Ethical Issues in Consenting Older Adults: Academic Researchers and Community Perspectives

Obtaining informed consents from older adults is surrounded by many ethical and practical challenges. The objective of this study was to evaluate ethical issues and strategies in consenting older adults in Jordan as perceived by academic researchers and older adults.

An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to academic researchers in the Jordanian health sciences colleges, and a sample of older adults. The study survey included items eliciting demographics, professional characteristics, and perceptions regarding the consenting process in older adults, consent-related skills in elderly, and strategies to improve the consenting process in older adults. The survey was then modified to assess the consent-related ethical issues and challenges as viewed by a sample of older adults after explaining the concept of the consenting process to them.

A total of 250 academic researchers and 233 older adults participated in the study. Both researchers and older adults reported that having to sign the written forms and the impact of age-related physical impairments were the most challenging obstacles when consenting older adults. Lack of consistency and repeating questions were the most frequently encountered obstacles by researchers in consenting older adults. Ensuring privacy (anonymity/confidentiality), dedicating more time for the consenting process, treating older adults as autonomous individuals and respecting their cultural beliefs were the most helpful strategies recommended by both academic researchers and older adults.

Obtaining informed consents from older adults is a challenging process. Researchers should be aware of the special needs and strategies to achieve realistic and ethical informed consents from older adults.