Using The Case-Study Methodology to Teach Ethics to Public Health Students

This article uses the case-study methodology as a strategy to facilitate examination of ethical principles that underlie developmental risk research carried out among adolescents. Description of the ethical dilemmas that arose during the implementation of a longitudinal randomized controlled trial is presented along with discussion guidelines. As youth were being enrolled and the trial was being conducted, it was noted that a small but significant number had responded "yes" to a question on suicidal ideation. After review by the Institutional Review Boards overseeing the trial, it was decided that confidentiality had to be breached. A revised protocol was implemented explicitly stating that confidentiality would be broken if a youth reported suicidal ideation. The number of youth reporting suicidal ideation after the consent form was amended decreased significantly. Presentation of this research by use of the case-study method sensitizes students to issues that arise at the intersection of disease prevention and health promotion intervention research.