Citizen Consultation on Problematic Usage of the Internet: Ethical Considerations and Empirical Insights From Six Countries

Frontiers in Public Health

Daniel Moreno Sanjuán¹  Andrés Fontalba-Navas²  Natalie Hall³  Julia Jones⁴  Zviad Kirtava⁵  Philip Bonanno⁶  Anna Maria Vella⁷  Liljana Ignjatova⁸  Célia M. D. Sales⁹  Maria Piedade Vaz-Rebelo^1,10  Biljana Gjoneska^1,11  Katerina Flora^1,12 

[1] Andalusian Health Service, Seville, Spain;Antequera Hospital, Northern Málaga Integrated Healthcare Area, Andalusian Health Service, Antequera, Spain;Department of Public Health and Psychiatry, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain;Centre for Health Services and Clinical Research, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom;Centre for Research in Public Health and Community Care, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom;Department of Medicine, Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia;Nongovernmental Research Organization “Partners for Health”, Tbilisi, Georgia;Faculty of Education, University of Malta, Msida, Malta;Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, Msida, Malta;Faculty of Medicine, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Macedonia;Centre for Prevention and Treatment of Drug and Other Substance Dependence, Psychiatric University Hospital, Skopje, Macedonia;Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal;Centre for Psychology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal;Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal;Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, Macedonia;Psychology Department, Neapolis University, Pafos, Cyprus;

关键词: ethical considerations;    conceptual framework;    emerging discipline;    early research;    public health;    problematic usage of the internet;    citizen consultation;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2021.587459

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Citizens and scientists can work together to improve the collective well-being, if citizens are inspired to help the advancement of science, and researchers motivated to listen to the voices of citizens. The benefits of such collaboration are increasingly recognized by both citizens and scientists, as reflected in the growing number of related publications and initiatives. This is especially relevant for emerging areas of research, where early involvement of citizens could help to envision, prioritize, and plan prospective studies. The Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI) is one such area, which is fast becoming a public mental health concern. However, there remains a lack of clarity regarding the practical guidelines and ethical requirements for citizen involvement at the earliest stages of PUI. In our paper, we propose a conceptual framework and a template for initial involvement of citizens in PUI. They are derived from our community case studies, conducted in six European countries (Georgia, Greece, Malta, North Macedonia, Portugal, and Spain) and consisting of consultation with diverse groups of interested citizens (students, parents, teachers, and health professionals). Informed by our consultation exercises, we also highlight four ethical aspects for citizen involvement in the research on PUI or novel disciplines in general. They follow simple guiding principles to ensure that scientists will: enable a long-term commitment and inclusive opportunities for citizens, challenge established power hierarchies, and support collaboration, co-production and co-authorship with citizens. We believe that the proposed practical guidelines and ethical considerations, provide a valuable foundation on which to advance our understanding and generate international strategies for citizen involvement in PUI.

【 授权许可】

CC BY