In this week’s video program, Dr. Beilenson and Dr. Crosby discussed ethical issues that confront public health researchers. Another ethical issue is that of partisanship of community partners when conducting research. When looking for effective interventions to improve the health of a community, the community wants a positive outcome just as much as the researcher. Researchers must be careful not to misinterpret research findings or to introduce bias as they examine the outcomes of their data analysis. Consider the benefits of working with community partners when conducting research. Also consider the additional ethical issues this can present.

• Discuss the ethical concerns surrounding partisanship of community partners when conducting a research study.
• What can researchers do to ensure conducting ethical research?

Articles

• Minkler, M. (2004). Ethical challenges for the “outside” researcher in community-based participatory research. Health Education & Behavior, 31(6), 684–697.
  Use the CINAHL Plus with Full Text database, and search using the article’s Accession Number: 2005095153
  This article explores the conceptual and historical roots of community-based participatory research (CBPR), and uses the principles of Kelly and a well-known racism framework from Jones as foundational guidelines for overcoming CBPR challenges during implementation.
• Quinn, S. C. (2004). Protecting human subjects: The role of the community advisory boards. American Journal of Public Health, 94(6), 918–922.
  Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article’s Accession Number: 13270392.
  This article explores the many uses of community advisory boards (CABs) within the function of research practice. This article further establishes the link between CABs and ethical research conduct to aid in the protection of human subjects used in research studies.

Optional Resources

Articles

• Chatterjee, P. (2008). Clinical trials in India: Ethical concerns. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 86(8), 581–582.
  Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article’s Accession Number: 33717667
• Fisher, C. (2006). Privacy and ethics in pediatric environmental health research—Part II: Protecting families and communities. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(10), 1622–1625.
  Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article’s Accession Number: 22882772
• Petersen, D., Minkler, M., Vásquez, V., & Baden, A. (2006). Community-based participatory research as a tool for policy change: A case study of the southern California environmental justice collaborative. Review of Policy Research, 23(2), 339–353.
  Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article’s Accession Number: 20570427