Understanding Ethical Issues of Research Participation From the Perspective of Participating Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.
Stacey Crane, Marion E Broome
PMID 28207982WHAT IT FOUND
Most children and adolescents reported positive experiences with research participation, feeling empowered and helpful.
Trust and shared decision-making were essential. Negative experiences were rare, affecting 4% to 6.1% of participants, often linked to emotional problems rather than demographics.
Key findings
01The majority of children and adolescents reported positive feelings about their research participation, with specific benefits including learning something new, helping others, and feeling empowered.
02Negative experiences were reported by a small minority (4% to 6.1%), and only emotional problems were significantly associated with negative appraisals of participation.
03Trust in researchers and parents was a key factor in children's willingness to participate and their perception of safety and risk.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The review included only English-language articles published between 2003 and 2014, which may limit generalizability to other languages and recent practices. The quality of the included studies varied, and many did not discuss assent or consent procedures in detail. The sample was small (23 articles), and the heterogeneity of study designs and populations made direct comparison difficult.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that all children and adolescents find research participation beneficial or that current assent procedures are effective. A significant minority reported negative experiences, and many studies lacked clear documentation of how assent was obtained or understood.