Membership and quorum requirements for ethics committee (EC)

[Guest guest]

Dear members,

What are the challenges before constituting an IEC?

1) Inviting qualified members to join the EC:

While qualified members would be better suited for ethical review of proposals, there are various challenges in inviting such people to join the EC:

a) Time and availability

They may be very busy persons, and time may be a premium for them. They may not be in a position to spare time for a long duration, and on specified dates for the meetings.

Place of residence

Travel to place of meeting – only locally available persons can attend the meeting, not out station. If they reside in another city, they would not be able to attend the meeting

2) Having a representative of the concerned community

While it is desirable to include a member from specific patient groups in the EC, this may be difficult in the case of a stigmatized health condition such as HIV/AIDS.

3) Familiarity with local customs for organizations not having CAB

Normally, a Community Advisory Board serves as a link between the researcher and the community, and enables the researcher to get a better understanding of the community in which the research is proposed. When the institution does not have a CAB, not all qualified members would be familiar with the local customs, and this could be a drawback. Hence, familiarity with local customs is essential, in organizations where there is no Community Advisory Board.

Dear members, waiting for some more reasons..

Regards

Dr. Chaitali