What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to explore the ethical implications of using incognito standardized patients to assess stigma in healthcare environments.

March 12, 2026Open Access

Incognito standardized patients for studying healthcare stigma: partial deception and other ethical challenges

SMSiyan MengRutgers, The State University of New Jersey YFYunqing FeiUniversity of Minnesota DLDanyang LuoEmory University

Key Points

The aim is to explore the ethical implications of using incognito standardized patients to assess stigma in healthcare environments.
Review traditional standardized patient methodologies
Introduce incognito visits as a new approach
Discuss potential harms and benefits of the new method
Identified various ethical challenges associated with partial deception
Discussed the balance between research benefits and potential harm to individuals
Highlighted the need for guidelines when using incognito methods in healthcare research

Abstract

This paper examines the ethical considerations of using the incognito clinic visits by standardized patients (SP) in order to measure enacted stigma in healthcare settings. It reviews traditional SP methods, introduces the new method, and discusses its potential harms and benefits.

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