Conceptualising Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Research: Results from a Critical and Systematic Literature Review

Migration health ethics in Southeast Asia: a scoping review

Background

Asia hosts the second-largest international migrant population in the world. In Southeast Asia (SEA), key types of migration are labour migration, forced migration, and environmental migration. This scoping review seeks to identify key themes and gaps in current research on the ethics of healthcare for mobile and marginalised populations in SEA, and the ethics of research involving these populations.

Methods

We performed a scoping review using three broad concepts: population (stateless population, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people), issues (healthcare and ethics), and context (11 countries in SEA). Three databases (PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science) were searched from 2000 until May 2023 over a period of four months (February 2023 to May 2023). Other relevant publications were identified through citation searches, and six bioethics journals were hand searched. All searches were conducted in English, and relevant publications were screened against the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were subsequently imported into NVivo 14, and thematic analysis was conducted.

Results

We identified 18 papers with substantial bioethical analysis. Ethical concepts that guide the analysis were 'capability, agency, dignity', 'vulnerability', 'precarity, complicity, and structural violence' (n=7). Ethical issues were discussed from the perspective of research ethics (n=9), clinical ethics (n=1) and public health ethics (n=1). All publications are from researchers based in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. Research gaps identified include the need for more research involving migrant children, research from migrant-sending countries, studies on quality of migrant healthcare, participatory health research, and research with internal migrants.

Conclusions

More empirical research is necessary to better understand the ethical issues that exist in the domains of research, clinical care, and public health. Critical examination of the interplay between migration, health and ethics with consideration of the diverse factors and contexts involved is crucial for the advancement of migration health ethics in SEA.

Ethical Issues in Research: Perceptions of Researchers, Research Ethics Board Members and Research Ethics Experts

In the context of academic research, a diversity of ethical issues, conditioned by the different roles of members within these institutions, arise. Previous studies on this topic addressed mainly the perceptions of researchers. However, to our knowledge, no studies have explored the transversal ethical issues from a wider spectrum, including other members of academic institutions as the research ethics board (REB) members, and the research ethics experts. The present study used a descriptive phenomenological approach to document the ethical issues experienced by a heterogeneous group of Canadian researchers, REB members, and research ethics experts. Data collection involved socio-demographic questionnaires and individual semi-structured interviews. Following the triangulation of different perspectives (researchers, REB members and ethics experts), emerging ethical issues were synthesized in ten units of meaning: (1) research integrity, (2) conflicts of interest, (3) respect for research participants, (4) lack of supervision and power imbalances, (5) individualism and performance, (6) inadequate ethical guidance, (7) social injustices, (8) distributive injustices, (9) epistemic injustices, and (10) ethical distress. This study highlighted several problematic elements that can support the identification of future solutions to resolve transversal ethical issues in research that affect the heterogeneous members of the academic community.

Picking the "Proper Hat?" Emerging Ethical Dilemmas while Juggling Nursing and Research Roles

AIMS

To explore ethical dilemmas inherent in two potentially conflicting roles: practicing nurse and researcher.

BACKGROUND

Ethical guidelines for practice and research in nursing have been widely discussed. Yet examining ethical dilemmas that emerge from engaging in the dual role of nurse-researcher is rare.

METHOD

A qualitative approach was employed, using semi structured interviews with 15 nurse-researchers. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

One theme emerged with three subthemes of nurse-researcher role definitions: primarily nurse, primarily researcher, and combined nurse-researcher. Each subtheme had three dimensions: (a) how ethical dilemmas were expressed in encounters with role colleagues, (b) coping strategies, and (3) implications for nurse-researchers.

CONCLUSION

Primarily nurses or primarily researchers experienced conflict in encounters with role colleagues, developed less effective coping strategies, and reported impaired well-being. Conversely, combined nurse-researchers said each role nourished the other.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Nursing policymakers and managers should support the nurse-researcher role by developing a code of ethics that acknowledges the dual role's inherent dilemmas, assimilate organizational routines and roles that support nursing research, and encourage forums for discussing staff dilemmas.