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AlFattani A, AlBedah N, AlShahrani A, Alkawi A, AlMeharish A, Altwaijri Y, Omar A, AlKawi MZ, Khogeer A. Institutional review boards in Saudi Arabia: the first survey-based report on their functions and operations. BMC Med Ethics 2023; 24:50. [PMID: 37430255 DOI: 10.1186/s12910-023-00928-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Institutional review boards (IRBs) are formally designated to review, approve, and monitor biomedical research. They are responsible for ensuring that researchers comply with the ethical guidelines concerning human research participants. Given that IRBs might face different obstacles that cause delays in their processes or conflicts with investigators, this study aims to report the functions, roles, resources, and review process of IRBs in Saudi Arabia. METHOD This was a cross-sectional self-reported survey conducted from March 2021 to March 2022. The survey was sent to 53 IRB chairpersons and the administration directors (or secretary) across the country through email after receiving verbal consent. The validated survey consisted of eight aspects: (a) organizational aspects, (b) membership and educational training, (c) submission arrangements and materials, (d) minutes, (e) review procedures, (f) communicating a decision, (g) continuing review, and (h) research ethics committee (REC) resources. A total of 200 points indicated optimal IRB functions. RESULTS Twenty-six IRBs across Saudi Arabia responded to the survey. Overall, the IRBs in this study scored a total of 150/200 of the points on the self-assessment tool. Relatively newer IRBs (established less than ten years ago) conducted meetings at least once in a month, had annual funding, had more balanced gender representation, tended to score higher than older IRBs. The organizational aspect score was the lowest among all items in the survey (14.3 score difference, p-value < 0.01). The average turnaround time for expedited research from proposal submission to final decision was 7 days, while it was 20.5 days for the full committee review. CONCLUSION Saudi IRBs performed generally well. However, there is room for focused improvement with respect to extra resources and organizational issues that require closer evaluation and guidance from the regulatory bodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Areej AlFattani
- Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Scientific computing Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Norah AlBedah
- Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Scientific computing Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Asma AlShahrani
- Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Scientific computing Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ammar Alkawi
- Neuroscience center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Amani AlMeharish
- Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Scientific computing Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Yasmin Altwaijri
- Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Scientific computing Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abeer Omar
- Office of Research Affairs, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - M Zuheir AlKawi
- Research ethics monitoring office, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Asim Khogeer
- Research Department, The Strategic Planning Administration, General Directorate of Health Affairs Of Makkah Region, Ministry of Health, Makkah, 24382, Saudi Arabia
- Medical Genetics Unit, Maternity & Children Hospital, Makkah Healthcare Cluster, Ministry of Health, Makkah, 24382, Saudi Arabia
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Mariani J, Garau L, Ferrero F, Vukotich C, Roitman AJ, Serrano CM, Perelis L, Domínguez AG, González Villa Monte G. Assessment of an electronic system for research ethics committees document management: An observational study. Account Res 2023; 30:21-33. [PMID: 34314277 DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2021.1960515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Since 1 January 2020, the Central Research Ethics Committee of the Health Ministry implemented PRIISA.BA, an in-house developed electronic system for online submission of health research applications to the 63 public and private research ethics committees (RECs) of Buenos Aires City, Argentina. This study though to compare the times to first review and the time to approval among applications submitted prior to PRIISA.BA and thereafter, across public RECs. All public RECs of the city were invited to participate. Overall, 453 applications from 10 RECs (242 pre- and 211 post-PRIISA.BA) were available for the analyses. There was a decrease in the time to first review and an increase in the time to approval after PRIISA.BA implementation. The increase in time to approval was transient and limited to the first three months. The results were consistent with analyses limited to non-COVID applications. Our results show an increase in the times to approval after the implementation of an electronic system for online submission of health research applications that, although transient, was significant. These data could be relevant to other RECs implementing this technology since it emphasizes the need of monitoring potential unnecessary delays in reviews during the critical initial period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Mariani
- Coronary Unit Coordinator, Hospital De Alta Complejidad En Red "El Cruce", Florencio Varela (1888), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Laura Garau
- Comité Central De Ética En Investigación, Ministerio De Salud Del Gobierno De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Consejo De Investigación En Salud, Ministerio De Salud Del Gobierno De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Fernando Ferrero
- Departamento De Medicina, Hospital General De Niños "Dr Pedro De Elizalde", Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Claudia Vukotich
- Comité Central De Ética En Investigación, Ministerio De Salud Del Gobierno De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Instituto De Ciencias Para La Familia, Universidad Austral, Pilar (1629), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Adriel J Roitman
- Comité Central De Ética En Investigación, Ministerio De Salud Del Gobierno De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Comité De Ética En Investigación, Clínica Y Maternidad Suizo Argentina, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Comité De Ética En Investigación Clínica Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Comité De Ética En Investigación De La Dirección De Investigación Para La Salud, Ministerio De Salud De La Nación, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Cecilia M Serrano
- Comité Central De Ética En Investigación, Ministerio De Salud Del Gobierno De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Hospital "Dr Abel Zubizarreta", Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Carrera Interdisciplinaria De Especialización En Neuropsicología Clínica, Facultad De Psicología, Universidad De Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Neurología Cognitiva Y Neuropsicología, Hospital "Dr Cesar Milstein", Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Leonardo Perelis
- Comité De Ética En Investigación, Hospital General De Agudos "Dr José María Ramos Mejía", Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Comité Central De Ética En Investigación, Ministerio De Salud Del Gobierno De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Adriana G Domínguez
- Comité De Ética En Investigación De La Dirección De Investigación Para La Salud, Ministerio De Salud De La Nación, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Comité De Ética En Investigación Del Hospital General De Agudos "Dr Abel Zubizarreta", Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Diplomatura De Ética En Investigación, Universidad Isalud, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gabriel González Villa Monte
- Comité Central De Ética En Investigación, Ministerio De Salud Del Gobierno De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina. Dirección General De Docencia, Investigación Y Desarrollo Profesional, Ministerio De Salud Del Gobierno De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Mudaranthakam DP, Pepper S, Alsup A, Lin T, Streeter N, Thompson J, Gajewski B, Mayo MS, Khan Q. Bolstering the complex study start-up process at NCI cancer centers using technology. Contemp Clin Trials Commun 2022; 30:101050. [PMID: 36506825 PMCID: PMC9727641 DOI: 10.1016/j.conctc.2022.101050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The study startup process for interventional clinical trials is a complex process that involves the efforts of many different teams. Each team is responsible for their startup checklist in which they verify that the necessary tasks are done before a study can move on to the next team. This regulatory process provides quality assurance and is vital for ensuring patient safety [10]. However, without having this startup process centralized and optimized, study approval can take longer than necessary as time is lost when it passes through many different hands. Objective This manuscript highlights the process and the systems that were developed at The University of Kansas Comprehensive Cancer Center regarding the study startup process. To facilitate this process the regulatory management, site development, cancer center administration, and the Biostatistics & Informatics Shared Resources (BISR) teams came together to build a platform aimed at streamlining the startup process and providing a transparent view of where a study is in the startup process. Process Ensuring the guidelines are clearly articulated for the review criteria of each of the three review boards, i.e., Disease Working Group (DWG), Executive Resourcing Committee (ERC), and Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee (PRMC) along with a system that can track every step and its history throughout the review process. Results Well-defined processes and tracking methodologies have allowed the operations teams to track each study closely and ensure the 90-day and 120-day deadlines are met, this allows the operational team to dynamically prioritize their work daily. It also provides Principal investigators a transparent view of where their study stands within the study startup process and allows them to prepare for the next steps accordingly. Conclusion/future work The current process and technology deployment has been a significant improvement to expedite the review process and minimize study startup delays. There are still a few opportunities to fine-tune the study startup process; an example of which includes automatically informing the operational managers or the study teams to act upon deadlines regarding study review rather than the current manual communication process which involves them looking it up in the system which can add delays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinesh Pal Mudaranthakam
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Mail Stop 1026, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA,The University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA,Corresponding author. Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA.
| | - Sam Pepper
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Mail Stop 1026, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA,The University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA
| | - Alexander Alsup
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Mail Stop 1026, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA,The University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA
| | - Tara Lin
- The University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA
| | - Natalie Streeter
- The University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA
| | - Jeffrey Thompson
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Mail Stop 1026, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA,The University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA
| | - Byron Gajewski
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Mail Stop 1026, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA,The University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA
| | - Matthew S. Mayo
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Mail Stop 1026, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA,The University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA
| | - Qamar Khan
- The University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA
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