What is owed to the community before, during and following research: an ethical dialogue

The paper briefly outlines some of the ethical issues involved in community-based research particularly in developing countries. It focuses on informed consent, confidentially and the obligations to the community or its members who participate in the study. Most ethical guidelines are focused on the individual participants. Yet increasingly the community may be the unit of study. More attention will need to be directed towards developing guidelines for community-based research.