Improving the ethical review of qualitative health research
FUNDING:
EQUALISE is funded by the FoRUM program of the Medical Faculty of the Ruhr University Bochum.
Grant number: F982-2020
Duration: 2021-2022
Project description:
While qualitative health research is gaining relevance, institutional review boards rely mostly on ethical guidelines tailored to quantitative clinical studies when evaluating applications for ethical approval. Due to discrepancies between these guidelines and qualitative research approaches, qualitative health researchers encounter various ethical challenges and practical hurdles in obtaining ethical approval for their research. Special challenges arise in the case of qualitative health research with so-called ‘vulnerable’ persons. This can lead to an inappropriate exclusion of ‘vulnerable’ people from research and an inadequate evaluation of clinical interventions and care models in various patient groups.
The aim of the research project is to improve the quality of the ethical evaluation of qualitative health research. To achieve this aim, we will
- analyze the legal requirements and ethical guidelines for health-related research with humans,
- determine to what extent these are suitable for the ethical evaluation of qualitative health research with ‘vulnerable’ persons,
- identify challenges and hurdles in the current ethical review practice,
- develop a pilot version of a manual for the ethical review of qualitative health research in collaboration with qualitative health researchers and members of institutional review boards.