Korean Journal of Medical Ethics
The Korean Society for Medical Ethics
Article

줄기세포 연구에 대한 생명과학 연구자들의 인식 및 태도 조사*

김희정1,*
Hee-Jung Kim1,*
1대구가톨릭대학교 간호대학 전임강사
1College of Nursing, Catholic University of Daegu
*대구가톨릭대학교 간호대학 전임강사. 053-650-4830. choling98@cu.ac.kr

ⓒ Copyright 2010 The Korean Society for Medical Ethics. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Jul 28, 2010; Accepted: Sep 06, 2010

Published Online: Sep 30, 2010

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study examines the attitudes, experiences, current situations, and educational needs of researchers in the life sciences in order to develop an educational program for stem cell related research ethics.

Method: A total of 275 researchers in the life sciences participated in this study. The instrument used was a self-reporting Likert-type questionnaire consisting of 38 assumptions related to ethical issues in stem cell research.

Result: The average score of subjects’ attitudes toward stem cell research was 3.26±0.50. The items that received a positive response were ‘Informed consent,’ the ‘Moral superiority of adult stem cell research,’ and the ‘Ethical control of science.’ Items showing a negative response were ‘Prohibitions on the use of remaining fetal tissue,’ ‘Restrictions on the replication of animals,’ and ‘Prohibitions on hESC research.’ Age, gender, and religion were found to influence attitude scores. Additionally, only 37.8% of respondents had received some form of stem cell ethics education, but most agreed with the need for such education.

Conclusion: Stem cell researchers should identify ethical problems related to stem cell research in each specialized area within the life sciences. Furthermore, there is a need to develop well-designed and integrated stem cell ethics education programs for stem cell researchers and students in the life sciences and medicine.

Keywords: 줄기세포; 태도; 생명윤리; 교육
Keywords: stem cells; attitudes; bioethics; education