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“Not as bad as it could have been”: Assessing and mitigating harm during research interviews on sensitive topics
Author(s) -
Kavanaugh Karen,
Ayres Lioness
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
research in nursing and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1098-240X
pISSN - 0160-6891
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-240x(199802)21:1<91::aid-nur10>3.0.co;2-c
Subject(s) - distress , respondent , harm , psychology , clinical psychology , nonverbal communication , psychological distress , psychiatry , social psychology , developmental psychology , mental health , political science , law
Research on sensitive subjects such as perinatal loss places participants at particular risk for psychological distress. Although authors have discussed strategies for minimizing distress during interview research, less is known about the ways participants communicate and investigators respond to psychological pain incurred during the interview itself. Therefore, we describe both verbal and nonverbal indicators of distress during a phenomenological study on perinatal loss. We also offer suggestions for interviewers on ways to minimize participants' discomfort. We believe this account will help other researchers identify and reduce respondent distress during their own research. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Res Nurs Health 21: 91–97, 1998