scholarly journals Ethical questions in children sexual victimization research

Temida ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-38
Author(s):  
Irma Kovco-Vukadin

Ethics in the research with children has become a very important topic due to an increasing number of research involving children resulting in an increasing number of academic papers on this topic. Conducting social research in the field of child sexual victimization presents double vulnerability: firstly, it involves research with a vulnerable population, and secondly, the topic itself is sensitive. This raises numerous ethical questions and can result in researcher?s unwillingness to explore this particular field. The aim of this paper is to answer the question of specific ethical challenges in researching sexual victimization of children. The specific questions addressed in the paper include the following: 1) Are there any specific ethical guidelines for researching child sexual victimization, and 2) What ethical questions are specifically addressed in child sexual victimization research? The answers provided on the basis of the analysis presented in the paper are: 1) There are no specific ethical guidelines for conducting epidemiology research of child sexual victimization, and 2) It is difficult to single out ethical questions specific for this research area from available literature (only few authors are addressing specific ethical issues in this type of victimization research). Therefore, it is concluded that more attention should be focused on ethical issues in epidemiologic research of child sexual victimization.


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (spe2) ◽  
pp. 148-154
Author(s):  
Paula Renata Miranda dos Santos ◽  
Elisangela Cerencovich ◽  
Laura Filomena Santos de Araújo ◽  
Roseney Bellato ◽  
Sonia Ayako Tao Maruyama

This study discusses ethical issues in research involving human beings and seeks to understand the relationship between qualitative research and the ethical care guidelines for Integrative Community Therapy (ICT) circles based on Resolution 466/12 of the National Health Council of the Ministry of Health of Brazil. This is documentary research, which analyzed Resolution 466/12 and ICT circles seeking to make a connection between the ethical guidelines contained in both. The analysis of the corpus was directed toward the construction of the following results: the person's perception, cultural diversity and community. It also brings in consideration of the influence of the ethical dimension of the ICT circles on qualitative research. We conclude that ICT circles are innovative in the sense of the diversity of participants and respect for cultural and social differences. Thus, ICT circles promote acquisition of quality information for social research as well as compliance with the ethical guidelines outlined in Resolution No. 466/12.



2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elmira Petrova ◽  
Jan Dewing ◽  
Michelle Camilleri

Aim: This article presents key ethical challenges that were encountered when conducting a participatory qualitative research project with a very specific, small group of nurses, in this case with practice development nurses in Malta. Background: With the small number of nurses employed in practice development roles in Malta, there are numerous difficulties of maintaining confidentiality. Poorly constructed interventions by the researcher could have resulted in detrimental effects to research participants and the overall trustworthiness of the research. Generally, ethical guidelines for research exist to reinforce validity of research; however, there is not an established consensus on how these strategies can be utilised in some types of qualitative field work. Research design: The researcher used an exploratory case study methodology. The sample consisted of 10 participants who were interviewed twice using face-to-face interviews, over a period of 2 months. Ethical considerations: The study was ethically reviewed by the University Research Ethics Committee and the Faculty Research Ethics Committee, University of Malta. The participants referred to in this article have been given adequate information about the study and their consent has been obtained. Discussion: Numerous strategies for ensuring confidentiality during recruitment of the participants, during data collection, during transcription and data analysis and during dissemination of research results assisted the researcher in responding to potential and actual ethical issues. Conclusion: This article emphasises the main strategies that can be used to respond to ethical challenges when researching with a small easily identifiable group. The learning discussed here may be relevant to or even transferable to other similar research studies or research contexts. These methods fostered a greater credibility throughout the research process and predisposed the participants to greater trust, and thus, they disclosed their experiences and speak more freely, thus enhancing the quality of the study.



2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 556-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Storaker ◽  
Dagfinn Nåden ◽  
Berit Sæteren

Background: The professional values presented in ethical guidelines of the Norwegian Nurses Organisation and International Council of Nurses describe nurses’ professional ethics and the obligations that pertain to good nursing practice. The foundation of all nursing shall be respect for life and the inherent dignity of the individual. Research proposes that nurses lack insight in ethical competence and that ethical issues are rarely discussed on the wards. Furthermore, research has for some time confirmed that nurses experience moral distress in their daily work and that this has become a major problem for the nursing profession. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to obtain a deeper understanding of the ethical challenges that nurses face in daily practice. The chosen research questions are “What ethical challenges do nurses experience in their daily practice?” Research design: We conducted a qualitative interview study using a hermeneutical approach to analyzing data describing nurses’ experiences. Ethical considerations: The Norwegian Social Science Data services approved the study. Furthermore, the head of the hospital gave permission to conduct the investigation. The requirement of anonymity and proper data storage in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki was met. Method and results: The context for the study comprised three different clinical wards at a university hospital in Norway. Nine qualified nurses were interviewed. The results were obtained through a systematic development beginning with the discovery of busyness as a painful phenomenon that can lead to conflicts in terms of ethical values. Furthermore, the consequences compromising professional principles in nursing care emerged and ended in moral blindness and emotional immunization of the healthcare providers. Emotional immunization occurred as a new dimension involving moral blindness and immunity in relation to being emotionally touched.



2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Altaf Ahmad Malla ◽  
Nasir Mohammad Bhat

Psychiatric research has increased remarkably over recent decades to help in understanding the current trends and better therapeutic options for illness. On the other hand, there is also a trend toward higher rates of retraction of published papers in the recent years. Ethics is required to maintain and increase the overall quality and morality of research. Psychiatric research faces several unique ethical challenges. Ethical guidelines are very important tool of research which safeguards participants; however, there is a dearth of such guidelines in India. The present paper aims to review available ethical issues and guidelines pertaining to psychiatric research. A search was conducted on Pubmed using search terms (e.g., “ethics,” “psychiatry,” “research”). Relevant studies were selected for the review after manual screening of title/abstract. Additional sources were referred to using cross references and Google Scholar. Psychiatric research has several important ethical issues which are different from other medical disciplines. These issues are related to informed consent, confidentiality, conflict of interest, therapeutic misconception, placebo related, vulnerability, exploitation, operational challenges, among others. The current paper has made several recommendations to deal with ethical challenges commonly faced in psychiatric research. The ethical guidelines are utmost needed for Indian psychiatric research. Specific guidelines are lacking pertaining to psychiatric research. The issues and recommendations merit a further discussion and consideration.



2018 ◽  
pp. 299-320
Author(s):  
Deborah Dewey ◽  
Eveline T. Konje ◽  
Elias C. Nyanza ◽  
Francois P. Bernier ◽  
Mange Manyama

Global child health research plays a pivotal role in addressing inequities in children’s health and development worldwide. To achieve this goal, research must be based on sound scientific and ethical principles. This chapter focuses on ethics in child health research in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. It reflects on the key principles underlying ethical research in general and in global health research and child health research in particular. This is followed by a detailed discussion of 3 core principles underlying child health research: respect, benefit, and justice. Research with children poses important and universal ethical issues across world contexts, including establishing consent, protection from harm, privacy, and payment and gifts. Cultural, social, political, and economic factors that can interact to pose particular challenges with regard to these issues in different contexts, especially in low- and middle-income settings, are explored. As methodology and ethics are integrally linked, this chapter also examines the ways in which children have been included in health research studies: research on children, research with children, and research by children. This is followed by a brief discussion of ethical mechanisms that are in place to ensure that ethical standards are met and maintained in research on global child health. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the many positive changes in ethical research involving children in recent years. Emerging ethical challenges in the fields of genetics and genomics are highlighted.



2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kath Hennell ◽  
Mark Limmer ◽  
Maria Piacentini

Social media platforms that enable users to create and share online content with others are used increasingly in social research. This article explores the complex ethical issues associated with using social media for data collection, drawing on a study of the alcohol consumption practices of young people. It aims to contribute to debates about the practical and ethical challenges facing researchers using social media as a data collection tool, and to demonstrate how a reflexive approach to the research and the context in which the research takes place is critically important for supporting and enabling an ethical approach. The article concludes by recommending that researchers who face ethical dilemmas associated with the use of social media maintain an ongoing dialogue with their relevant ethics committees and other researchers to identify potential solutions and to share their findings.



2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-323
Author(s):  
Kourosh Delpasand ◽  
Saeid Nazari Tavakkoli ◽  
Mehrzad Kiani ◽  
Mahmoud Abbasi ◽  
Leila Afshar

Purpose Based on the developmental process of pharmacy in medical relationships, it is essential to pay attention to ethical issues in this field and develop a good pharmacist–patient relationship. The present study aimed to mention the frequency of ethical challenges of pharmacy in Iran as a fundamental step towards designing a practical ethical guideline for professionals. Design/methodology/approach In this observational study, data were collected using a two-part questionnaire with 64 items developed after examining relevant texts and conducting unstructured interviews with pharmacy specialists. The first part determined the frequency of ethical challenges that the pharmacist confronts, using 43 short scenarios, whereas the second part comprised 21 questions with short answers. For validation, the questionnaire was sent to 20 medical ethics specialists who were familiar with issues in pharmacy ethics. Findings Data were collected from 48 members of the Iranian Association of Pharmacists (Working Group of Hospital Pharmacists). and the frequency of ethical challenges was determined. The most frequent issues were patient's request for over-the-counter drugs, asking about their lab results, asking drug for another person and returning the drug. Research limitations/implications One of the limitation of our study is its population, there were hospital pharmacist, other pharmacist such as community pharmacist may face different challenges. Practical implications The finding of this study could lead the policymakers to develop ethical guidelines for pharmacy practices. Social implications The pharmacist–patient relationship is one of the important aspects of health system, and therefore regulating this relationship based on the professional ethics guidelines could have a positive impact on therapeutic relationships. Originality/value Results showed that designing codes of ethics and practical guidelines based on the frequency of the noted challenges enhances the quality of treatment, improves the pharmacist–patient relationship, increases the level of cooperation and decreases patient complaints.



2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-127
Author(s):  
Tiziana C. Callari ◽  
Louise Moody ◽  
Janet Saunders ◽  
Gill Ward ◽  
Julie Woodley

Living Lab (LL) research should follow clear ethical guidelines and principles. While these exist in specific disciplinary contexts, there is a lack of tailored and specific ethical guidelines for the design, development, and implementation of LL projects. As well as the complexity of these dynamic and multi-faceted contexts, the engagement of older adults, and adults with reducing cognitive and physical capacity in LL research, poses additional ethical challenges. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 26 participants to understand multistakeholder experiences related to user engagement and related ethical issues in emerging LL research. The participants’ experiences and concerns are reported and translated into an ethical framework to guide future LL research initiatives.



Author(s):  
Vicky Saunders ◽  
Morag McArthur ◽  
Tim Moore

The ethical complexities associated with research with children are well recognised and have been debated extensively within the childhood literature. However, ethical issues occurring in research with children about sensitive issues, such as parental incarceration, and the practical solutions required to address such issues, are less well described. This paper draws on recent experiences of a research project conducted in the Australian Capital Territory exploring the needs of children of prisoners. It discusses three key interrelated methodological and ethical challenges observed by the researchers. While there is no doubt that considerable care needs to be taken to identify ethical and effective ways to undertake research with this group of children, we argue that applying a process of ethical reflexivity will assist researchers in planning and conducting ethical and methodologically valid research with children of prisoners.



Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Castro Toledo

Interest in the development of evidence-based policies for the public management of the control and treatment of crime seems to be the position that will become dominant in the coming years. In this context, it is important for policy makers to know that while social research is surrounded by many ethical dilemmas, criminological research, because of the particular sensitivity of its subject matter and the profound implications of its findings, must emphasise the responsibility of researchers and provide criteria and principles that properly guide their research. To respond to this new context, this paper introduces, as examples of its variety, some of the traditional ethical challenges of criminological research, such as the effective obtaining of consent, as well as some of the new challenges involved in the use of predictive algorithms by criminal justice system operators. We conclude by highlighting the necessity of considering the ethical dimension of criminological research as one of the necessary elements that legislators must assess to critically accept scientific evidence as legitimate.



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