Ahlström, Gerd http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6230-7583
Nilsen, Per
Benzein, Eva
Behm, Lina
Wallerstedt, Birgitta
Persson, Magnus
Sandgren, Anna
Funding for this research was provided by:
Vetenskapsrådet (2014-2759)
vårdalstiftelsen (2014-0071)
The Greta and Johan Kock Foundation (2015-09-27)
Ribbingska Foundation (2016)
Article History
Received: 19 April 2017
Accepted: 15 March 2018
First Online: 22 March 2018
Ethics approval and consent to participate
: The project is approved as a multi-centre study by the Regional Ethics Review Board in Lund, Sweden (reference number: 2015/4). The ongoing research is guided by the research-ethical principles for medical research (the Declaration of Helsinki). To maintain the principle of non-maleficence, the participants were guaranteed confidentiality. In accordance with respecting the participants’ autonomy, all the participants were informed that they had the right to withdraw from the project at any time without suffering any consequences for their future care. The participants gave their oral and written informed consent before their participation began. In the interviews, the researchers were aware of power issues, in that an interview is not a conversation between two equal individuals. Regarding the data from the quality register, the researchers got anonymised data with code number and the data was traceable to any individual person.The encounters were characterised by respect, and every effort was made to exercise the utmost sensitivity to the older persons’ signs of tiredness, which are a common part of frailty and a heavy burden of symptoms. In the interviews, we attempted to obtain beneficial knowledge while minimizing harmful consequences [CitationRef removed]. The interviewer was aware of the consequences when the situation involved private concerns. If an older person or a family member in the project was found to undergo emotional difficulties or stress, the researcher offered to help with contacting social worker or psychologist. The interview time was taken into careful consideration. The participants were given opportunity to reflect on what they said in the interviews, and time was also available for the participants to ask questions. The project is registered at Clinical Trials with registration number: NCT02708498.
: Not applicable.
: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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