Health Research Ethics Committees in South Africa 12 years into democracy.
Health Research Ethics Committees in South Africa 12 years into democracy.
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DOI：
10.1186/1472-6939-8-1
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发表时间：
2007-01-25
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Myer L
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Moodley K;Myer L
尽管在南非的生物医学研究的增长，有几个深入了解研究伦理委员会（RECs）在这种情况下的操作。我们调查的组成，业务和培训需求的卫生区域经济共同体在南非的国家和国际指导方针的背景下。使用半结构化问卷调查了南非12个主要的卫生区域经济共同体，调查了每个区域经济共同体的组成和职能以及委员会面临的业务问题。南澳大利亚州的保健区域经济委员会平均有16名成员，区域经济委员会成员主要是男性和白色人。总体而言，资源不足的区域经济共同体和资源充足的区域经济共同体之间的调查结果存在很大差异。大多数成员（56%）是科学家或临床医生，他们通常隶属于与卫生REC相同的机构。保健区域环境中心成员的培训需求差别很大。考虑到发展中国家在研究伦理方面存在的资源限制，南非大多数主要的卫生区域经济共同体组织得很好。然而，大多数地区选举委员会的性别、种族和职业多样性都不理想，而且大多数地区选举委员会的组成不符合南非的准则。区域经济共同体的业务和培训需求的变化反映了南非高等教育中种族隔离根深蒂固的影响。虽然现在有立法强制执行研究伦理审查制度的标准化，但没有规定资源或能力发展，特别是支持历史上处于不利地位的机构。使种族隔离的这一遗产永久存在是对公正和公平原则的违反。
Despite the growth of biomedical research in South Africa, there are few insights into the operation of Research Ethics Committees (RECs) in this setting. We investigated the composition, operations and training needs of health RECs in South Africa against the backdrop of national and international guidelines. The 12 major health RECs in South Africa were surveyed using semi-structured questionnaires that investigated the composition and functions of each REC as well as the operational issues facing committees. Health RECs in SA have an average of 16 members and REC members are predominantly male and white. Overall, there was a large discrepancy in findings between under-resourced RECs and well resourced RECs. The majority of members (56%) are scientists or clinicians who are typically affiliated to the same institution as the health REC. Community representatives account for only 8% of membership. Training needs for health REC members varied widely. Most major health RECs in South Africa are well organized given the resource constraints that exist in relation to research ethics in developing countries. However, the gender, racial and occupational diversity of most of these RECs is suboptimal, and most RECs are not constituted in accordance with South African guidelines. Variability in the operations and training needs of RECs is a reflection of apartheid-entrenched influences in tertiary education in SA. While legislation now exists to enforce standardization of research ethics review systems, no provision has been made for resources or capacity development, especially to support historically-disadvantaged institutions. Perpetuation of this legacy of apartheid represents a violation of the principles of justice and equity.