2.4. Human Protection and Ethical Considerations

The protection of human subjects was the most important item for this study due to the nature of sexual health, sexual history, and other sensitive information sharing. The researcher made every effort to protect the participants’ (i.e., health and social care professionals and youths) identities. Therefore, in order to protect the identities and encourage all participants for sharing, the researcher assigned each participant by their role (e.g., Health and social care professionals #1; Youth #1). All subjects gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study.

The unsigned and signed consent forms and agreements, contact information, audio recording, transcripts, computer, and related materials were locked in a password-protected cabinet. Only the researcher has the rights to read the information. After the completion of the study, the related materials were destroyed and deleted due to the reasons for privacy.

All subjects gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and the protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Social Welfare Team (2019/Summer-Fall/01). The study was supported by Woosong University Academic Research department.