Ethical considerations cited in child health research published in leading nursing journals : 2015-2019

Wu, Y; Howarth, ML; Zhou, C; Yang, L; Ye, X; Wang, R; Li, C; Hu, M; Cong, W

Abstract

Background: Child health research comprises complex ethical considerations. Understanding the extent to which the ethical process is reported in child health research is needed to improve reporting.
Aims: To identify reportage of ethical considerations in child health research in leading nursing and paediatric journals.
Methods: All child health research published between 2015 and 2019 in ten leading nursing journals and two paediatric journals were retrieved and critically appraised for the reportage of informed consent and ethical approval.
Results: Eight hundred and fifty-one child health research papers were included. Whilst 544 (79.9%) of the prospective studies mentioned informed consent, only 300 (55.2%) reported that written informed consent was obtained from the participants. Overall, 748 (87.9%) of child health research papers noted obtaining research ethics committee approval. Articles that mentioned financial support were significantly more likely to report informed consent and ethical approval than unfunded studies (all P<0.001). Prospective studies showed higher rates of reportage of ethical approval compared to retrospective studies (P=0.027). Rates of child consent (assent) obtained in different age groups of children ranged from 29.6% to 66.3%.
Conclusion: Despite improvements in the reportage of ethical review and approval processes in child health research, consistent and transparent reports are still lacking.

Citation

Wu, Y., Howarth, M., Zhou, C., Yang, L., Ye, X., Wang, R., …Cong, W. (2021). Ethical considerations cited in child health research published in leading nursing journals : 2015-2019. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 27(3), e12886. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12886

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 19, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Sep 14, 2020
• Publication Date: Jun 9, 2021
• Deposit Date: Aug 24, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 14, 2021
• Journal: International Journal Of Nursing Practice
• Print ISSN: 1322-7114
• Electronic ISSN: 1440-172X
• Publisher: Wiley
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 3
• Pages: e12886
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12886
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12886
• Related Public URLs: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1440-172X
• Additional Information: Access Information : This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Wu, Y, Howarth, M, Zhou, C, et al. Ethical considerations referred to in child health research published in leading nursing journals: 2015‐2019. Int J Nurs Pract. 2020;e12886., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12886. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.; Funders : China Editology Society of Science Periodicals (CESSP); Grant Number: castqk2017‐qnkt‐01