Summary
This case study presents a novel real-time research ethics approach (RTREA) embedded within a community-based agricultural intervention trial in rural Malawi. By positioning a bioethics team within the research implementation, the approach enabled continuous identification of social and ethical concerns and facilitated dialogue between researchers and participants. The findings suggest that embedded, dynamic ethics processes can enhance ethical responsiveness and participant experience in complex agriculture-nutrition-health research partnerships.
Regional applicability
The study was conducted in Malawi and reflects the context of low-income agricultural settings. The methodological framework for embedding ethics teams within implementation may be transferable to United Kingdom-based research partnerships, particularly those involving community engagement or vulnerable populations, though institutional and regulatory contexts differ significantly.
Key measures
Identification and characterisation of ethical issues; documentation of participants' lived research experience; implementation of conversation spaces; ethical responsiveness during trial conduct
Outcomes reported
The study demonstrates how embedding a bioethics team within a community-based randomised controlled trial can identify social and ethical concerns, enhance researchers' awareness of participants' lived experience, and facilitate conversation spaces addressing ethical issues during research implementation.
Topic tags
Dig deeper with Pulse AI.
Ask about this record, its theme or its relevance to UK farming and policy. Pulse AI uses selected catalogue evidence and cites the sources it draws on.