Funding for this research was provided by:
Centre for Society and the Life Sciences (70.1.053.3)
Article History
Received: 21 August 2017
Accepted: 21 May 2018
First Online: 31 May 2018
Authors’ information
: OS and EB are anthropologists with a reputation in kinship studies and women’s health SM is a philosopher with a special interest in family ethics, ethical dilemmas and moral deliberation. PV is a psychologist with an interest in gender and diversity in public health and medical education.
: Unless an interview study burdens interviewed patients, ethical approval from our local VUmc Medical Ethics Research Committee was not required for this type of study in the Netherlands according to Dutch legislation. In the study we analyzed voluntary interviews with migrant women and groups of women, not an intervention with patients. Nevertheless, the study has to adhere to privacy legislation which it did. No written informed consent was obtained, as it is common that members of minority communities often decline signing consent forms. Instead of creating trust based on personal relationships, forms can actually contribute to distrust, as many people with a migrant background have adverse experiences with health care systems in their countries of origin as well as in the Netherlands. Furthermore, many women in particular first generation migrants are illiterate. The women gave their oral consent and could withdraw at any time. Participants were informed about the voluntariness of the participation and that only members of the research team would have access to the interview data. Also, participants did not feel compelled to stay for the whole group session. Nevertheless, the women gave oral consent for participating and were actively engaged in giving information. We confirm all patient/personal identifiers have been removed or disguised so the patient/person(s) described are not identifiable and cannot be identified through the details of the story (see Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act 1998, download fromExternalRef removedandExternalRef removed, 18 May 2018).
: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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