Ethical Guidance for Research with Disabled People

The NDA adheres to the highest standards in relation to research ethics. We don’t have our own permanent research ethics committee but we do obtain ethical approval for all our relevant research through our academic partners, service providers or other channels.

The NDA has published revised ethical guidance for research with disabled people. The revised guidance takes into account new legislation such as the Health Research Regulations, the establishment of the Health Research Consent Declaration Committee and the commencement of the amended Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act.

People with disabilities who don’t have the capacity to explicitly consent should not be unfairly excluded from research. The revised guidance includes information and advice on the inclusion of people that do not have the capacity to provide explicit consent.

The original 2009 ethical guidance for research with adults with disabilities are also available to download. Researchers may also consult our 2005 guidelines for research with children with disabilities.