Final answer:
The four ethical principles to consider when implementing a treatment are autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. These principles guide healthcare professionals and researchers to respect individual rights, benefit others, prevent harm, and distribute resources fairly.
Step-by-step explanation:
When implementing a treatment, there are four main ethical principles to consider:
Autonomy: This principle emphasizes that patients have a right to exercise their own agency and make decisions about their own healthcare. Respect for autonomy means seeking informed consent and respecting patients' choices.
- Beneficence: The principle of beneficence requires that we act in ways that benefit others. In medical and research contexts, this includes considering patients' or participants' interests, ensuring fair treatment, and aiming to do good both in terms of individual welfare and advancing scientific understanding.
- Nonmaleficence: Coupled with beneficence, this principle emphasizes the importance of not causing harm. Health care professionals must protect subjects from harm and ensure that any treatment or research activity does not adversely affect participants' well-being.
- Justice: This principle refers to the fair distribution of benefits, risks, and costs. In treatment and research, it addresses issues such as ensuring equitable access to healthcare and fair treatment in the allocation of resources and opportunities for participation.
These principles are grounded in the historical context of ethical dilemmas faced during trials with human subjects, aiming to respect subjects' rights to privacy and dignity, protect them from harm, preserve confidentiality, and ensure informed consent before treatment or participation in research.