Accessing a hard to reach population: reflections on research with young carers in Ireland

Abstract

In keeping with developments in children's rights, research is increasingly including the views of children. Accessing a hard to reach population of children can, however, raise significant ethical and methodological challenges for researchers. Negotiating access through gatekeepers, securing parental consent and limits on confidentiality are central issues in the recruitment process of children. This paper is based on a qualitative study of young carers in the Irish population. It outlines the methodological approaches employed to access a representative sample of young carers and the measures taken to fulfil ethical obligations. In the recruitment phase of the study, researchers attempted to strike a balance between two sometimes competing requirements, the need to protect children from harm and to respect children's competence. This paper reflects on the success and limitations of the approaches adopted towards achieving this balance, exploring the use of gatekeepers as a method to identify and recruit a hidden population, and revisiting the measures taken to comply with the ethical requirements of parental consent and limits on confidentiality.

Young carers in England: Findings from the 2018 BBC survey on the prevalence and nature of caring among young people

“…Some parents may have forgotten or not got around to replying. Research with young carers has also found that access may be refused by those in a gatekeeping role because of fears of a child protection intervention or invasion of privacy (Kennan, Fives, & Canavan, ). Second, it is known that young carers are more likely than noncarers to miss school (Warren, ).…”

Youth ‘At the Margins’

“…It can also present a barrier for transient, including homeless youth, who have limited contact with their parents (Abrams, 2010) or for youth who are in a situation where there is no parent or legal guardian able to give consent for the child to participate. This can arise in the situation where there is substance misuse on the part of the parent and they may not want to encourage outside interest in their family life or where some form of child abuse and neglect is occurring in the home (Kennan et al, 2012;Roth et al, 2013). 4 Participation may also be precluded when parents, not acting in the interests of their children, are unwilling to provide consent due to their fear of a disclosure and a child protection intervention as a result of their child participating in the study.…”

“…Tiggs's study in the United States (2003) found that, when passive parental consent is sought in school-based research on adolescent risk behavior, parental permission is typically obtained for 30 percent to 60 percent of those sampled, compared to 93 percent to 100 percent when passive consent is relied on (Tiggs, 2003). It has been found that a key influential factor in the recruitment of hard to reach young people is taking the time to establish a relationship with gatekeepers and raising awareness about the importance of the study on a one to one basis (Kennan et al, 2012). It has been found that a key influential factor in the recruitment of hard to reach young people is taking the time to establish a relationship with gatekeepers and raising awareness about the importance of the study on a one to one basis (Kennan et al, 2012).…”

Understanding the Ethical Requirement for Parental Consent When Engaging Youth in Research

“…Obtaining verbal consent over the phone, as opposed to written consent, is another approach which is considered ethically compliant and one which is effective in encouraging parents to be more responsive (Sime, 2008). It has been found that a key influential factor in the recruitment of hard to reach young people is taking the time to establish a relationship with gatekeepers and raising awareness about the importance of the study on a one to one basis (Kennan et al, 2012). The phone may facilitate one to one contact and initiation of a relationship when it is not possible to meet with the individual parents to secure their written consent.…”

“…Participation may also be precluded when parents, not acting in the interests of their children, are unwilling to provide consent due to their fear of a disclosure and a child protection intervention as a result of their child participating in the study. This can arise in the situation where there is substance misuse on the part of the parent and they may not want to encourage outside interest in their family life or where some form of child abuse and neglect is occurring in the home (Kennan et al, 2012;Roth et al, 2013). Requiring parental consent when operating in these contexts can deny youth the opportunity to participate in research.…”