Additional safeguards that may be included in a social and behavioral study often focus on protecting the rights, safety, and confidentiality of participants. Common examples include:
- Requiring a legally authorized representative to provide signed consent for subjects who are incapacitated and cannot provide informed consent themselves.
- Removing all direct identifiers from collected data as soon as possible to ensure privacy and confidentiality through anonymization or pseudonymization.
- Requiring pregnancy tests before administering potentially harmful study drugs to protect unborn children, although this is more relevant for drug studies.
- Frequent monitoring of subjects' health, such as through ECG, after administration of study drugs, especially if the drug could affect cardiovascular functions; this is more applicable to medical studies.
Additional safeguards in social and behavioral studies can also include providing clear and comprehensive informed consent forms, regular review of study protocols, adequate training of the study team, and establishing data monitoring committees to oversee participant safety and study integrity. These measures aim to reduce risks such as psychological distress, breaches of confidentiality, and to protect vulnerable populations, ensuring the ethical conduct of research.