Standards Of Ethical Practice Research Articles

Recommendations from the ABA Commission on Youth at Risk Convening – “Renewal and Revolution: Recommitting the Legal Profession to Serve Children and Youth, their Families, and Communities”

AbstractYouth and families impacted by legal systems now resoundingly attest to the systems' lasting harm, echoed by interdisciplinary research. Lawyering thus requires a vastly renewed outlook, boldness, and honest inquiry about the limits of what the law and public systems can (and should) attempt as purported problem‐solving amidst broader socioeconomic forces and injustice. This report synthesizes recommendations from a groundswell of diverse, dedicated voices following an October 2023 convening hosted by the American Bar Association Commission on Youth at Risk, the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and Hofstra University's Maurice A. Deane School of Law. Entitled “Renewal and Revolution: Recommitting the Legal Profession to Serving Children and Youth, Their Families, and Communities,” the convening engaged various professionals—many with firsthand experience in foster and justice systems— and other advocates. Since the 2006 ABA Youth At Risk Initiative Planning Conference, the ABA Commission on Youth At Risk has elevated the representation and voice of youth through ethical practice standards, expanded access, and national initiatives. This report recounts findings of the 2023 convening's four working groups which met for two‐days of (often tense) discussions to chart a path for the legal profession, law, and policy for the next decade and beyond. Priorities include: transcending conceptions of youth “at risk” towards recognition of harms done, a strengths‐based lens, and lived experience leadership and expertise; cultivating next generation attorneys; prioritizing early family defense and diversion; divesting from systems and re‐investing directly with youth and families; and further eliminating racial disparities.

“Something There is That doesn’t Love a Wall”: Notes on the Limits of Risk-Based Boundary Norms in Clinical Social Work

ABSTRACT Boundaries are a practice of separating one thing from the other; to make clear where I end and where you begin. Establishing and enforcing clinical boundaries is taken for granted as a necessary foundation of therapeutic work by social work’s governing and administrative bodies. Upon interrogation, normative standards of ethical practice tend to serve broader populations and institutions by deputizing social workers to self-police, even as such boundary norms may fail to serve the individuals and relationships at the heart of clinical practice. As a collective of early-career clinical social workers, we have at times felt certain obligatory boundaries force us to choose between serving an institution and caring for an individual. We explore moments where tension between boundaries and care is felt in vignettes from our clinical work with queer, trans, and racial minority clients, and through our analysis of boundary-setting texts. Seeking to queer norms of boundary-making discourse, we explore the possibilities of resistance that empower clients and prioritize relationships.

Defining “data” in conversations with students about the ethical use of learning analytics

In any conversation about the development of ethical standards for practice, it is vital that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of the main concepts in order to reach agreement. In the context of higher education and learning analytics, while many conversations are underway, it is less clear that such a shared understanding exists around the concept of “data”. In order to understand this situation more fully we conducted a study to investigate students’ perceptions of the ethical and privacy considerations related to the data that universities collect and use about them for the purposes of learning analytics. In this paper, we focus specifically on the understandings students have of the types of data that can be collected about them within the educational environment. The outcomes showed that there was a diversity of understandings, but that five main data types emerged. In developing a better understanding of the ways students understand data, it can assist institutions to have more effective conversations with students about the ethical use of learning analytics.

Defining “Ethical Mathematical Practice” Through Engagement with Discipline-Adjacent Practice Standards and the Mathematical Community

This project explored what constitutes “ethical practice of mathematics”. Thematic analysis of ethical practice standards from mathematics-adjacent disciplines (statistics and computing), were combined with two organizational codes of conduct and community input resulting in over 100 items. These analyses identified 29 of the 52 items in the 2018 American Statistical Association Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice, and 15 of the 24 additional (unique) items from the 2018 Association of Computing Machinery Code of Ethics for inclusion. Three of the 29 items synthesized from the 2019 American Mathematical Society Code of Ethics, and zero of the Mathematical Association of America Code of Ethics, were identified as reflective of “ethical mathematical practice” beyond items already identified from the other two codes. The community contributed six unique items. Item stems were standardized to, “The ethical mathematics practitioner…”. Invitations to complete the 30-min online survey were shared nationally (US) via Mathematics organization listservs and other widespread emails and announcements. We received 142 individual responses to the national survey, 75% of whom endorsed 41/52 items, with 90–100% endorsing 20/52 items on the survey. Items from different sources were endorsed at both high and low rates. A final thematic analysis yielded 44 items, grouped into “General” (12 items), “Profession” (10 items) and “Scholarship” (11 items). Moreover, for the practitioner in a leader/mentor/supervisor/instructor role, there are an additional 11 items (4 General/7 Professional). These results suggest that the community perceives a much wider range of behaviors by mathematicians to be subject to ethical practice standards than had been previously included in professional organization codes. The results provide evidence against the argument that mathematics practitioners engaged in “pure” or “theoretical” work have minimal, small, or no ethical obligations.

Interpersonal Transphobia Within Nursing: A Critical Concept Exploration.

Transphobic perceptions negatively impact health care access and outcomes among transgender and gender-diverse people and challenge nurses' capacity to maintain ethical practice standards. The concept of transphobia has not been well defined in the literature or nursing. Using a critical realist lens, this concept exploration sought to define interpersonal transphobia through a review of purposefully selected literature. Attributes included discrimination and prejudice, while antecedents were cisnormativity, erasure, and stigma. Nurses can help reduce transphobia by seeking education and practicing gender-affirming care, including transgender people in research, and advocating for equitable policies and procedures.

Rehabilitation Counselors and Technology, Social Media, and Distance Counseling: Contemporary Considerations

The use of technology in rehabilitation counseling including the delivery of rehabilitation services via virtual counseling is occurring at greater rates than ever before. At the same time, views about the utility of social media have evolved, necessitating increased consideration of social media benefits while at the same time highlighting a need for more detailed guidance regarding its usage and risks. As a standard of ethical practice, certified rehabilitation counselors (CRCs) are required to be aware of guidelines that govern the ethical use of technology in the provision of rehabilitation services, including revisions to the Code of Professional Ethics for CRCs. The 2023 revisions to the Technology, Social Media, and Virtual Counseling section of the Code of Professional Ethics for CRCs specify expanded guidance for CRCs integrating apps, relevant social media, and the provision of virtual counseling. To assist CRCs to meet their standard of ethical practice, this article reviews the historical evolution of technology within the Code, the changes and expansions to Section K of the Code and discusses ethical consideration and revised guidance in the critical technology areas of virtual counseling and social media.

10 Simple Rules for Integrating Ethics Training into Any Quantitative Course

This article presents two principal "rules" that instructors should use professional ethical practice standards, not issues, to guide instruction/learning objectives, and use instructional and/or curriculum development guidelines to ensure that changes to courses are systematic and yield actionable student outputs. It presents resources to serve learners because they offer tools and techniques that equip future practitioners to practice ethically - whenever they practice. The article describes how learning outcomes of integrated ethics within a mathematics, statistics, or data science course featuring the ASA Ethical Guidelines and the ACM Code of Ethics, will result in individuals trained in how to practice ethically, rather than individuals who completed a required ethics course or mastered “ethics content”.

Ethical and Legal Issues in Psychotherapy.

Ethical and Legal Issues in Psychotherapy.

Analysis of theories impacting creation of ethical standards of practice in medicine and human services

Developmental psychology is segmented into three areas or domains: biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial. Biosocialdevelopment relates to the growth and developments within the human body and is viewed as pertaining to physicalgrowth beginning at the conception of human life through to its death. Included within the biosocial developmentdomain are biological functions, cultural influences, and environmental factors. All these aspects affect all stages of growthfrom the ‘cradle to the grave.’ Cognitive development theory is directed at the mental aspect of growth and includesmemorizing and processing challenges or problems at every stage of human growth. This development domain includesthe capacity to analyze, evaluate and process decisions as and when they occur. This capacity to perceive and understandis divided into stages or phases of development, occurring throughout the ‘cycle’ of life. This review turns to three of manydevelopmental theories, namely ‘Behavioral’, ‘Cognitive’ and ‘Sociocultural’. While analyzing these theories, the focus isdirected at how they impact and influence moral values and practices. Furthermore, more specific attention is targetedtowards how moral development theories have brought about human behavior changes. When ascertaining the relativityof morality within human behavior, we aim to seek to determine how issues and theories relating to morality enablesethical standards to be planned and implemented within the area of medicine and human services

Scoping Review: Ethical Considerations in Online Ethnographic Research With Military Populations

Researchers using online ethnographic methods to study military communities must employ higher standards of ethical practice. Military populations may face significant risk if reidentified in research. These requirements are especially salient for online data collection. This review questions how and to what extent military online ethnographers are addressing ethics considerations. We charted evidence from seven military studies using an online ethnographic method. Findings reveal that most online military ethnographers did not utilize sufficient ethical safeguards in their studies. Additionally, they did not document or transparently disclose the ethical steps they may have taken. This study argues implementing ethical safeguards is especially important for protecting vulnerable military populations. We present a strategy for evaluating ethics practices in online ethnographic research and provide best practices for military online ethnographers.

Pharmaceutical Marketing Ethics: Ethical Standards for More Acceptable Practices

This paper analyses the major ethical issues raised by direct-to-consumer communications (DTCC) of pharmaceutical drugs, with a view to proposing ethical standards of practice for the marketing profession. A case-based analysis of four types of marketing practices is used to highlight the main ethical dimensions of DTCC. The ethical implications are then unpacked using the specific lenses of prominent ethical theories, so that non-experts in ethics—i.e., marketing professionals—can understand the implications for their daily practice. To synthesize the essential ethical imperatives related to DTCC, an oath for marketing professionals is offered as a guide to ethical conduct.

Urban ideals and rural realities: Physiotherapists navigating paradox in overlapping roles.

Rural practitioners who develop a sense of belonging in their community tend to stay; however, belonging means neighbours become patients and non-clinical encounters with patients become unavoidable. Rural clinical experiences expose students to overlapping personal and professional relationships, but students cannot be duly prepared to navigate them because ethical practice standards primarily reflect urban, and not rural, contexts. To inform such educational activities, this study examines rural physiotherapists' strategies for navigating overlapping relationships. Constructivist grounded theory guided iterative recruitment of 22 physiotherapists (PTs) living and practising in rural, northern or remote (RNR) communities in British Columbia, Canada, and analysis of their experiences navigating overlapping relationships. PTs routinely navigate overlapping relationships while mindful of practice standards, neighbourly and community expectations, personal well-being and patient welfare. While off-duty, they balance opposing expectations and manage various responsibilities to achieve contradictory goals such as being a professional who protects patient confidentiality while being an active and cordial community member. While on-duty, they face ethical dilemmas where deciding not to treat acquaintances potentially denies access to care but allows for clearer personal-professional boundaries and deciding to treat contravenes (urban) practice standards but could allow for customised patient care based on knowledge gained through both clinical and social interactions. Overlapping relationships are a rural norm. Urban ethical practice standards imposed on rural contexts put RNR practitioners in a paradoxical situation where clinical and social interactions must be but cannot be partitioned. Examining the identified strategies through the lens of paradox theory shows sophisticated cognitive framing of the conflicting and interrelated aims inherent to living and practising in RNR communities. Consequently, introducing a paradox mindset in educational activities could be explored as a way to prepare students for the ethically complex overlapping relationships that they will need to navigate during RNR clinical experiences.

Reflexivity and humility evoke a transformable methodology in a post disaster context

ABSTRACT Objective The process of reflexivity is used to critically examine the experience of conducting qualitative research with functionally diverse older adults in a post disaster context. Methods The design of the study began with an interpretative phenomenological framework, using in-depth interviews. Fifteen individuals with functional and access needs living in Puerto Rico were interviewed regarding their experiences after Hurricane María of 2017. Findings In the field, it was necessary to expand the initial design, and adjust to participants’ preferences and needs, as well as situational characteristics, without compromising ethical standards of practice. The methodology transformed because of the need for flexibility requiring humility from the researchers. A more relational form of inquiry was warranted, which acknowledged the intersubjectivity of human experience. This entailed adapting to community involvement, building rapport with community leaders functioning as gatekeepers, and integrating family or friends in interviews. Discussion The reflexive approach allowed for a better understanding of the researcher’s positionalities and how they influence the ability or inability to develop trust (e.g. insider/ outsider status, Puerto Rican/ US, with functional and access needs/ without functional and access needs). Conclusions Given the shift toward relational inquiry and due to the challenges faced while carrying out the study, we suggest that post-disaster qualitative research would benefit from further including principles of indigenous decolonizing methodologies, which can be incorporated into studies using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Digital Health Applications in Mental Health Care for Immigrants and Refugees: A Rapid Review.

Objective: To explore and summarize (1) the existing digital health applications in mental health care (MHC) for immigrants and refugees and its outcomes; (2) how the ethical standards of digital health applications in MHC are implemented and reported; and (3) the challenges for scaling up digital health applications in MHC for immigrants and refugees. Methods: This review adopted a rapid review methodology. Available literature was searched in three online databases January 1, 2005, to February 28, 2019. Studies were included if they (1) applied digital health technologies, (2) focused on immigrants, refugees, or asylum seekers without age and country limitation, (3) reported nonclinical and/or clinical outcomes, and (4) were published in English or Indonesian. Narrative synthesis was developed based on the data extraction and quality assessment. Results: A total of 16 studies were reviewed that applied software, website, and videoconferencing technologies. These applications were applied in various stages of MHC (screening, assessment, diagnosis, and intervention). Participants reported satisfaction and positive attitudes toward applications of digital health in MHC, and positive improvement on their anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. However, the ethical standards of these digital health applications were poorly implemented and reported. Stigma toward mental disorders and lack of technology literacy were the main challenges in scaling up digital health applications for immigrants and refugees. Conclusion: Digital health applications in MHC are promising innovations that can improve the wellbeing of immigrants and refugees. As these technologies expand, ethical standards of practice and reporting need to be improved in delivering scalable digital MHC for immigrants and refugees.

A beginner’s guide to applied educational research using thematic analysis

Interest in applied educational research methodology is growing as educators and researchers strive to seek empirical evidence about what is effective teaching within distinctive contexts. However, for beginner researchers who are interested in conducting case studies within educational settings and are looking for an appropriate starting point, there is limited literature that shapes comprehensively the theory and application of a rigorous research design. This article outlines the theoretical foundation, philosophical assumptions and application of a research design suitable for implementation in educational settings. For researchers and educators pursuing a case study approach within a specific context, an inquiry framework provides the roadmap to navigate the journey. The main components of this systematic inquiry framework include the interconnected practices for: identifying the issue; collecting the data; preparing and engaging with the data; analysing thematically the data; interpreting the data analysis; and composing the research findings and generalisations. Throughout the discussion, examples are drawn from a case study to illustrate how the innovative design and the sixstage qualitative data collection and thematic analysis were implemented to investigate the prevalent roles that teachers play in generating environments for self-regulated learning. Finally, research design considerations are discussed to reflect high standards of ethical practice for reporting research findings and interpretations that can be trusted and contribute practically, theoretically and methodologically to educational research.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers in the U.S.: Lack of Adherence to Medical and Ethical Practice Standards: A Joint Position Statement of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) attempt to dissuade pregnant people from considering abortion, often using misinformation and unethical practices. While mimicking health care clinics, CPCs provide biased, limited, and inaccurate health information, including incomplete pregnancy options counseling and unscientific sexual and reproductive health information. The centers do not provide or refer for abortion or contraception but often advertise in ways that give the appearance that they do provide these services without disclosing the biased nature and marked limitations of their services. Although individuals working in CPCs in the U.S. have First Amendment rights to free speech, their provision of misinformation may be harmful to young people and adults. The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology support the following positions: (1) CPCs pose risk by failing to adhere to medical and ethical practice standards, (2) governments should only support health programs that provide accurate, comprehensive information, (3) CPCs and individuals who provide CPC services should be held to established standards of ethics and medical care, (4) schools should not outsource sexual education to CPCs or other entities that do not provide accurate and complete health information, (5) search engines and digital platforms should enforce policies against misleading advertising by CPCs, and (6) health professionals should educate themselves, and young people about CPCs and help young people identify safe, quality sources of sexual and reproductive health information and care.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers in the United States: Lack of Adherence to Medical and Ethical Practice Standards; A Joint Position Statement of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) attempt to dissuade pregnant people from considering abortion, often using misinformation and unethical practices. While mimicking health care clinics, CPCs provide biased, limited, and inaccurate health information, including incomplete pregnancy options counseling and unscientific sexual and reproductive health information. The centers do not provide or refer for abortion or contraception but often advertise in ways that give the appearance that they do provide these services without disclosing the biased nature and marked limitations of their services. Although individuals working in CPCs in the United States have First Amendment rights to free speech, their provision of misinformation might be harmful to young people and adults. The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology support the following positions: (1) CPCs pose risk by failing to adhere to medical and ethical practice standards; (2) governments should only support health programs that provide accurate, comprehensive information; (3) CPCs and individuals who provide CPC services should be held to established standards of ethics and medical care; (4) schools should not outsource sexual education to CPCs or other entities that do not provide accurate and complete health information; (5) search engines and digital platforms should enforce policies against misleading advertising by CPCs; and (6) health professionals should educate themselves, and young people about CPCs and help young people identify safe, quality sources of sexual and reproductive health information and care.

Ethical Practice Disclosure of Malaysian Public Listed Companies

The Malaysian corporate environment has been shocked by corporate scandals and poor performance among government-related companies, such as 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH), Felda Global Ventures (FGV) and Khazanah Nasional Berhad (KHAZANAH). Despite having strong corporate governance and being strengthened through Malaysia Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG), unethical practices and a lack of transparency remain a problem among Malaysian companies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of disclosure of ethical practices among Malaysian public listed companies. Ethical practice disclosure is measured using the modified Ethical Commitment Index (ECI) with six themes derived from the literature; notably, corporate ethical values, action to promote ethics, whistle-blowing policy, code of ethics, sustainability practices, and ethics committee. Through content analysis of the annual reports of 1,115 companies and five years’ observation (2012-2016), this study found there is a need to improve several aspects of ethical practice disclosure. The findings implied that companies supported the MCCG, with most of the companies complying with the recommendations of MCCG 2012 to uphold a high standard of ethical practice. However, supplementary practices, such as disciplinary action, programmes to support a code of ethics, whistle-blowers’ protection, and establishing an ethics committee, are still weak. The findings indicate that the level of ethical practice disclosure among Malaysian public listed companies remains low and raises concern that requires action by regulators. This paper contributes by providing insights into the disclosure of ethical practice among Malaysian public companies.

A Framework for Remediating Professional Ethical Lapses

Nursing regulators, educators, practicing nurses, and the people they serve expect ethical standards of practice to be met in nursing and other healthcare professions. The reported incidence of professional discipline among nurses is low; however, some nurses (and other professionals) fail to demonstrate professional virtues and lose sight of professional ethical principles and duties. This article presents the types of issues that ultimately come to board attention, discusses the elements that may contribute to the issues, and describes an approach to help remediate professionals by equipping them with a framework to examine their reasoning and understand how and why they failed to uphold professional conduct. To help exemplify this approach, a case study on sexual boundary impingement and recommendations for regulatory boards are also presented. Nursing regulators, educators, practicing nurses, and the people they serve expect ethical standards of practice to be met in nursing and other healthcare professions. The reported incidence of professional discipline among nurses is low; however, some nurses (and other professionals) fail to demonstrate professional virtues and lose sight of professional ethical principles and duties. This article presents the types of issues that ultimately come to board attention, discusses the elements that may contribute to the issues, and describes an approach to help remediate professionals by equipping them with a framework to examine their reasoning and understand how and why they failed to uphold professional conduct. To help exemplify this approach, a case study on sexual boundary impingement and recommendations for regulatory boards are also presented. Catherine V. Caldicott, MD, FACP, is Senior Faculty, Regulatory Liaison, & Consultant for Special Projects, at PBI Education, Jacksonville, Florida. Conflict of Interest Compliance Article 3Journal of Nursing Regulation Vol. 12Issue 2PreviewAs is standard in scholarly publishing, NCSBN’s Journal of Nursing Regulation (JNR) requires its authors to disclose any potential conflicts of interest (COI). Although COI information has always been collected by our staff in order to support editors’ review of the paper, it was not our standard practice to publish COI statements in each article. In this issue, JNR is retrospectively publishing the COI statements, which were collected with the below papers at submission, in order to make potential COI’s transparent to readers, as well as editors. Full-Text PDF

Tuning of the self: in-session somatic support for vicarious trauma-related countertransference

ABSTRACTTherapist countertransference reactions related to the phenomenon of vicarious trauma (VT) can be examined through polarising physiological responses. Through an integration of counselling and neuroscientific perspectives on empathy and traumatic countertransference, in-session somatic reactions are approached as valuable information sources. The VT field’s research gaps regarding intersecting sociocultural identities of therapists and clients are centred in the proposed framework to examine hyper personalised and depersonalised countertransference polarisations. Awareness of somatic cultural countertransference and power dynamics is proposed as a way to prevent VT and uphold ethical standards of practice.