Ethical and Practical Considerations for Collecting Research-Related Data from Commercially Sexually Exploited Children

This article presents seven challenges of collecting primary (i.e., firsthand) data from commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC). We drew on our research team's experience collecting longitudinal data from 28 CSEC survivors with a 12-month follow-up period. We used both face-to-face and electronic group brainstorming methods to nominate a list of research-related challenges. The two main themes that were identified were challenges that can limit data quality and concerns about the impact of research on participants, researchers, and others. The three challenges related to data quality are (1) the age of the research participants; (2) questions about obtaining informed consent from parents or guardians; and (3) the over-interrogation of CSEC youth. The four challenges related to concerns about the impact of research were (4) concerns that research participation may further exploit youth; (5) staying in the role of researcher and refraining from providing advocacy; (6) secondary trauma and burnout experienced by research staff; and (7) the additional burden that research and data collection may place on the advocates and direct service providers. Because the process of collecting data from CSEC youth can be complicated, and rife with ethical and practical challenges, we have relayed our experiences with seven specific research-related challenges in order to stimulate discourse and further progress in the field.     

Case of Justified Therapeutic Placebo Use

Placebos are substances or interventions that have no known intrinsic value in treating the condition for which they are given (Beauchamp & Childress, 1994). In research, the placebo effect is a well-described nuisance variable that researchers attempt to control through research design. In therapeutic management, particularly in nursing, placebo use is almost universally condemned as a deceptive practice (Bandman & Bandman, 1995; Fox, 1994).     

Checklist for gene/disease‐specific variation database curators to enable ethical data management

Databases with variant and phenotype information are essential for advancing research and improving the health and welfare of individuals. These resources require data to be collected, curated, and shared among relevant specialties to maximize impact. The increasing generation of data which must be shared both nationally and globally for maximal effect presents important ethical and privacy concerns. Database curators need to ensure that their work conform to acceptable ethical standards. A Working Group of the Human Variome Project had the task of updating and streamlining ethical guidelines for locus‐specific/gene variant database curators. In this article, we present practical and achievable steps which should assist database curators in carrying out their responsibilities within acceptable ethical norms.     

How physiotherapists perceive,interpret, and respond to the ethical dimensions of practice: A qualitative study

The profile and reach of physiotherapy has expanded in areas of extended scope of practice, and broader engagement with population needs beyond the individual treatment encounter. These changes raise increasingly complex ethical challenges evidenced by growth in physiotherapy-based ethics studies and discussions. This paper examines how a broad cross section of Australian physiotherapists perceive, interpret, and respond to ethical challenges in their work contexts and how professional codes of conduct are used in their practice. Using an interpretive qualitative methodology, purposive sampling of 88 members of national clinical special interest groups were recruited for focus group discussions. Narrative-based and thematic data analysis identified ethical challenges as emerging from specific clinical contexts, and influenced by health organizations, funding policies, workplace relationships, and individually held perspectives. Five themes were developed to represent these findings: (1) the working environment, (2) balancing diverse needs and expectation, (3) defining ethics, (4) striving to act ethically, and (5) talking about ethics. The results portray a diverse and complex ethical landscape where therapists encounter and grapple with ethical questions emerging from the impact of funding models and policies affecting clinical work, expanding boundaries and scope of practice and changing professional roles and relationships. Codes of conduct were described as foundational ethical knowledge but not always helpful for “in the moment” ethical decision-making. Based on this research, we suggest how codes of conduct, educators, and professional associations could cultivate and nurture ethics capability in physiotherapy practitioners for these contemporary challenges.     

护士社会支持对道德困境的影响研究

目的探讨护士社会支持对道德困境的影响,为帮助护士应对工作中的道德困境提供理论基础。方法采用社会支持评定量表和护士道德困境量表对387名护士进行问卷调查。结果护士社会支持总分(38.62±5.81)分,客观支持(8.63±2.62)分,主观支持(21.64±4.75)分,支持利用度(8.45±2.81)分。护士道德困境量表条目频率为(1.14±0.54)分,强度为(1.03±0.32)分,总体得分为(1.15±0.42)分,表明护士道德困境发生频率和强度均较低。职称、学历、是否独生子女、社会支持是护士道德困境的影响因素。结论社会支持会负向影响护士的道德困境,提高护士社会支持水平,扩大护士社会支持的来源,是应对护士道德困境的有效途径。