Determining what we stand for will guide what we do: community priorities, ethical research paradigms, and research with vulnerable populations.
Prisoners, ex-offenders, and the communities they belong to constitute a distinct and highly vulnerable population, and research must be sensitive to their priorities. In light of recent suggestions that scientific experimentation involving prisoners be reconsidered, community-based participatory research can be a valuable tool for determining the immediate concerns of prisoners, such as the receipt of high-quality and dignified health care inside and outside prisons. In building research agendas, more must be done to ensure the participation of communities affected by the resulting policies.
Perez
Leda M
LM
Director, Community Voices Miami, Collins Center for Public Policy, Miami, FL 33131, USA. lperez@collinscenter.org
Treadwell
Henrie M
HM
D032984:Ethics, Research; D006292:Health Priorities; D006805:Human Experimentation; D006801:Humans; D011329:Prisoners; D011330:Prisons; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014481:United States; D035862:Vulnerable Populations