Ethical Issues in the Design and Conduct of Community-Based Intervention Studies

Abstract

This chapter examines the scientific, methodological, and practical foundations of community-based intervention research that bear on ethical concerns. It begins with a description of community-based intervention research, including intervention strategies, study designs, and data collection methods. Given the major role of partnerships in community-based research, it also analyzes ethical issues along a continuum of community-engaged research and discusses the establishment, implementation and dissemination phases of community engaged research. The chapter covers considerations for working with vulnerable or disadvantaged communities, as well as considerations for ethical issues in a global context. It discusses traditional ethical principles in research and briefly reviews professional codes of ethics with implications for community-based intervention research.