The Gerontologist
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Locher, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Ritchie, C. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Locher, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Ritchie, C. S.
The Gerontologist 46:160-164 (2006)
© 2006 The Gerontological Society of America

Ethical Issues Involving Research Conducted With Homebound Older Adults

Julie L. Locher, PhD1,2,3,4,5, Janet Bronstein, PhD4,5, Caroline O. Robinson, MA3, Charlotte Williams, MD1,2,5 and Christine S. Ritchie, MD1,2,5,6

Correspondence: Address correspondence to Julie Locher, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CH19 219, 1530 3rd Ave. S., Birmingham, AL, 35294. E-mail: JLocher{at}uab.edu

Conducting research in the home setting with homebound older adults presents distinct ethical and practical challenges that require special consideration. This article describes the methodological issues that make studying homebound older adults especially vulnerable to therapeutic misconception and researcher role conflict and offers practical strategies for researchers to deal with these problems when studying this population. In writing this article, we draw on more than a decade of descriptive and intervention research focusing exclusively on the homebound older population in which the authors have collaborated. Therapeutic misconception and researcher role conflict may occur because of methodological issues related to the recruitment of participants, the "homebound" status of participants, and the home setting as the interview site. Particular care is required on the part of the researcher to address these ethical issues. This may be accomplished especially through clear communication during the informed consent process with participants and in scientific communication with colleagues.

Key Words: Research ethics • Homebound elders • Therapeutic misconception • Role conflict






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
All GSA journals Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Copyright © 2006 by The Gerontological Society of America.