A survey of five first-level hospital ethics committees in Urumqi,China

This paper presents the results from a survey of first-level hospitals in Urumqi,China.The survey had two parts:the first part was aimed at understanding the operation of the ethics committees of first-level hospitals,including the process for electing members and the variety of members' backgrounds.Information was also gathered about the establishment of criteria,operational rules and regulations,and standard operational procedures.The aim of the second part was to investigate the level of understanding among technicians and doctors about the function of the ethics committees.This paper identifies and analyzes some deficiencies found in the operation of hospital ethics committees,offers some constructive suggestions for improvement,and promotes the role of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region hospital ethics committees.

Institutional Review Board Compliance with National Regulatory Body: A Successful Experience from Saudi Arabia

Background: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Research Ethics Committees (RECs) is established to review the research proposals and ensure that participants’ ethical standards, scientific merit, and human rights are protected. Purpose: The authors report the experience of the REC at Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia over 10 years period. Methods: All proposals submitted to Qassim REC during the period 2008-2017 were studied using a 30 items data collection form based on The National Committee of Bioethics Regulations. Data extracted included;principal investigator characteristics, numbers of proposals reviewed, applications completeness, approval decision status, reported ethical issues, classification of the ethical review, and committee review duration. The structure, workload, and review process of Qassim REC were addressed redundant. Results: During 10 years, Qassim Research Ethics Committee (QREC) witnessed a progressive increase in the number of submitted proposals, from 9 to 149 proposals. Out of 508 submitted applications, 439 (86.4%) proposals were eligible for ethical review. Of these, 50 (11.4%) proposals were incomplete due to nonresponse of the principal investigators to the QREC comments. The final decision was made for 389 (88.6%) completed proposals. The approval rate was 85.4%, while the rejection rate was only 1.1%. The median time taken for ethical review was 13 days. Proposals that underwent full board review had a long review duration (Median: 19 days) in comparison to the expedited review (Median: 10 days). Incomplete Committee requirements, unclear research methodology, or possible ethical violation opportunities were the main reasons for delayed decisions. Conclusion: The workload of the Qassim ethics committee is high and growing progressively. However, the process indicators as per National Bioethics Committee rules were satisfactory. Rejection of proposals was rare as most of the reviewed proposals were descriptive studies with infrequent ethical matters.

Purpose, Composition and Function of the Research Ethical Committee in the Sarah Rehabilitation’s Hospital

Introduction: The Research Ethical Committee (REC) is responsible for the ethical evaluation of the projects presented by the scientific community to inform and train the members and researchers. Objective: To describe the purpose, composition and function of the REC of the Association of Social Pioneers (APS) located in the Sarah Rehabilitation’s Hospital (Brasilia, Brazil). Methodology: Descriptive analysis of the REC/APS based on 2013’s collected data was done. Results: The REC/APS is an independent collegiate body, which was established in 1998 in accordance with Brazilian regulation. The main objective is promoting the application of ethical principles and human rights in research involving humans. The REC was composed by chairperson and a substitute;secretary, fourteen regular members and five substitutes. We analyzed 164 projects submitted. The minimum time to a committee member who came up with the first opinion has been estimated as 14 days and the insurance of the consolidation occurred in 30 days. We approved 64 projects, of which 25 had pendencies in the first analysis, one project failed and 99 were excluded. The main problems were related to the writing of informed consent and the multicenter projects that did not include aspects such as costs, schedule and methodological limitations. We observed that the researcher could provide assistance. We considered the important role of the REC/APS to ensure trust between researchers and participants in the research. Conclusion: Despite the purpose, composition and function of the APS research ethical committee, there were encountered many obstacles in its formation, considering monitoring the progress of the research, national normative, international researches and others. The ethical committee does a vital public service with the variety of the specialized views on the meeting. We need to strike a balance and we must weigh up risks and benefits related to knowledge, in its essence, to research’s participant and its relevant social participation.

Chinese Ethics Review System and Chinese Medicine Ethical Review:Past,Present,and Future

The Chinese medical ethics committee and the ethical review system have made the following achievements： （1） enabled the institutionalization of medical ethics, （2） carried out the ethics review of Chinese medicine （CM） and integrative medicine extensively, （3） trained a large number of ethical professionals, （4） supported and protected the interests of patients and subjects, and （5） ensured the correct direction of biological research and provided ethical defense for the publication of its results. However, at the same time, they are also faced with some new problems and difficulties that need to be resolved in the following ways： （1） to refine the relevant rules of ethical review, （2） to develop the relevant standards of the CM and integrative medicine ethical review, （3） to enhance the independence and authority of ethics committee, （4） to emphasize innovation and to discover and solve new problems, and （5） to increase international exchanges and improve relevant research.

WTO World Committee on Tourism Ethics holds first meeting

The World Committee on Tourism Ethics held its first meeting in Rome last week by kind invitation of the Italian Government, and elected its Chairman, Mr. Diego Cordovez. The session was considered to be "a milestone for implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism".As a long-standing WTO Associate Member, IH&RA has now been elected to sit on