Final answer:
Equal treatment is not a current ethical standard in the context of human subject research, which instead emphasizes informed consent, confidentiality, and voluntary participation. Issues arise when consent is potentially coerced, when full information is not disclosed, or when children are involved and their guardians must consent.
Step-by-step explanation:
Among the current ethical standards concerning the treatment of human subjects, equal treatment is not a commonly referenced standard.
However, obtaining informed consent, maintaining confidentiality, and ensuring voluntary participation are indeed key ethical requirements. Informed consent ensures that participants are fully aware of the nature of the study, including any potential risks and benefits before agreeing to participate.
The confidentiality standard requires researchers to protect participants' personal information to respect their privacy. Voluntary participation emphasizes that individuals should not be coerced into joining a study and retain the right to withdraw at any time without penalty.
Considering potential violations of informed consent, offering inmates in a correctional facility good behavior credit for participation in a study could be seen as coercive and may compromise the voluntary nature of their consent.
Also, in a study on children's allergy medication, it is essential that the parents or guardians are fully informed of the study and give consent on behalf of the children.
Lack of disclosure regarding placebo and traditional treatments in a medication trial is a direct violation of informed consent, leading to possible deception of participants.
These scenarios highlight the importance of transparency and the need for participants to make an informed decision about their involvement in research.