Ethics Guidance for Occupational Health Practice 9th Edition - Book - Page 98
The need for an oral presentation or briefing 1.
Sources of further information.
Sufficient time, at least 24 hours, to make a decision before giving any consent
(although
Participants in postal and on-line questionnaire studies will make their own
decision if wishing to reply sooner).
Consent to participate, with full justification where implied consent is relied
upon (see below).
Provision of the opportunity for targeted feedback to participants.
5.25. An example where it might be justified to imply consent is that of the
questionnaire survey – the act of completing the questionnaire implies consent.
However, implied consent still needs to be informed, and relevant information
should be provided either in an accompanying letter or information sheet, or it
should be included as a preamble to the questionnaire itself. It should not be
assumed, however, that all questionnaire surveys are minimal or ‘low risk’ (even
if anonymous) and hence implied consent and cursory ethics review justified.
5.26. Questionnaires may involve reference to sensitive issues (those likely to cause
embarrassment or lead to discrimination) and these will need to be highlighted
and presented in the information to (potential) participants. Care should be
taken such that information in questionnaires cannot be linked back to the
participant by the employer. Such questionnaire-based research might also be
expected to have undergone independent ethical review. Researchers must also
be aware of intrusive questioning, e.g. a research questionnaire unnecessarily
requesting a construction worker to provide his National Insurance number may
be considered an invasion of privacy.
5.27. Care must be taken not to confuse research with health surveillance, and it is
improper to ‘pass off’ one as the other. Occupational health professionals must
remember that consent only applies to the activity and the purpose for which it
was sought. Where a dataset is compiled for one purpose, with consent, but is
then proposed for analysis in unrelated research with different objectives,
consideration must be given to the need for further consent. This will apply
whether the original data was obtained in a research context or during routine
occupational health practice.
1
An oral briefing or presentation is not essential for all research
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