A response to Al et al. Trials 2023;24:233

Abstract

Abstract In their recent paper, Al and colleagues (Trials 2023;24:233) argue that manipulation of the methods of recruitment using well-known techniques in order to increase enrollment can be ethically acceptable. This brief response challenges that notion as an affront to voluntariness and a devolution of the ethics of human subjects research to the “ethics” of the marketplace.

Keywords

• Informed consent
• Refusal
• Psychological manipulation
• Voluntariness