Ethical principles for research involving human participants
Adopted by the 75th WMA General Assembly, Helsinki, Finland, October 2024
The 2024 Declaration of Helsinki is a global guideline for ethical medical research with people. It updates rules to ensure fairness, protect vulnerable groups, and address new challenges like data privacy, environmental issues, and using digital tools like online consent forms. It also highlights the importance of involving research participants as active partners, not just participants.
For the first time, the Declaration strongly encourages patients and communities to help shape research. Their views, especially for conditions like chronic or rare diseases, are now seen as essential to creating studies that meet real needs. Patient advocacy groups are also encouraged to connect researchers with participants and educate people about their role in research.