How to … Study Sensitive Topics

Health professions education inevitably exposes learners to socially, emotionally, and ethically sensitive experiences—ranging from academic struggle and mistreatment to emotionally charged clinical encounters. These moments, often occurring in hierarchical and high–pressure clinical settings, can profoundly shape learners' professional identities and well–being. As educators strive to create more humane learning environments, it becomes essential to critically examine how such sensitive topics are navigated, studied, and represented in research. This paper outlines a framework for conducting research on sensitive topics in health professions education. Drawing on examples from our own programmes of research, we explore methodological, ethical, and practical considerations across six stages of the research process: selecting a topic, study design, reflexivity, data collection, analysis, and dissemination.