Table 2.
Description of foreseeable harms and benefits in approved consent forms*
| n | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Potential benefits* | 42 | 98% |
| Better understanding of brain function or dysfunction | 31 | 72% |
| No personal benefit | 27 | 63% |
| Future benefit to other patients | 18 | 42% |
| Technical improvements to existing methods | 8 | 19% |
| Clinical benefits | 4 | 9% |
| Detection of incidental findings** | 4 | 9% |
| Potential risks* | 43 | 100% |
| Physical risks*** | 40 | 93% |
| Psychological risks**** | 24 | 56% |
| Unidentified risks | 14 | 33% |
| No risks, minimal, risks or risk minimizing statement | 39 | 91% |
| Risk-mitigating strategies | 34 | 79% |
| Pregnancy-related risks | 9 | 21% |
* Categories in bold indicate a general category of information required by the Canadian Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS). Other rows report how consent forms dealt with the general conditions.
** Protocols described incidental findings as "neuro-abnormalities"
*** See text for breakdown data of physical risks
**** Psychological risks were almost entirely related to claustrophobia