Researchers’ ethical perspective about women participation in research studies in Jordan

Women participation in research studies has been an issue especially in developing countries with conservative cultural and religious beliefs. This study was aimed to assess researchers about ethical and cultural issues related to the women participation in research studies. A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted among researchers from different health disciplines in Jordan. Results showed that to encourage females’ participation in research studies, majority of the researchers (66.7%) indicated that they will always preferably consider hiring a female research assistant for studies that include female participants, especially when the study protocol involves direct contact with participants. Additionally, large proportion of researchers believed that females are more likely to avoid research studies if they involve overnight-stay outside home (87.5%), performing physical exercise (72.2%) or smoking tobacco products in non-private room at the research center (68.8%). Finally, 31.3% of researchers disagreed that women in society of Jordan have the freedom to decide on research studies participation, and 47.2% of researcher respondents indicated that females must seek the consent of male relatives, such as father, husband, brother, or other family member upon her participation in research studies. In conclusion, researchers in Jordan are considerate to cultural and religious norms. Researchers who are unfamiliar with the norms of culture must consider barriers discussed in the current study to increase the participation rate of female in their research studies.