Ethical issues in neuroimaging health research:an IPA study with research participants

Neuroimaging is increasingly used to understand conditions like stroke and epilepsy. However, there is growing recognition that neuroimaging can raise ethical issues. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyse interview data pre-and post-scan to explore these ethical issues. Findings show participants can become anxious prior to scanning and the protocol for managing incidental findings is unclear. Participants lacked a frame of reference to contextualize their expectations and often drew on medical narratives. Recommendations to reduce anxiety include dialogue between researcher and participant to clarify understanding during consent and the use of a `virtual tour' of the neuroimaging experience.

Using the framework method for the analysis of qualitative data in multi-disciplinary health research

Background: The Framework Method is becoming an increasingly popular approach to the management and analysis of qualitative data in health research. However, there is confusion about its potential application and limitations. Discussion. The article discusses when it is appropriate to adopt the Framework Method and explains the procedure for using it in multi-disciplinary health research teams, or those that involve clinicians, patients and lay people. The stages of the method are illustrated using examples from a published study. Summary. Used effectively, with the leadership of an experienced qualitative researcher, the Framework Method is a systematic and flexible approach to analysing qualitative data and is appropriate for use in research teams even where not all members have previous experience of conducting qualitative research. © 2013 Gale et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Exchanging knowledge on participation by EU health consumers and patients in research, quality and policy

Sponsored by ZonMw (The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development) The Hague 11–12 April 2013

The new UK research governance: its impact on pharmacy undergraduate research projects

Implementation of the Department of Health Research Governance Framework (RGF) in the United Kingdom has major implications for the conduct of pharmacy practice undergraduate research projects. This paper draws upon a survey of local ethics research committees (LRECs) in the greater Birmingham area to identify the issues that arise from the RGF in relation to non-clinical practice research in community pharmacy. Although there is some evidence of minor differences between LRECs, the overwhelming finding is that projects will be subject to the full force of the RGF. The implications are discussed in relation to specific issues relating to non-clinical research, the professional aspirations for a research capable workforce, and the expertise within pharmacy to meet the current accreditation requirements for undergraduate projects.

"It's no skin off my nose":Why people take part in qualitative research

In this article, the authors analyze participants' accounts of why they took part in a repeat-interview study exploring newly diagnosed patients' perceptions of diabetes service provision in Lothian, Scotland. The study involved three semistructured in-depth interviews with each patient (N = 40), which spanned a year. The authors provide a thematic discursive analysis of responses to the question, Can I ask you what made you decide to part in the study and why you've stayed involved over the past year? The main themes are (a) recruitment within health contexts ("the nurse said it would help"), (b) altruism ("if it can help somebody"), (c) qualitative research being seen as inherently innocuous ("nothing to lose"), and (d) therapeutic aspects of interviewing ("getting it off my chest"). The analysis contributes both to the qualitative literature about generic research participation and to a germinal literature exploring qualitative health research participation. © 2006 Sage Publications.