Ethical considerations
Written permission for doing the research with students as
respondents was obtained from the current leaders at the university
college. Participation was voluntary. Oral information and the option
to withdraw from the data collection were given to the respondents
when the questionnaires were handed out to them. Participation was
regarded as informed consent. Data were treated with confidentiality,
and the same ethical principles that guide clinical research were applied, i.e. the principle of respect for autonomy and the principles of
nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice (Beauchamp and Childress,
2009), as well as the intentions of the Declaration of Helsinki (WMA,
2008). Since no health information was requested from the informants,
no formal approval from the Regional committee for
research ethics was necessary.