What are research ethics committees?

What are research ethics committees?

What are research ethics committees?

A research ethics committee is a group of people appointed to review research proposals to assess formally if the research is ethical. This means the research must conform to recognised ethical standards, which includes respecting the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of the people who take part.

What is the difference between an IRB and an ethics committee?

What is the difference between an IRB and IEC? Clinical trials conducted in the European Union are held accountable by Independent Ethics Committees (IECs). In the United States, Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) have oversight and must abide by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations.

What is non maleficence in research?

Non-maleficence means that researchers have an obligation not to inflict harm on their study participants. Harm is a contested concept. You can argue that the use of some research methods may cause minor discomfort or harm. For example taking a blood sample may cause temporary discomfort, pain or bruising.

What is an ethics committee and what are its roles and responsibilities?

Ethics committees, or similar institutional mechanisms, offer assistance in addressing ethical issues that arise in patient care and facilitate sound decision making that respects participants’ values, concerns, and interests.

What are the five ethics of research?

Five principles for research ethics

  • Discuss intellectual property frankly.
  • Be conscious of multiple roles.
  • Follow informed-consent rules.
  • Respect confidentiality and privacy.
  • Tap into ethics resources.

Who are the members of the Ethics Committee?

United States House Committee on Ethics

Standing committee
Chair Ted Deutch (D) Since January 5, 2019
Ranking member Jackie Walorski (R) Since January 12, 2021
Structure
Seats 10

What is the role of a research ethics committee IRB?

Institutional review boards (IRBs) or research ethics committees provide a core protection for human research participants through advance and periodic independent review of the ethical acceptability of proposals for human research.

What are examples of Nonmaleficence?

Non-Maleficence Example

  • The environment is unlikely to be sterile (as is that manky pen-knife) and so the risk of infection is extremely high.
  • The surgeon has no other clinical staff available or surgical equipment meaning that the chances of a successful operation are already lower than in normal circumstances.

What is beneficence and non-maleficence in research?

Beneficence states that the research must be something that will be helpful to people. Nonmaleficence requires that the research not purposely cause harm.

Why is Ethics Committee important in clinical research?

The basic responsibility of the Ethics Committee is to ensure an independent, competent and timely review of all ethical aspects of the project proposals received in order to safeguard the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of all actual or potential research participants.

Who is involved in an Ethics Committee?

The Ethics Committee is a multidisciplinary team composed of physicians, nurses, social workers, administrators, chaplains and other employees.

Should research ethics committees be paternalistic?

In this paper the authors argue that research ethics committees (RECs) should not be paternalistic by rejecting research that poses risk to people competent to decide for themselves.

Should RECs make paternalistic judgments?

More specifically, given the fact that the primary aim of a REC is to protect participants in clinical research, a willingness to make paternalistic judgments where it is appropriate to do so strengthens that authority.

What is the role of ethics committees in research?

Research ethics committees should concern themselves only with helping to ensure consent is genuine, and not with trying to stipulate what level of risk is reasonable or unreasonable. WHO ASSESSES WHICH RISKS ARE REASONABLE?

When does a Research Ethics Committee’s obligations end?

This means that a research ethics committee’s obligations might end, once they have required a researcher to include an accurate statement about risks in the patient information sheet. (Rather oddly, Edwards et al suggest that where the REC thinks the research is unnecessarily risky, a statement to this effect should also appear on the sheet.).