Safety and Health
Personal health and safety may be a considerable risk
in some international settings. Data collection may
need to occur in low-ventilation and crowded wards in
which the risk of contracting TB is increased. Exposure
to chemotherapy agents or a needlestick may be a real
danger because of limited personal protective
equipment (PPE) and unsafe handling of biohazards. In
some settings, it may be necessary for the researcher to
bring his or her own PPE, such as masks, gloves, and
hand sanitizer. Situations in which recommended PPE
is limited or absent can create ethical dilemmas, such
as when the researcher has a face mask to wear but
other staff do not. For example, S. I. was often the only
health care professional who wore a face mask when
talking with newly diagnosed TB patients because
N95 face masks were not always available for staff
and basic face masks were inconsistently put on