Refugee families' experience of research participation

J Trauma Stress. 2000 Jul;13(3):413-26. doi: 10.1023/A:1007777006605.

Abstract

Because refugees can experience crisis, bereavement, and traumatization, there has been a rapid increase of research carried out with refugees. This study investigated how refugee families respond to participation in research. A previous study explored how adults and children had communicated about the difficult question of repatriation after arriving in a new country. Did the in-depth interviews harm or benefit them? Are there any ethical risks in research on traumatized refugees? From an original sample of 74 Bosnian refugees (5-73 years), 30 family members from 9 families including 14 children aged 6 to 19, were re-interviewed. The refugees rated participation as positive. A few parents lacked information that could have enabled them to inform the children better before the interviews. The study shows that studies on traumatized/bereaved populations can have beneficial effects.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Attitude
  • Bereavement*
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Ethics, Medical
  • Female
  • Human Experimentation*
  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Patient Participation*
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Refugees / psychology*
  • Stress, Psychological*