Procedures of recruiting, obtaining informed consent, and compensating research participants in Qatar: findings from a qualitative investigation

BMC Medical Ethics

Michael D Fetters²  Abdul Latif Al-Khal⁵  Humna Asad⁴  Michelle Thurston²  Heather Elliott³  Maya Hammoud¹  Huda Abdelrahim⁴  Maha Elnashar⁴  Amal Khidir⁴  Amal Killawi² 

[1] Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, L4000 Women’s, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA;Department of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Education City, PO Box 24144, Doha, Qatar;Department of Medical Education, Hamad General Hospital, PO Box 3050, Doha, Qatar

关键词: Research compensation;    Qualitative research;    Confidentiality;    Vulnerability;    Research participation;    Middle East;    Cultural competence;    Informed consent;    Recruitment;    Research ethics;   

Others  :  799591
DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6939-15-9

 received in 2013-01-02, accepted in 2013-12-12,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Very few researchers have reported on procedures of recruiting, obtaining informed consent, and compensating participants in health research in the Arabian Gulf Region. Empirical research can inform the debate about whether to adjust these procedures for culturally diverse settings. Our objective was to delineate procedures related to recruiting, obtaining informed consent, and compensating health research participants in the extremely high-density multicultural setting of Qatar.

Methods

During a multistage mixed methods project, field observations and qualitative interviews were conducted in a general medicine clinic of a major medical center in Qatar. Participants were chosen based on gender, age, literacy, and preferred language, i.e., Arabic, English, Hindi and Urdu. Qualitative analysis identified themes about recruitment, informed consent, compensation, and other research procedures.

Results

A total of 153 individuals were approached and 84 enrolled; the latter showed a diverse age range (18 to 75 years); varied language representation: Arabic (n = 24), English (n = 20), Hindi (n = 20), and Urdu (n = 20); and balanced gender distribution: women (n = 43) and men (n = 41). Primary reasons for 30 declinations included concern about interview length and recording. The study achieved a 74% participation rate. Qualitative analytics revealed key themes about hesitation to participate, decisions about participation with family members as well as discussions with them as “incidental research participants”, the informed consent process, privacy and gender rules of the interview environment, reactions to member checking and compensation, and motivation for participating. Vulnerability emerged as a recurring issue throughout the process among a minority of participants.

Conclusions

This study from Qatar is the first to provide empirical data on recruitment, informed consent, compensation and other research procedures in a general adult population in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf. This investigation illustrates how potential research participants perceive research participation. Fundamentally, Western ethical research principles were applicable, but required flexibility and culturally informed adaptations.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Killawi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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