This month, to mark its 60th anniversary the World Medical Association is publishing some updates to the Declaration of Helsinki.

It has been updated to reflect more modern ways of working, including big data and AI.

Some of the changes are noted below:

• data use (32 paragraph) – big data, de-identified data and consent issues
• tone – patients and health volunteers change from being referred to as ‘subjects’ to ‘participants’
• meaningful engagement in communities and inclusion encouraged
• originally addressed to physicians – now changed to incorporate research community.

Watch the YouTube video published by the JAMA Network. It features a discussion about the changes.