research in health publications.

Method: This study was performed using the SCImago Journal & Country Rank portal, ranking the results by the SJR index, and selecting the three journals with the highest impact: Nutrición Hospitalaria [Hospital nutrition], Nutrición Clínica y Dietética Hospitalaria [Clinical Nutrition and Hospital Dietetics] and Enfermería Global [Global Nursing]. Under the criteria for inclusion and exclusion of articles set, a total of 339 articles published from 2006 to 2016 were analyzed.

Results: The Helsinki Declaration was mentioned in 28.6% of the articles from 2016, while in publications from a decade before, only 2.9% of the studies reviewed had cited it. It was also observed that of all the articles analyzed, 62.5% (n=212) of the studies expressly mentioned evaluation of compliance with ethics by a committee.

Conclusions: The results on the reference to the Helsinki Declaration (World Medical Association, 2013) revealed favorable evolution from 2006 to date