title: Utilizing participants' strengths to reduce risk of harm in a study of family estrangement.
abstract: In this article I examine some issues involved in researching vulnerable populations and sensitive issues, and the challenges and risks of researching issues of a deeply personal nature. Participants might have complex needs and vulnerabilities, but they also have many resources to ensure their own well-being. I ask researchers to move beyond the minimum standards espoused by human ethics committees, and utilize participant strengths to further reduce the risk of harm. My reflections on a study of older people who were experiencing family estrangement highlight some of the actions that participants used to increase their personal safety. I discuss the usefulness of "strengths" questions in assessing risk and facilitating participant strengths to minimize harm. Finally, I propose a three-way model for reducing risk that involves the "lessons learned" from ethics committees, researchers, and the participants themselves.
authors.affiliation: University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Kylie.Agllias@newcastle.edu.au
authors.forename: Kylie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Agllias
mesh_terms: D032721:Adult Children; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods; D028744:Ethics Committees, Research / Q000592:standards; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006805:Human Experimentation / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D036301:Qualitative Research; D035844:Researcher-Subject Relations / Q000941:ethics; D012918:Social Alienation / Q000523:psychology*; D035862:Vulnerable Populations