Research ethics, informed consent, and participant recruitment.
OBJECTIVE
This analysis explores ethical issues and challenges in participant recruitment.


BACKGROUND
The clinical nurse specialist (CNS) as researcher faces many issues and challenges, including ethical issues of informed consent. Balancing participant expectations of care with the research purpose is often challenging. DESCRIPTION OF THE ANALYSIS: This analysis synthesizes literature in key areas related to participant recruitment. Medline, CINAHL, and hand search techniques were used to collect relevant materials for this analysis.


RESULTS
Key issues related to ethics and informed consent included readability of consent documents, education level, relationships between participants and health care providers, therapeutic misconception, and illness severity. Related issues include compensation of participants, recruitment of special populations, and the role of clinical research associate.


CONCLUSIONS
The CNS faces considerable ethical and logistical challenges in any research study. Strategies to support the CNS as researcher are available.


CONCLUSIONS
Increased awareness of ethical issues and challenges in recruitment is important for the CNS to creatively design strategies to enhance recruitment and retention in research studies.
Steinke
Elaine E
EE
School of Nursing, Wichita State University, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260, USA. elaine.steinke@wichita.edu
D032984:Ethics, Research; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000941:ethics*; D018579:Patient Selection; D035842:Research Subjects; D035862:Vulnerable Populations