ABSTRACT
If asked a direct question on this point they changed the subject. Perhaps their way of
coping with potential daily danger was denial of the importance of the risks.
Reflecting further on this, how did I resolve the threats to myself? In a way, I denied
and avoided the issue by not having the injections and by subsequently avoiding the
more ‘dangerous’ areas of the laboratory. This did not compromise my work in this
setting because I had already completed the study of the laboratory benches when I
discovered my lack of medical precautions. If I had to enter this part of the laboratory
in the future I would have the necessary and recommended injections. So, should
researcher safety be more thoroughly investigated prior to fieldwork by grant holders
and research leaders? Although the answer to the question must be yes, the apparently
innocuous nature of a hospital research site, although illusory, led to the failure by both
the grant holders and myself to carry out any such prior investigation. In retrospect, it
is difficult to know how one would have dealt with this issue, because to draw too much
attention to it might have jeopardised entry to the research site. This would then have
possibly necessitated protracted negotiations for access to a new site, difficult to
accommodate once research is under way and time deadlines must be met.
