Mwanukuzi, Christine
Nyamhanga, Tumaini
Article History
Received: 4 October 2019
Accepted: 15 December 2020
First Online: 2 January 2021
Ethics approval and consent to participate
: This study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences. Prospective interviewees were informed that participation was purely voluntary. Although the study participants were under 18 years, they were all married and lived independently away from their parents. Thus seeking parental consent was not feasible. Instead, consent was based on the adolescent’s understanding of the explanation provided about the study objectives, rationale of the study, and data collection procedures. That is, in the context of this study, consent was sought through regarding married adolescents as “emancipated minors” [CitationRef removed]. Nevertheless, considering the respondents might be vulnerable to abuse, the following steps were taken to protect them. One, interviews were conducted at a place other than the respondents’ marital homes, where privacy was guaranteed. Two, they were informed that no informant names were required and that data would be handled with strict confidentiality. Three, they were informed that they were free to decline answering any question they felt uncomfortable to handle. Four, they were assured that in the event of even a mild emotional distress the researcher would temporarily suspend the research process and use her counselling skills to provide a brief support. Five, they were encouraged to seek medical attention of a mental health clinician from a nearby health facility if the psychological discomfort persists. Hence, the respondents were provided with sufficient information to make an informed decision. They were further informed that they had a right to decline to participate or even withdraw their consent at any stage of the research process without any adverse effects. Finally, prior to interviewing a written informed consent was obtained.
: Not applicable.
: The authors declare that they have no competing.