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Research Ethics and Health Disparities Online Resource Center

The Research Ethics and Health Disparities Online Resource Center provides resources for addressing ethical issues essential for promoting health equity in research, public health, and medical and mental health research and practice. The continuously updated publications, scales, and multimedia training tools cover issues affecting vulnerable populations including HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, addiction and drug use, stigma and discrimination, racial and LGBTQ health, and the impact of new technologies and social media on health disparities locally and globally. 

Directed by Celia Fisher, PhD, these resources represent research and scholarship conducted by Fordham University’s Center for Ethics Education, Human Development and Social Justice Lab, and faculty and fellows of the HIV/Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute.

The Collection

HIV/AIDS and addiction research ethics · treatment and prevention · voices of sexual/gender and racial minorities and other vulnerable populations · stigma · trust · mistrust · incentives · 
informed consent · mHealth · sex work · risks/benefits 

Health disparities and health equity  · racial/ethnic minority health · 
LGBTQ · sexual health · adolescents and young adults · positive youth development  ·   mental health · social media and new technologies · COVID-19 · vaccine hesitancy · 
suicide risk · discrimination

Bioethics · public health · medical ethics · social science · genomics · psychology · psychiatry ·  regulations and international laws · ethics standards and guidelines · community engaged research 

   COVID victimization · research participant ethics questionnaires · racial & LGBTQ discrimination · racial bias preparation · consent capacity · college drinking · masculinity ·

 mentoring · moral distress · research ethics climate · RCR · research and medical mistrust · youth drug use & suicide research

This collection includes pedagogical resources for scientific and professional ethics.

Latest Publications

Fisher, C. B., Bragard, E., Jaber, R., & Gray, A. (2022)
COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Parents of Children under Five Years in the United States. 
Vaccines

On 17 June 2022, the U.S. FDA authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines for emergency use in children ages 6 months – 4 years. Seroprevalence has increased during the current Omicron variant wave for children under 5 years and the burden of hospitalization for this age group is similar or exceeds other pediatric vaccine preventable diseases. Research following the October 2021 approval of vaccines for children 5 – 11 indicates high prevalence of parental vaccine hesitancy and low uptake, underscoring the urgency of understanding attitudes and beliefs driving parental COVID-19 vaccine rejection and acceptance for younger children. One month prior to FDA approval, in the present study 411 U.S. female guardians of children 1 – 4 years from diverse racial/ethnic, economic, and geographic backgrounds participated in a mixed method online survey assessing determinants of COVID-19 pediatric vaccine hesitancy. Only 31.3% of parents intended to vaccinate their child, 22.6% were unsure, and 46.2% intended not to vaccinate. Logistic regression indicated significant barriers to vaccination uptake including: Concerns about immediate and long-term vaccination side effects for young children, the rushed nature of FDA approval and distrust in government and pharmaceutical companies, lack of community and family support for pediatric vaccination, conflicting media messaging, and lower socioeconomic status. Vaccine-resistant and unsure parents were also more likely to believe children were not susceptible to infection and that the vaccine no longer worked against new variants. Findings underscore the need for improved public health messaging and transparency regarding vaccine development and approval, the importance of community outreach, and increased pediatrician attention to parental concerns to better improve COVID vaccine uptake for young children.

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