Addressing diversity and complexity in the community engagement literature: The rationale for a realist review.

In this research note we reflect on our failed attempt to synthesize the community engagement literature through a standard systematic review and explain our rationale for now embarking on a realist synthesis of community engagement in global health research. We believe this paper will be helpful for many who grapple with the lack of clarity about community engagement's core elements and mechanisms.

Developing and Implementing new TB Technologies: Key Informants' Perspectives on the Ethical Challenges.

Objective: To identify the ethical challenges associated with the development and implementation of new tuberculosis (TB) drugs and diagnostics.

Methods: Twenty-three semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted between December 2015 and September 2016 with programme administrators, healthcare workers, advocates, policymakers, and funders based in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.

A failure in solidarity: Ethical challenges in the development and implementation of new tuberculosis technologies.

Prominent tuberculosis (TB) actors are invoking solidarity to motivate and justify collective action to address TB, including through intensified development and implementation (D&I) of technologies such as drugs and diagnostics. We characterize the ethical challenges associated with D&I of new TB technologies by drawing on stakeholder perspectives from 23 key informant interviews and we articulate the ethical implications of solidarity for TB technology D&I. The fundamental ethical issue facing TB technological D&I is a failure within and beyond the TB community to stand in solidarity with persons with TB in addressing the complex sociopolitical contexts of technological D&I.

Familiar ethical issues amplified: how members of research ethics committees describe ethical distinctions between disaster and non-disaster research.

Background: The conduct of research in settings affected by disasters such as hurricanes, floods and earthquakes is challenging, particularly when infrastructures and resources were already limited pre-disaster. However, since post-disaster research is essential to the improvement of the humanitarian response, it is important that adequate research ethics oversight be available.

Methods: We aim to answer the following questions: 1) what do research ethics committee (REC) members who have reviewed research protocols to be conducted following disasters in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) perceive as the key ethical concerns associated with disaster research?, and 2) in what ways do REC members understand these concerns to be distinct from those arising in research conducted in non-crisis situations? This qualitative study was developed using interpretative description methodology; 15 interviews were conducted with REC members.

The Challenge of Timely, Responsive and Rigorous Ethics Review of Disaster Research: Views of Research Ethics Committee Members.

Background: Research conducted following natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods or hurricanes is crucial for improving relief interventions. Such research, however, poses ethical, methodological and logistical challenges for researchers. Oversight of disaster research also poses challenges for research ethics committees (RECs), in part due to the rapid turnaround needed to initiate research after a disaster.

Where Caring Is Sharing: Evolving Ethical Considerations in Tuberculosis Prevention Among Healthcare Workers.

In many settings, the dedication of healthcare workers (HCWs) to the treatment of tuberculosis exposes them to serious risks. Current ethical considerations related to tuberculosis prevention in HCWs involve the threat posed by comorbidities, issues of power and space, the implications of intersectoral collaborations, (de)professionalization, just remuneration, the duty to care, and involvement in research. Emerging ethical considerations include mandatory vaccination and the use of geolocalization services and information technologies.

A road map to building ethics capacity in the home and community care and support services sector.

There are unique ethical issues that arise in home and community care because of its locus and range of service. However, the academic literature on ethical issues in the sector of home and community care and support remains minimal. Opportunities for education, collaboration and exchange among professionals and care providers are also severely limited.

Engaging communities in tuberculosis research.

According to a growing consensus among biomedical researchers, community engagement can improve the ethics and outcomes of clinical trials. Although successful efforts to develop community engagement practices in HIV/AIDS research have been reported, little attention has been given to engagement with the community in tuberculosis research. This article aims to draw attention to some existing community engagement initiatives in tuberculosis research and to resources that might help tuberculosis researchers to establish and implement community engagement programmes for their trials.

Ethical implications of diversity in disaster research.

Enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness of interventions is an increasing source of concern in the field of disaster response. As a result, the expansion of the disaster relief evidence base has been identified as a pressing need. There has been a corresponding increase in discussions of ethical standards and procedures for disaster research.

Aligning community engagement with traditional authority structures in global health research: a case study from northern Ghana.

Despite the recognition of its importance, guidance on community engagement practices for researchers remains underdeveloped, and there is little empirical evidence of what makes community engagement effective in biomedical research. We chose to study the Navrongo Health Research Centre in northern Ghana because of its well-established community engagement practices and because of the opportunity it afforded to examine community engagement in a traditional African setting. Our findings suggest that specific preexisting features of the community have greatly facilitated community engagement and that using traditional community engagement mechanisms limits the social disruption associated with research conducted by outsiders.