STIPED - Noninvasive Brain Stimulation in Pediatrics

Subproject

Ethics subproject

The main objectives of the ethics work package are:

• To examine beliefs and attitudes toward the use of tDCS techniques in children and adolescents and to examine and address the concerns and expectations of patients and their families toward tDCS in pediatrics and child psychiatry.
• Present and address ethical issues of tDCS as a treatment and as a non-pharmacological neuroenhancement;
• Develop recommendations and policy proposals for tDCS in pediatrics.
• Systematic evaluation, discussion, and consultation on emerging research ethics issues throughout the life of the project.

In addition, the work package will assist all members of the consortium to strictly adhere to all standards of research ethics and good practice.

The work package is divided into the following tasks:

• Interview and survey study: This task includes the development of guidelines for semi-structured interviews with the target groups (patients, caregivers/families, health professionals and teachers) and a questionnaire for an international survey (also targeting healthy individuals). The information collected will support the development of a treatment strategy in a way that avoids ethical and social problems.
• Literature review, ethical mapping and analysis, PPI and policy development: a comprehensive ethical analysis will be conducted and the more theoretical neuroethical debates on brain stimulation and neuro-enhancement will be mapped to learn about the arguments exchanged and to introduce new arguments.
• Develop recommendations for the use of tDCS in the treatment of CPND: The work package will collaborate with patient and stakeholder groups, other researchers, and the general public to develop policy recommendations for how best to implement transcranial brain stimulation in practice.
• Internal ethical guidance: This is about providing internal support and guidance on research ethics issues that arise during the project.