Ethical challenges in research on post-abortion care with adolescents: experiences of researchers in Zambia

Figures & data

Table 1. Themes, ethics issues, and related strategies.

Theme	Ethics issues	Related strategies
Regulatory and policy challenges	Lack of policy on abortion research Ministry of Health officials not often discussing abortion issues in meetings Limited knowledge of abortion law in Zambia
Difficulties with ethical review and approval	Limited knowledge of the legal provisions by some ethics committee members Requirement for researchers to have specialized health personnel on their studies Some staff at Ministry of Health being anti-abortion
Challenges with recruitment	Recruitment based on patient registers Perception that PAC studies encourage young girls to seek abortion The taboo of discussing abortion Fear of being reported to the police Stigmatization Lack of awareness of the law on abortion by study participants	Trust building Recruitment of participants using health workers Substituting the word abortion with fertility control or reproductive health when seeking consent
Challenges with data collection	Difficulties in speaking about personal experiences Incomplete information on PAC from files	Holding interviews far from the health facility Use of female data collectors Substituting the word abortion with fertility control or reproductive health when collecting data
Research reporting	Difficulties in deciding how to report findings Difficulties in deciding avenues for sharing reports Concerns raised regarding masking study sites and providers (acceptable levels of transparency in describing research methods)