The School of Bioethics holds its 7th Research Colloquium

Researchers, members of the School and students of the Doctorate in Applied Bioethics shared their projects, thus enriching the subject of research in Bioethics.

On June 7, 2024, the Research Division of the School of Bioethics held the seventh Research Colloquium, which began with a few words of welcome from Dr. María Elizabeth de los Ríos Uriarte, professor-researcher of the School of Bioethics and Dr. José Alberto Castilla Barajas, deputy director of the same school.

Afterwards, the inaugural conference entitled: “Science at the service of truth and good: the ethical imperative in research” was given by Dr. Julio Tudela, director of the Life Sciences Institute of the Catholic University of Valencia, in which he emphasized the two types of fraud in research: the invention of false data and the adaptation of the research results to the parameters of the author's personal interest.

Furthermore, he told us about false authorship, plagiarism and how both fraudulently attack the preservation of veracity and originality in research, ending his intervention by arguing that research is: “an instrument at the service of progress, and not a instrument at the service of personal interests, because the key to containing fraud is research,” emphasizing that to create good researchers and scientists, good people must first be educated.

Later, Jesús David Vallejo, student of the Doctorate in Applied Bioethics, presented the work Contributions of Personalistic Bioethics in Palliative Care in patients with Alzheimer's, showing the results of his thesis and highlighting the importance of the centrality of the person, the characteristics of gradualness and reciprocity in the palliative care of the sick patient and the concept of “care craftsmanship”, where new care strategies can be created, with the aim of building a favorable place and environment for the patient.

During her participation, Magda Liliana Rincón Meléndez, student of the Doctorate in Applied Bioethics, addressed the Bioethical Aspects in the Research of Mental Health Problems mediated by ICTx (Information, Communication and Connectivity Technologies), highlighting that there are three main bioethical aspects involved in the research on mental health problems mediated by these technologies: intimacy, privacy and confidentiality, in addition to the importance of personalism in research: “going beyond the corporeal, putting human dignity at the center.”

Subsequently, David Cerdio Domínguez, student of the Doctorate in Applied Bioethics, presented the progress of his work Analysis of freedom and responsibility in the opioid prescription process, in which he delved into the role of Bioethics in the concept of “algophobia”, caused by the low prescription of opioids today, due to their possible adverse effects. He also pointed out the need to promote free and responsible prescription of such medications to resolve the ambivalent crisis of insufficient pain management.

Next, María Paula Molina, a general practitioner who graduated from the Anáhuac University, gave the conference “Forced Contraception in Women with Intellectual Disabilities” in which she delved into the forced contraception to which many women with intellectual disabilities are subjected, the importance of autonomy in this type of procedures and the four key ideas for clinical practice: real informed consent, inclusive sexual education for parents and guardians, the active search for solutions and the action of intentionally asking about forced contraception.

Without a doubt, this colloquium allowed us to create a space for dialogue and enrichment in matters of research in Bioethics for all attendees, so we appreciate the valuable participation of all the speakers and attendees.