Consent policies

Arguably one of the most significant challenges to the recruitment of participants into a study like MalariaGEN is obtaining valid consent.

A wide range of challenges, including low literacy levels, poverty and severe illness can all compromise consent. How exactly such challenges are best faced varies with the context in which research takes place and participants' and communities' previous exposure to research.

To accommodate the varying circumstances in which consent for MalariaGEN studies is sought, the network developed an informed consent template and accompanying guidelines for obtaining consent, both of which were designed to inform, not prescribe, the development of locally appropriate consent processes. The template and guidelines were developed following broad consultation in the network during two ethics workshops in Ghana in 2005 and in Mali in 2006, and subsequent feedback from consortial investigators on draft versions of both.