Transcript Ethics of Community-Based Prevention Research

Ethics of Community-Based
Prevention Research: A
Reflection and Dialogue
Stephen B. Fawcett
University of Kansas
Purpose of Today’s Session
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2.
Understanding ethics and values in
community-based research
Applying that understanding to an
ethical analysis of your own research
Ethics—a definition (O.E.D.)
The moral principles by which a
person’s conduct is guided
General statements about what is
“right and good”
Some Attributes of an Optimal
Community Evaluation:
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Contributes to understanding
Contributes to improvement
Encourages participation of community members
Responds to the interests of different stakeholders
Captures the dynamic nature of community work
Provides clear and timely information as part of an
integrated support system
Practical
Does no harm
Helps us see the contribution of the community effort to
more distant outcomes
Strengthens capacity
Dialogue
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2.
In your own prevention research, what
attributes are particularly important to
you, the community, and others who
care about your work?
Which valued attributes may be
particularly challenging to assure?
Core Human Values Implicit in Your
Ethical Analysis
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Freedom
Justice
Security
Dignity
General welfare
A Framework for Community –
Based Research
Naming &Framing the
Problem/Goal
Using Information
to Celebrate &
Make
Adjustments
Developing a
Logic Model for
Achieving
Success
Making Sense of
the Data
Documenting the
Intervention and
its Effects
Identifying
Research
Questions &
Methods
Naming and Framing the
Problem/Goal
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How do we name and frame the issue
to be addressed? Who decides?
In what behaviors—of whom—is the
problem/goal presumed to reside?
How does this affect where we look to
understand the issue and to take
action?
Developing a Logic Model for
Achieving Success
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What inputs/activities (interventions) are
intended to affect what intermediate
and more distant outcomes?
Does the logic model or framework
reflect the complex and dynamic nature
of community work?
Is the framework compatible with the
community’s values and norms?
Identifying Research Questions and
Methods
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Are the research questions important to
the community?
Whose interests are served by answers
to them?
Do the research methods enhance the
community’s capacity to understand
and address issues that matter to
them?
Documenting the Intervention and
Its Effects
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Does the measurement system help us
see what the effort is accomplishing?
Whether the targets (intended
beneficiaries) actually benefit? Avoid
harm?
How the environment is changed to
contribute to population-level
outcomes?
Making Sense of the Data
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Who is involved in reviewing evidence
of benefit (harm)?
How is the voice of those most affected
heard?
Have we optimized contributions to
learning from outside researchers with
specialized knowledge and community
members with experiential knowledge?
Using the Information to Celebrate
and Make Adjustments
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Are the findings used (useful) in
celebrating progress and sustaining
momentum?
Are they used (useful) in making
adjustments along the way?
Purpose of Today’s Session
1.
2.
Understanding ethics and values in
community-based research
Applying that understanding to an
ethical analysis of your own research
Essence of Supreme Teaching
--Zen Master Yün-men
“When spring comes, the
grass grows by itself.”