Ethical, methodological and practical challenges in qualitative health research: a look through a study around the dying process

Abstract

Drawing upon a research on the dying process, this article seeks to discuss some of the challenges that have emerged in the context of a qualitative health research ethnography. The sensitivity of the topic and the vulnerability of the participants led to the need to create strategies to mitigate the potential undesirable effects for those involved in the research. The ethical and methodological aspects, as well as the impact that the research can assume for the participants and for the researcher are discussed. The conclusions point, on the one hand, to the need to create well-defined guidelines for research with human subjects and, on the other, to the importance of adapting the data collection instruments to create proximity and safeguard the well-being of all the actors. This article aims to contribute to the debate around the “backstage” of the research, revealing the dilemmas that across several studies.

Keywords: Qualitative research; Sensitivity; Vulnerability; Ethics.