A Proposal for Addressing Bioethical Concerns Along the 10-Step Framework for Community Engagement.

Area of Science:

• Community-Engaged Research (CEnR)
• Bioethics
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Building trust is crucial for increasing Black/African American participation in community-engaged research (CEnR).
• Ethical considerations are paramount in CEnR to foster equitable partnerships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify ethical issues in community-engaged research using a 10-Step Framework.
• To apply an ethical deliberation approach to address identified ethical challenges.
• To enhance trust and participation in CEnR.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of case studies to identify ethical issues within the 10-Step Framework.
• Application of a three-moment ethical deliberation approach: understanding, envisioning action, and judging.
• Incorporation of community partner insights throughout the research process.

Main Results:

• Identified ethical issues include lack of shared decision-making, delayed results, and breaches in privacy/confidentiality.
• The ethical deliberation approach offers a structured way to navigate complex ethical scenarios.
• Community-engaged research benefits from co-authorship and active involvement of community members.

Conclusions:

• The ethical deliberation approach should be tailored to specific CEnR projects.
• Further empirical studies are recommended to validate the effectiveness of this approach in CEnR.
• Strengthening ethical frameworks can improve research inclusivity and trustworthiness.