Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/24433
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dc.contributor.authorBrown, R-
dc.contributor.authorde Barra, M-
dc.contributor.authorEarp, B-
dc.date.accessioned2022-04-11T14:24:42Z-
dc.date.available2022-04-11T14:24:42Z-
dc.date.issued2022-04-10-
dc.identifier121-
dc.identifier.citationBrown, R., de Barra, M. and Earp, B. (2022) 'Broad Medical Uncertainty and the Ethical Obligation for Openness', Synthese, 200, 121, pp, 1-29. doi: 10.1007/s11229-022-03666-2.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0039-7857-
dc.identifier.urihttps://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/24433-
dc.description.abstractCopyright © The Author(s) 2022. This paper argues that there exists a collective epistemic state of ‘Broad Medical Uncertainty’ (BMU) regarding the effectiveness of many medical interventions. We outline the features of BMU, and describe some of the main contributing factors. These include flaws in medical research methodologies, bias in publication practices, financial and other conflicts of interest, and features of how evidence is translated into practice. These result in a significant degree of uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of many medical treatments and unduly optimistic beliefs about the benefit / harm profiles of such treatments. We argue for an ethical presumption in favour of openness regarding BMU as part of a ‘Corrective Response’. We then consider some objections to this position (the ‘Anti-Corrective Response’), including concerns that public honesty about flaws in medical research could undermine trust in healthcare institutions. We suggest that, as it stands, the Anti-Corrective Response is unconvincing.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis research was funded in part by the Wellcome Trust [Grant number WT203132/Z/16/Z]. This project/publication was made possible through the support of a grant from The Honesty Project at Wake Forest University and the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Honesty Project, Wake Forest University, or the John Templeton Foundation [Grant number 61842 PI: Brown] .en_US
dc.format.extent1 - 29-
dc.format.mediumPrint-Electronic-
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherSpringer Natureen_US
dc.rightsCopyright © The Author(s) 2022. Rights and permissions: Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.-
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/-
dc.subjectmedicineen_US
dc.subjectethicsen_US
dc.subjectevidence based medicineen_US
dc.subjectscience communicationen_US
dc.subjecttrusten_US
dc.titleBroad Medical Uncertainty and the Ethical Obligation for Opennessen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-022-03666-2-
dc.relation.isPartOfSynthese: an international journal for epistemology, methodology and philosophy of science-
pubs.publication-statusPublished-
pubs.volume200-
dc.identifier.eissn1573-0964-
Appears in Collections:Dept of Life Sciences Research Papers

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