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

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

Killawi, Amal
Khidir, Amal
Elnashar, Maha
Abdelrahim, Huda
Hammoud, Maya
Elliott, Heather
Thurston, Michelle
Asad, Humna
Al-Khal, Abdul Latif
Fetters, Michael D.

2/14/14

English

20140214

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 75years); 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.

18.2

18.2;18.3

compensation--[pri];cultural competency--[pri];informed consent--[pri];research ethics--[pri]

confidentiality;cultural pluralism;decision making;ethnic groups;interviews;modesty;Muslims;privacy;qualitative research;researcher subject relationship;selection of subjects;vulnerable populations

Qatar--[pri]

Middle East

Arabian Gulf

BMC Medical Ethics2014 February 14;15:9:23 p.

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

citation

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