Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations are critical to include when conducting research. As ethics help guide between doing what is right and wrong, it helps researchers to respect their subjects and minimize or completely eliminate any harm that may become the subjects (LoBiondo-Wood, & Haber, 2013). To ensure that the research proposed is ethical, and will uphold ethical standards as it progresses, ethical principles have been identified within this research, and accounted for.
Due to the context of this research, it is important to maintain respect for persons by obtaining consent, and checking for ongoing consent throughout (Canadian Institutes of Health Research et al., 2014, p. 5). In doing this there is a respect for autonomy, and decision making of the patients that has been identified as critical in experimental research designs (Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching, 2014). Consent will be obtained initially with a document outlining the details of the research, and as this research is also a medical intervention, it will inform the patient of the details of CR as well, including the risks and potential benefits. The consent form will follow the guidelines that have been set out by the Government of Canada (Health Canada, 2015).
The principle of concern for welfare is upheld by continually checking and ensuring that the patient’s health is protected at all times. Initially, it will be imperative that patients have a physician’s clearance as these participants are post coronary event. They are already in a precarious health situation, and the research’s priority should be to not exacerbate this in any way intentionally or unintentionally (Canadian Institutes of Health Research et al., 2014, p. 11). Medical clearance will also be constantly assessed throughout the study to ensure that the participants are not encountering any undue harm.
Finally, the principle of Justice, fair and equitable treatment of participants, must also be upheld (Canadian Institutes of Health Research et al., 2014, p. 18). In order to ensure this in the proposed research, the researchers will structure the CR programs identically. Ensuring the participants in both the control and focus groups are receiving the same potential benefits. This also ensures that the results are not skewed in favour of the hypothesized outcome of the research (Canadian Institutes of Health Research et al., 2014, p. 21).