A Social Work Perspective on Paediatric and Adolescent Research Vulnerability

Children’s and adolescents’ capacity to provide valid informed consent is one of the key ethical concerns in pediatric research. This review of adolescent vulnerability is presented to highlight the complex interplay between capacity and other forms of vulnerability. This review is offered as an interdisciplinary analysis to better understand why the study of vulnerable populations is critical to the ethical advancement of clinical research. Results from this analysis suggest the need for enhanced screening techniques as well as the utilization of specialized staff to identify and reduce the impact of different forms of vulnerability. These findings also provide insights into ways to ethically involve youth in complex biomedical research.