Mafuta, Eric M.
De Cock Buning, Tjard
Lolobi, Didier L.
Mayala, Papy M.
Mambu, Thérèse N. M.
Kayembe, Patrick K.
Dieleman, Marjolein A.
Funding for this research was provided by:
WOTRO (W 07.45.201.00)
Africa Hub Small Grants/Future Health Systems
United States Agency for International Development
Article History
Received: 18 November 2016
Accepted: 15 January 2018
First Online: 25 January 2018
Ethics approval and consent to participate
: The research protocol for original studies was submitted to and approved by the Internal Review Board, Kinshasa School of Public Health. The necessary administrative authorizations were obtained at the provincial and local levels. All participants in these studies were fully informed about the nature and implications of the study, and voluntarily provided their consent to participate in writing. For minor respondents aged 15–17 years, consent from their parent/guardian was obtained after obtaining the participant’s assent. There were no major risks for women participating in the household study. As the questionnaire in the household survey addressed topics that could be sensitive and very personal for those who had experienced such events, the research assistants were trained to deal with these situations, specifically to provide psychological support to participants who expressed any signs of distress during the interview and to refer those participants to local support. All of the participants were given a phone number of a local psychological support provider who could assist the respondent to get help if needed. Respondents were also informed that with their approval, the interviewer would inform the supervisor about their distress and assist with referral information in order to get help. There were no direct benefits to participating in the interviews and household study, but participants in the FGDs received reimbursement of their travel expenses at the end of the meeting. All research procedures were in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration II.
: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants to publish information containing some individual personal data such as age, sex, occupation, and location as they were important for understanding the research study.
: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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