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L'article 21 du Code civil du Québec: ses implications sur la recherche en gérontologie

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Gina Bravo
Affiliation:
Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Sherbrooke et Philippe De Wals, Université de Sherbrooke
Michèle Charpentier
Affiliation:
Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Sherbrooke et Philippe De Wals, Université de Sherbrooke
Marie-France Dubois
Affiliation:
Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Sherbrooke et Philippe De Wals, Université de Sherbrooke
Philippe De Wals
Affiliation:
Université de Sherbrooke

Abstract

The new Quebec Civil Code came into effect on January 1,1994. This text enacted among other things the new provisions for consent to experimentation. In this article, we summarize these provisions and highlight the necessity of excluding from the majority of research protocols, people unable to consent without legal representative. Thanks to the database of a recent study, we then show that this provision can render certain gerontological studies invalid. This leads us to recommend that the Civil Code be amended in a way to allow impaired persons who are not legally represented to participate in studies that do not pose any serious risk to their health.

Résumé

Le ler janvier 1994 marquait l'entrée en vigueur du nouveau Code civil du Québec. Ce texte édicte entre autres choses les nouvelles dispositions en matiére de consentement à l'expérimentation. Dans le present article, nous résumons ces dispositions et mettons en évidence la nécessité d'exclure de la majorité des protocoles de recherche les personnes inaptes à consentir mais sans représentant légal. Grâce à une base de données issue d'une étude récente, nous montrons ensuite que cette exigence peut invalider les résultats de certaines études gérontologiques. Cela nous conduit à recommander que le Code civil soit amendé de façon à permettre aux personnes inaptes non représentées de participer à des études qui ne comportent aucun risque sérieux pour leur santé.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2000

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