In trying to address the health care concerns of young people, researchers and health care professionals need to communicate with them in non-threatening and ethical manner. In this regard interpersonal communication skills with adolescents and young people is critical in early identification of health issues, provision of emotional support, effective illness management and health education. In order to understand barriers and facilitators in communication for better health care outcomes with adolescents Kim & White (2016) identified key aspects of interpersonal communication as:

• Addressing sensitive and intimate aspects of young clients’ lives;
• Developing trust and a sense of emotional safety for open and engaging communication;
• Creating a sense of inclusion

The primary goal of ethical communication is to avoid harm to others, whether it is direct emotional or physical harm or harm to the reputations of research participants. This station reminds researchers, research staff and health care providers that ethical communication is a medium through which respect for human dignity, integrity, privacy, and right to confidentiality are upheld.

Ethical issues to be communicated and upheld throughout research are:

• Any type of communication in relation to the research should be done with honesty and transparency.
• Any type of misleading information, as well as representation of primary data findings in a biased way must be avoided.
• Affiliations in any forms, sources of funding, as well as any possible conflicts of interests have to be communicated and declared. Research participants should not be subjected to harm in any ways whatsoever.
• Any deception or exaggeration about the aims and objectives of the research must be avoided.
• Respect for the dignity of research participants should be prioritised.
• Full consent should be obtained from the participants prior to the study (this may include assent from the adolescent participant and consent from their parent/legal guardian).
• The protection of the privacy of research participants has to be ensured.
• Adequate level of confidentiality of the research data should be ensured.
• Anonymity of individuals and organisations participating in the research has to be ensured.

Effective and ethical communication with adolescents and young people is characterised by:

• Active listening
• Clear, consistent messages
• Including them in decision-making.
• Being positive.