I think high ethical standards for RCTs in developing countries are important for:
Trust: RCTs facilitate less or no benefits if desired research users do not trust the RCTs and researchers that facilitated them
Social licence to operate: insensitive RCTs can ‘burn bridges’ that constrain future RCTs from being permitted. It’s not a trivial ask for governments to permit foreign researchers to do experiments on vulnerable people in their countries, especially those with colonial histories.
Mitigating direct harm: moral uncertainty makes this important, even if there is an envisioned greater good. Empirical uncertainty also makes mitigating direct harm important because envisionedgreater good ≠ greater good.
I hold this view as someone enthusiastic about the potential benefits of RCTs, having recently contributed to one in Bihar (India)
I think high ethical standards for RCTs in developing countries are important for:
Trust: RCTs facilitate less or no benefits if desired research users do not trust the RCTs and researchers that facilitated them
Social licence to operate: insensitive RCTs can ‘burn bridges’ that constrain future RCTs from being permitted. It’s not a trivial ask for governments to permit foreign researchers to do experiments on vulnerable people in their countries, especially those with colonial histories.
Mitigating direct harm: moral uncertainty makes this important, even if there is an envisioned greater good. Empirical uncertainty also makes mitigating direct harm important because envisioned greater good ≠ greater good.
I hold this view as someone enthusiastic about the potential benefits of RCTs, having recently contributed to one in Bihar (India)