IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v70y2010i12p1912-1919.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

'Like sugar and honey': The embedded ethics of a larval control project in The Gambia

Author

Listed:
  • Kelly, Ann H.
  • Ameh, David
  • Majambere, Silas
  • Lindsay, Steve
  • Pinder, Margaret

Abstract

This paper describes a malaria research project in The Gambia to provoke thinking on the social value of transnational research. The Larval Control Project (LCP) investigated the efficacy of a microbial insecticide to reduce vector density and, ultimately, clinical malaria in Gambian children. The LCP's protocol delineated a clinical surveillance scheme that involved Village Health Workers (VHWs) supported by project nurses. Combining insights from ethnographic fieldwork conducted at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratories in Farafenni from 2005 to 2009, open-ended interviews with project nurses, and eight focus group discussions held with participant mothers in October 2007, we consider the social impact of the LCP's investigative method against the backdrop of several years of research activity. We found that while participants associated the LCP with the clinical care it provided, they also regarded the collaboration between the nurses and VHWs added additional benefits. Organised around the operational functions of the trial, small-scale collaborations provided the platform from which to build local capacity. While ethical guidelines emphasise the considerations that must be added to experimental endeavour in southern countries (e.g. elaborating processes of informed consent, developing strategies of community engagement or providing therapeutic access to participants after the trial concludes), these findings suggest that shifting attention from supplementing ethical protocols to the everyday work of research - embedding ethics through scientific activity - may provide a sounder basis to reinforce the relationship between scientific rigour and social value.

Suggested Citation

  • Kelly, Ann H. & Ameh, David & Majambere, Silas & Lindsay, Steve & Pinder, Margaret, 2010. "'Like sugar and honey': The embedded ethics of a larval control project in The Gambia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 1912-1919, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:70:y:2010:i:12:p:1912-1919
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(10)00171-1
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ruebush, Trenton K. & Weller, Susan C. & Klein, Robert E., 1994. "Qualities of an ideal volunteer community malaria worker: A comparison of the opinions of community residents and national malaria service staff," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 123-131, July.
    2. Timmermans, Stefan & McKay, Tara, 2009. "Clinical trials as treatment option: Bioethics and health care disparities in substance dependency," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 1784-1790, December.
    3. Molyneux, C. S. & Peshu, N. & Marsh, K., 2004. "Understanding of informed consent in a low-income setting: three case studies from the Kenyan coast," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(12), pages 2547-2559, December.
    4. Geissler, P. Wenzel & Kelly, Ann & Imoukhuede, Babatunde & Pool, Robert, 2008. "'He is now like a brother, I can even give him some blood' - Relational ethics and material exchanges in a malaria vaccine 'trial community' in The Gambia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 696-707, September.
    5. Lairumbi, Geoffrey Mbaabu & Molyneux, Sassy & Snow, Robert W. & Marsh, Kevin & Peshu, Norbert & English, Mike, 2008. "Promoting the social value of research in Kenya: Examining the practical aspects of collaborative partnerships using an ethical framework," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 734-747, September.
    6. Panter-Brick, Catherine & Clarke, Sian E. & Lomas, Heather & Pinder, Margaret & Lindsay, Steve W., 2006. "Culturally compelling strategies for behaviour change: A social ecology model and case study in malaria prevention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 2810-2825, June.
    7. Molyneux, Sassy & Geissler, P. Wenzel, 2008. "Ethics and the ethnography of medical research in Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 685-695, September.
    8. Fairhead, James & Leach, Melissa & Small, Mary, 2006. "Where techno-science meets poverty: Medical research and the economy of blood in The Gambia, West Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 1109-1120, August.
    9. Gikonyo, Caroline & Bejon, Philip & Marsh, Vicki & Molyneux, Sassy, 2008. "Taking social relationships seriously: Lessons learned from the informed consent practices of a vaccine trial on the Kenyan Coast," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 708-720, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Palmer, Jennifer J. & Kelly, Ann H. & Surur, Elizeous I. & Checchi, Francesco & Jones, Caroline, 2014. "Changing landscapes, changing practice: Negotiating access to sleeping sickness services in a post-conflict society," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 396-404.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Molyneux, Sassy & Geissler, P. Wenzel, 2008. "Ethics and the ethnography of medical research in Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 685-695, September.
    2. Reynolds, Lindsey & Cousins, Thomas & Newell, Marie-Louise & Imrie, John, 2013. "The social dynamics of consent and refusal in HIV surveillance in rural South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 118-125.
    3. Sariola, Salla & Simpson, Bob, 2011. "Theorising the 'human subject' in biomedical research: International clinical trials and bioethics discourses in contemporary Sri Lanka," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(4), pages 515-521, August.
    4. Hutchinson, Eleanor & Nayiga, Susan & Nabirye, Christine & Taaka, Lilian & Staedke, Sarah G., 2018. "Data value and care value in the practice of health systems: A case study in Uganda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 123-130.
    5. Gouda, H.N. & Kelly-Hanku, A. & Wilson, L. & Maraga, S. & Riley, I.D., 2016. "“Whenever they cry, I cry with them”: Reciprocal relationships and the role of ethics in a verbal autopsy study in Papua New Guinea," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 1-9.
    6. Tengbeh, Angus Fayia & Enria, Luisa & Smout, Elizabeth & Mooney, Thomas & Callaghan, Mike & Ishola, David & Leigh, Bailah & Watson-Jones, Deborah & Greenwood, Brian & Larson, Heidi & Lees, Shelley, 2018. "“We are the heroes because we are ready to die for this country”: Participants' decision-making and grounded ethics in an Ebola vaccine clinical trial," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 35-42.
    7. Panter-Brick, Catherine & Eggerman, Mark, 2018. "The field of medical anthropology in Social Science & Medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 233-239.
    8. James, Myfanwy & Kasereka, Joseph Grace & Kasiwa, Benjamin & Kavunga-Membo, Hugo & Kambale, Kasonia & Grais, Rebecca & Muyembe-Tamfum, Jean-Jacques & Bausch, Daniel G. & Watson-Jones, Deborah & Lees, , 2023. "Protection, health seeking, or a laissez-passer: Participants’ decision-making in an EVD vaccine trial in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    9. Kamat, Vinay R., 2014. "Fast, cheap, and out of control? Speculations and ethical concerns in the conduct of outsourced clinical trials in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 48-55.
    10. Marsh, Vicki & Kamuya, Dorcas & Rowa, Yvonne & Gikonyo, Caroline & Molyneux, Sassy, 2008. "Beginning community engagement at a busy biomedical research programme: Experiences from the KEMRI CGMRC-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 721-733, September.
    11. Katwa, Joseph Kigen & Joyce Lugulu, 2022. "Understanding Informed Consent: An in Depth Analysis," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 6(5), pages 762-769, May.
    12. Sheikh, Zainab Afshan & Jensen, Anja M.B., 2019. "Channeling hope: An ethnographic study of how research encounters become meaningful for families suffering from genetic disease in Pakistan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 103-110.
    13. Lawrence, David S. & Ssali, Agnes & Moshashane, Neo & Nabaggala, Georgina & Maphane, Lebogang & Harrison, Thomas S. & Meya, David B. & Jarvis, Joseph N. & Seeley, Janet, 2022. "Decision making in a clinical trial for a life-threatening illness: Therapeutic expectation, not misconception," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    14. Wahlberg, Ayo & Rehmann-Sutter, Christoph & Sleeboom-Faulkner, Margaret & Lu, Guangxiu & Döring, Ole & Cong, Yali & Laska-Formejster, Alicja & He, Jing & Chen, Haidan & Gottweis, Herbert & Rose, Nikol, 2013. "From global bioethics to ethical governance of biomedical research collaborations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 293-300.
    15. Theobald, Sally & Nhlema-Simwaka, Bertha, 2008. "The research, policy and practice interface: Reflections on using applied social research to promote equity in health in Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 760-770, September.
    16. Langford, Rebecca & Panter-Brick, Catherine, 2013. "A health equity critique of social marketing: Where interventions have impact but insufficient reach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 133-141.
    17. Anke Hoeffler, 2017. "Violence Against Children: A Critical Issue for Development," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(5), pages 945-963, November.
    18. McConnell, Bonnie B., 2016. "Music and health communication in The Gambia: A social capital approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 132-140.
    19. Kingori, Patricia, 2013. "Experiencing everyday ethics in context: Frontline data collectors perspectives and practices of bioethics," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 361-370.
    20. Anakwenze, Obianujunwa, 2022. "The cultural sensitivity continuum of mental health interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:70:y:2010:i:12:p:1912-1919. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.