Mapping utility and applicability of research and ethics frameworks for displaced populations

Displaced communities face risks to quality of life and health, such as poverty, crowded living conditions, exposure to environmental contaminants, and poor access to healthcare, highlighting areas for research on the challenges they endure. However, these communities are routinely subject to extractive research practices with little regard to local participation or sustainability. To facilitate better research, there is a need for tools and frameworks that enable more effective, ethical and equitable research. In this paper, we synthesise and compare eleven research guidelines and frameworks addressing research conducted in displaced and vulnerable populations with the goal of assessing utility and applicability of frameworks for displaced populations. Overall, we found that the level of detail varied between documents, and that while many frameworks were based on expert discussion, few were co-created with community input. Additionally, the frameworks often failed to address nuances between different displaced populations in key aspects of ethics and research. Moreover, in practice, the frameworks were not widely utilised for research in settings of forced displacement. Based on our analyses, we identify recommendations to improve current and future frameworks, including adding context and community feedback, increasing flexibility and adaptability in research practices, and generating strategies to promote framework uptake.