The sound of ‘silence’: a framework for researching sensitive issues or marginalised perspectives in health

This paper arises from the conceptual framework underpinning a research study focusing on black Caribbean men’s sexual decisions and health behaviour. In investigating these issues the notion of ‘screaming silences’ was developed to unite the theoretical and philosophical approaches that underpinned the research, the experiences of the researcher and participants involved. While ‘screaming silences’ was initially applied to a sexual health and ethnicity context it provides a useful basis for a theoretical framework for researching sensitive issues or the health care needs of marginalised populations. ‘Screaming silences’ (or ‘silences’) define areas of research and experience which are little researched, understood or silenced. ‘Silences’ reflect the unsaid or unshared aspects of how beliefs, values and experiences of (or about) some groups affect their health and life chances. They exposed issues which shape, influence and inform both individual and group understandings of health and health behaviour. This paper presents the notion of ‘screaming silences’ with reference to the original study and maps out a four-stage framework for its utilisation in ethnicities based and sensitive research. It is presented here for use by other researchers as a vehicle for exposing additional perspectives in studies involving sensitive subjects or marginalised populations.