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Article History

Received: 11 November 2019

Accepted: 19 November 2020

First Online: 17 May 2021

Ethics approval and consent to participate

: At every step of the research process, the researchers carefully attended to the ethical considerations associated with any research and particularly that on a sensitive issue. Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Committee/Institutional Review Board at the University of Balamand and Saint Georges Hospital University Medical Centre. Another one was obtained from Rafik Hariri University Medical Centre. These two medical centres served to recruit clinical cases. Before they participated in the study, all participants received an information letter guaranteeing that conditions of dignity and confidentiality and anonymity of all forms of data generated are met. They were informed about their voluntary involvement in the study and their right to withdraw at any time. They also signed informed consent. Very few of them consented verbally by fear of providing written consent, particularly that the study topic is very sensitive. Besides, written consent might be culturally seen as a lack of trust. The interviews were audio-recorded with the participants’ consent. All transcripts were identified by pseudonyms and were securely stored in a locked file cabinet. The participants were assured that nobody would have access to the raw data other than the researchers of the study. However, the results will be disseminated through conferences and publications.

: Before their participation, all participants provided informed consent and were aware that the results would be published. However, as the ‘Consent for Publication’ refers to consent for the publication of identifying images or other personal or clinical details of participants that compromise anonymity, we consider this as “<i>Not Applicable</i>” to the current manuscript.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.