Ethical considerations in research with refugee populations in high-income countries: A systematic review and context-responsive framework

Research involving refugees and asylum seekers in high-income countries raises ethical challenges that standard procedural guidance may not fully address. This systematic review examined how the Belmont principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice are applied in this research. PsycINFO, Google Scholar, PubMed, JSTOR, and Scopus were searched for English-language publications from 2009 through August 2026. The original search, conducted in November 2024, identified 550 records and yielded seven eligible studies. An updated and broadened search in August 2026 contributed 153 additional unique records after removal of duplicates and records already identified in the original search; two further studies were included. The final synthesis comprised nine articles, including empirical or practice-based reports and one critical methodological analysis. Framework-guided narrative synthesis identified three interconnected themes: informed consent and substantive autonomy; participant well-being and the tension between protection and agency; and justice through participation, representation, and methodological accessibility. Reported responses included flexible consent, trauma-informed interviewing, culturally and linguistically responsive methods, participatory approaches, and researcher reflexivity. These findings informed a Context-Responsive Ethical Framework comprising relational consent, researcher reflexivity, participatory practice, and methodological responsiveness. The small, heterogeneous evidence base supports context-sensitive ethical practice rather than universally applicable prescriptions, emphasizing protection from harm alongside meaningful participant agency.