The World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki is one of the most important international ethical guidelines for medical research involving human participants. It was developed by the World Medical Association (WMA) in 1964 in Helsinki, Finland, and has been revised several times to reflect scientific and ethical developments in clinical research. The Declaration provides ethical principles that guide physicians, researchers, ethics committees, institutions, and governments in protecting the rights, safety, dignity, and well-being of research participants.
The Declaration of Helsinki is considered a cornerstone of research ethics worldwide and is commonly required by scientific journals, ethics committees, universities, and international organizations before approving or publishing clinical studies. It applies to all forms of research involving human subjects, including clinical trials, observational studies, research using identifiable human materials or data, and biomedical investigations.
The well-being, dignity, rights, and safety of research participants must always come before the interests of science or society. Researchers must protect participants from harm and ensure ethical treatment throughout the study.
Research involving humans must be scientifically justified and based on sound scientific knowledge and previous laboratory or animal studies.
Every research study involving humans must be reviewed and approved by an independent ethics committee before the study begins.