Child Survival in Affluence and Poverty: Ethics and Fieldwork Experiences from Iceland and Guinea-Bissau

Abstract

In this article, the author discusses ethical approaches in qualitative research with reference to anthropological fieldwork on abnormal birth and child survival in Guinea-Bissau and Iceland. These two countries represent extremes in terms of access to advanced health care services and rates of child mortality. The author focuses on ethical dilemmas encountered in these two field settings as well as considerations related to presentation of findings. Despite differences in the separation between fieldwork and family life and whether the infants' chances of survival may be dependent on the researcher's involvement, similarities in fieldwork experience are remarkable.