Histórias de (uma) vida: desafios e dilemas éticos na investigação com idosos

Abstract

Resumo: Partindo da experiência de investigação num estudo sociológico sobre a psicofarmacologização da velhice, cuja metodologia incluiu a realização de histórias de vida, o presente artigo visa discutir alguns dilemas éticos e correspondentes desafios metodológicos inerentes a esta técnica e, em particular, as especificidades da sua aplicação junto da população idosa. O estudo, desenvolvido no concelho de Almada, contemplou a realização de 30 entrevistas de histórias de vida a idosos a viver sós, com idades compreendidas entre os 67 e os 90 anos, com autonomia física e cognitiva, inseridos em três diferentes contextos (Domicílio, Centros de Dia e Lares). Palavras-chave: histórias de vida, entrevista narrativa, questões éticas, população idosa. Histories of (a) life: challenges and ethical dilemmas in doing research with older people Abstract: Drawing from a sociological research on the psychopharmaceuticalization of old age, which methodological design included life stories, this paper aims to discuss some ethical dilemmas and corresponding methodological challenges brought by this technique, in particular, the specificities of conducting it with elderly people. The research took place in Almada, and the life story interviews were conducted with 30 individuals living alone (aged between 67 and 90), with physical and cognitive autonomy, in three different living contexts (Domicile, Adult Day Care Centres and Senior Residences).differences were not significant when using summated scales, except in case of severe skewness.

Informed Consent in Social Sciences Research: Ethical Challenges

“…However, these guarantees seldom finish when a standardised document is submitted and signed; they are established as the contact between researchers and participants progresses, before, throughout and after the research (Pegado, Zózimo, & Lopes, 2016). Some reflections on ethical aspects of research studies have been shifting the view from informed consent as an instrument to informed consent as a process.…”

“…These poorly educated populations, unfamiliar with research procedures, do not share the researcher's ethos, which raises some issues. There is the need to overcome a formal and bureaucratic logic of the consent, which runs the risk of becoming an instrument of exclusive protection of researchers, contained in the metaphor «blank cheque», rather than guaranteeing the preservation of the rights of populations and individuals that are the object of research (Pegado et al, 2016). When working with populations with low levels of literacy, researchers also face the challenge of translating the scientific and technical language often used in some informed consent models required by ethics committees into a language that respondents understand.…”

“…When working with populations with low levels of literacy, researchers also face the challenge of translating the scientific and technical language often used in some informed consent models required by ethics committees into a language that respondents understand. There is also the issue of the risk of intimidation of the participants in the research, who, faced with the obligation to sign a formal document that is culturally strange to them, may fear the loss of anonymity -which, paradoxically, this document guarantees them -and raise suspicions about its use (Pegado et al, 2016).…”

“…However, there are procedures that are likely to generate risks, understood here as a possibility of undesirable consequences for the individuals participating in the research (Pegado et al, 2016). The general degree of risk allows classifying research into four types: «no foreseen risk», which is common to most social sciences research studies and to some medical sciences; «minimum temporary risk», when it does not exceed the risks normally found in everyday life, and which occurs only during the course of the research (complete questionnaires, be interviewed); «unusual levels of temporary risk», when they go beyond daily life and extend beyond the research; «unavoidable permanent damage» during and/or after the research.…”

A Ética Em Investigação Científica: Particularidades Nos Estudos Em E Com Pessoas Idosas

“…É premente a discussão em torno da vulnerabilidade das pessoas idosas e o seu significado, justificando-se pelos diferentes contributos presentes na literatura. Constata-se a associação depreciativa entre a perda de autonomia física e cognitiva com o processo de envelhecimento, bem como sentimentos de solidão e de tristeza (PEGADO et al, 2016), concretizando-se a sua condição de vulnerabilidade. Por outro lado, é relativamente comum a ideia da existência ou não da legitimidade por parte destas pessoas no exercício pleno da sua autonomia (PARANHOS et al, 2016).…”