Participate in the ITM Prioritization Exercise of Ethical Principles for Climate Change and Health Research

ITM researchers are inviting you to an online prioritization exercise around ethical practices in climate change and health research. 

Do you have experience with conducting research / reviewing research protocols on climate change and health among vulnerable and marginalized populations in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries?  Then please take a moment to complete the survey. Your insights will be very valuable and help to shape a compendium of recommended ethical practices, developed with input from climate-health researchers, ethics committee members, and communities most affected by climate impacts.

To help you decide whether to participate in this study, please take the time to understand the information provided below and contact the researchers if anything is unclear.

Why is this study being done?

As global temperatures rise and extreme weather events become more frequent, the health impacts of climate change are becoming alarmingly clear, with the most severe impacts falling disproportionately on vulnerable and marginalized populations. Research in climate and health is essential to develop effective mitigation and adaptation strategies, but it also raises complex ethical challenges such as risk communication, equity in benefits and trade-offs, differing risk perceptions, and the representation, power, and justice in shaping research agenda. Navigating these challenges, prioritizing research topics, and ensuring equity are crucial for addressing climate-related health issues. As climate-health research grows more complex, maintaining research integrity and ethical frameworks remains essential, especially when engaging with or impacting communities already affected by climate change.

Who is conducting this study?

This study is conducted by researchers at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, funded by ITM's FA5 EcoHub Thematic Global Health Network on Climate Change, Urbanization and Health. This study has received ethics clearance from the Institutional Review Board of the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp.

What will I do in this study?
There were already two (2) rounds of online survey in which experts rated statements about ethical practices in climate change and health research and answer a few questions based on their experience. In this round, we ask you to prioritize statements that were highlighted as key in the previous two rounds. This will allow us to reach a practical consensus on ethical priorities for cimate change and health research.

All responses will be analyzed anonymously and summarized. This survey will stay open for one (1) month and should take about 15 minutes to complete.

Note that you can participate in this survey even if you did not participate in the two previous surveys.

You can access the survey here:

👉 https://ee-eu.kobotoolbox.org/single/9680ed5b592274e2ad97667eb4d52468

Deadline to complete the survey: 10 October 2026.