Inconsistencies and time delays in site-specific research approvals hinder collaborative clinical research in Australia.
Intern Med J
; 46(9): 1023-9, 2016 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27396473
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIM:
The aim of this study was to describe the time and documentation needed to gain ethics and governance approvals in Australian states with and without a centralised ethical review system.METHODS:
This is a prospective descriptive study undertaken between February 2012 and March 2015. Paediatric and adult hospitals (n = 67) in Australian states were approached to allow the review of their medical records. Participants included 15- to 24-year-olds diagnosed with cancer between 2008 and 2012. The main outcomes measures were time (weeks) to approval for ethics and governance and the number and type of documents submitted.RESULTS:
Centralised ethics approval processes were used in five states, with approval taking between 2 and 18 weeks. One state did not use a centralised process, with ethics approval taking a median of 4.5 weeks (range 0-15) per site. In four states using a centralised ethics process, 33 governance applications were submitted, with 20 requiring a site clinician listed as an investigator. Governance applications required the submission of 11 documents on average, including a Site-Specific Assessment form. Thirty-two governance applications required original signatures from a median of 3.5 (range 1-10) non-research persons, which took a median of 5 weeks (range 0-15) to obtain. Governance approval took a median of 6 weeks (range 1-45). Twelve research study agreements were needed, each taking a median of 7.5 weeks (range 1-20) to finalise.CONCLUSION:
The benefits of centralised ethics review systems have not been realised due to duplicative, inflexible governance processes. A system that allowed the recognition of prior ethical approval and low-risk applications was more efficient than a central ethics and site-specific governance process.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Revisão Ética
/
Comitês de Ética em Pesquisa
/
Pesquisa Biomédica
/
Hospitais
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspecto:
Ethics
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Intern Med J
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA INTERNA
Ano de publicação:
2016
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Austrália