Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026

Electrophysiological Measurements and Analysis of Nociception in Human Infants
Published on: December 20, 2011
Case study: ethical guidance for pediatric e-health research using examples from pain research with adolescents
Ellen M Henderson1, Emily F Law, Tonya M Palermo
1Centre for Pain Research, The University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
Objective:
The Internet is a frequently used platform for research in pediatric and health psychology. However, there is little pragmatic guidance as to ethical best practice of this research. The absence of guidance is particularly prominent for online research with children. Our objective is to outline ethical issues in e-health research with children and adolescents using two exemplar studies in pediatric pain research.
Methods:
The first study is an asynchronous message board discussion amongst teenagers with pain who are frequent internet users.The second study is a web-based behavioral intervention for the management of adolescent pain.
Results:
Each exemplar study is discussed in the context of specific ethical considerations related to recruitment, informed consent and debriefing, privacy and confidentiality, and participant safety. Ethical issues regarding the evaluation of online psychological interventions are also discussed.
Conclusions:
Guidance on optimal ethical practice in e-health research is summarized.
Related Concept Videos
Ethical Dilemmas I
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...
Ethics in Research
Ethical Dilemmas II
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Ethics and Bioethics
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's cancer...
