ABSTRACT
The federal Certificate of Confidentiality plays an important role in research on sensitive topics by authorizing researchers to refuse to disclose identifiable research data in response to subpoenas in any legal setting. However, there is little known about how effective Certificates are in practice. This article draws on our legal and empirical research on this topic to fill this information gap. It includes a description of the purpose of Certificates, their legislative and regulatory history, and a summary of the few reported and unreported cases that have dealt with Certificates. In addition, we outline other statutory confidentiality protections, compare them to the Certificate's protections, and analyze some of the vulnerabilities of a Certificate's protections. This analysis allows us to make specific recommendations for strengthening the protections afforded to research data.
Subject(s)
Confidentiality/legislation & jurisprudence , Research Subjects/legislation & jurisprudence , Humans , Social Control, FormalABSTRACT
Researchers often require and collect sensitive information about individuals to answer important scientific questions that impact individual health and well-being and the public health. Researchers recognize they have a duty to maintain the confidentiality of the data they collect and typically make promises, which are documented in the consent form. The legal interests of others, however, can threaten researchers' promises of confidentiality, if they seek access to the data through subpoena. Certificates of Confidentiality (Certificates), authorized by federal statute, are an important tool for protecting individually identifiable sensitive research data from compelled disclosure. However, questions persist in the research community about the strength of Certificate protections, and the evidence on which to judge the strength is scant. In this article, we address those questions through a careful examination of the legislation and regulations concerning Certificates and the reported and unreported cases we have identified through our legal research and interviews with legal counsel about their experiences with Certificates. We also analyze other statutes that protect research data to compare them to the Certificate's protections, and we review other legal strategies available for protecting research data. Based on our analysis, we conclude with recommendations for how to strengthen protection of sensitive research data.
ABSTRACT
The certificate of confidentiality (Certificate) is an important tool for protecting identifiable, sensitive human subjects research data in the United States. However, little is known about the Certificate's effectiveness in protecting identifiable data. We interviewed 24 legal counsel representing U.S. research institutions about their experiences with legal demands for research data. Our respondents reported few, if any, legal demands over the course of their tenure, but two-thirds had experience with legal demands for data protected by a Certificate. They reported such demands often were resolved without disclosure of identifiable research data, typically without court intervention. While our respondents reported similar success protecting identifiable data in court, they often did not rely on the Certificate to do so.
Subject(s)
Certification/legislation & jurisprudence , Confidentiality/legislation & jurisprudence , Disclosure/legislation & jurisprudence , Ethics, Research , Intellectual Property , Privacy/legislation & jurisprudence , Research Subjects/legislation & jurisprudence , Attitude , Certification/ethics , Computer Security , Confidentiality/ethics , Disclosure/ethics , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Lawyers , United StatesABSTRACT
In an effort to establish new candidates with improved antimicrobial activities we report here the synthesis and in vitro biological evaluation of various series of compounds (5a-j) and (7a-j) which were evaluated against two Gram positive (S. aureus, B. subtilis), two Gram negative (S. typhosa, E. coli) strains and a yeast-like fungi (C. albicans) using the micro-dilution procedure. Among the synthesized compounds 2-(cyclohexyl amino)-4-(3,4-dimethoxy phenyl ethyl thioureido)-6-(2-chloro phenyl ureido) s-triazine (7e) and 2-(cyclohexyl amino)-4-(3,4-dimethoxy phenyl ethyl thioureido)-6-(4-chloro phenyl ureido) s-triazine (7g) proved to be effective with MIC (0.019 mg ML(-1)) against S. typhosa & E. coli respectively.
Subject(s)
Anti-Infective Agents/chemical synthesis , Anti-Infective Agents/pharmacology , Bacteria/drug effects , Candida albicans/drug effects , Drug Design , Thiourea/chemical synthesis , Anti-Infective Agents/chemistry , Heterocyclic Compounds/chemical synthesis , Heterocyclic Compounds/chemistry , Heterocyclic Compounds/pharmacology , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Molecular Structure , Thiourea/chemistry , Thiourea/pharmacologyABSTRACT
In an effort to discover new candidates with improved antimicrobial activities we report here the synthesis and in vitro biological evaluation of various series of 2-{(3,4,5-trimethoxy phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazolyl)-5-thio}-4-(morpholino)-6-(phenyl ureido)-s-triazine (7a-i) and 2-{(3,4,5-trimethoxy phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazolyl)-5-thio}-4-(morpholino)-6-(phenyl thioureido)-s-triazine (8a-g). Antimicrobial properties of the title compounds were investigated against two Gram (+ ve) bacteria (S. aureus, B. subtilis), two Gram (- ve) bacteria (P. aeruginosa, E. coli) and yeast-like fungi (C. albicans) using the broth microdilution method.
