Community based research is conducted by, for, and with the participation of community members, and aims to ensure that knowledge
contributes to making a concrete and constructive difference in the world (The Loka Institute
2002). Yet decisions about research ethics are often controlled outside the research community itself. In this analysis we grapple
with the imposition of a community confidentiality clause and the implications it had for consent, confidentiality, and capacity
in a province-wide community based research project. Through untangling these implications we provide recommendations for
reframing how to think about research ethics and strategies for enabling research ethics’ processes to be more responsive
to and respectful of community-based research.
Keywords Community based research - Community confidentiality - Research ethics - Women’s health
This paper is written in the spirit of community-based research with the intent of reaching a diverse audience by using non-academic
language. For an academic treatment of this topic the reader should consult: Reid, Colleen, Ponic, Pamela, Hara, Louise, Ledrew,
Robin, Kaweesi, Connie, and Besla, Kashmir. (under review). Living an ethical agreement: Negotiating confidentiality and harm
in a feminist participatory action research project. In G. Creese and W. Frisby (Eds.) Feminist Methodologies in Community Research. Vancouver BC: UBC Press.