Category / Research Ethics

NIHR-CRN podcast – Research Ethics Committees

Clinical Governance, Guidance, NHS, Research communication, Research Ethics, research integrity, Research news

The latest podcast from the National Institute for Health Research is available and this time concentrates on Research Ethics Committees.

All research with human participants should have appropriate ethical reflection – the podcast this month contains the thoughts and guidance of Dr Hugh Davies who is an established Research Ethics Committee Chair and former Ethics Advisor for the Health Research Authority.

If you are interested in learning more about NHS Research Ethics Committees you can view the dedicated section on the HRA website here, and even register your interest to sit as an observer at a committee meeting.

Happy listening!

Training opportunity – completing and submitting your IRAS application

BU research, Clinical Governance, data management, NHS, Research Ethics, research integrity, Research Training, Training

Are you currently in the process of designing, setting up or planning your research study, and would like to extend your project into the NHS?

Yes? Then you may want to take advantage of this training opportunity.

Oliver Hopper (Research & Development Coordinator, Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital) and Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor, RDS)  will be running a training session on how to use, and complete your own application within the IRAS system.

IRAS (Integrated Research Application System) is the system used to gain approvals from the NHS Research Ethics Committee and Health Research Authority, before rolling out your study to NHS Trusts. To support this, the session will include the background to research ethics and the approvals required for NHS research.

The session will also be interactive, and so as participants, you will have the opportunity to go through the form itself and complete the sections, with guidance on what the reviewers are expecting to see in your answers, and tips on how to best use the system.

The training will take place in Studland House – Lansdowne Campus, room 103 Tuesday 20th August at 09:30am – 12:30pm.

Get in touch with Research Ethics if you would like to register your interest and book a place.

New page on the Clinical Governance Blog – Public Involvement in Research

BU research, Clinical Governance, Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics, research integrity, Research news

Involving the public in your study is important, especially at the research design stage, this is known as ‘Public Involvement’ or ‘Patient & Public Involvement’ (PPI). This involvement can greatly improve the quality of your study design and documentation.

To better support researchers with this process (in particular for the purposes of clinical research), there is now a dedicated space for guidance, resources and wider reading, on the Clinical Governance blog space.

You can find the page here – as always if there are any specific queries, please get in touch with Research Ethics.

Good Clinical Practice refresher – Wednesday 14th August 2019

BU research, Clinical Governance, data management, NHS, Research Ethics, Research Training, Training

Are you currently undertaking research within the NHS, and your Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is due to expire? Or has it expired recently?

GCP certification lasts for two years, so if your training is due to expire, has expired, or you want to validate your learning, then take advantage of the upcoming refresher half day session, taking place at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester on Wednesday 14th August, 9am – 12:30pm.

Spaces are still remaining, so if you’d like to enrol, get in touch with Research Ethics.

Health Research Authority #MakeItPublic Campaign – internal survey

BU research, Clinical Governance, data management, NHS, open access, Research Ethics, research integrity, Research news

You will hopefully have seen numerous blog posts regarding the Health Research Authority’s (HRA) commitment to research transparency. This was prompted in response to the  House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report last year on clinical trials transparency, which showed that nearly half of clinical trials fail to publish their results. In their report, the committee made a number of recommendations to the Health Research Authority in order to rectify the situation.

The HRA have recently launched a consultation on their new draft strategy for research transparency – #MakeItPublic. You can find out more about the campaign here on their website where there are also pages outlining their plans and visions for this area of improvement.

If you would like to have your say and be a part of the consultation, BU has an internal survey you can complete. The survey will close on Friday 16th August and replies will be combined to create an institutional response.

Training opportunity – completing and submitting your IRAS application

BU research, Clinical Governance, data management, NHS, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, Research Training, Training

Are you currently in the process of designing, setting up or planning your research study, and would like to extend your project into the NHS?

Yes? Then you may want to take advantage of this training opportunity.

Oliver Hopper (Research & Development Coordinator, Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital) and Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor, RDS)  will be running a training session on how to use, and complete your own application within the IRAS system.

IRAS (Integrated Research Application System) is the system used to gain approvals from the NHS Research Ethics Committee and Health Research Authority, before rolling out your study to NHS Trusts. To support this, the session will include the background to research ethics and the approvals required for NHS research.

The session will also be interactive, and so as participants, you will have the opportunity to go through the form itself and complete the sections, with guidance on what the reviewers are expecting to see in your answers, and tips on how to best use the system.

The training will take place in Studland House – Lansdowne Campus, room 103 Tuesday 20th August at 09:30am – 12:30pm.

Get in touch with Research Ethics if you would like to register your interest and book a place.

Good Clinical Practice refresher – Wednesday 14th August 2019

BU research, Clinical Governance, data management, NHS, Research Ethics, Research Training, Training

Are you currently undertaking research within the NHS, and your Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is due to expire? Or has it expired recently?

GCP certification lasts for two years, so if your training is due to expire, has expired, or you want to validate your learning, then take advantage of the upcoming refresher half day session, taking place at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester on Wednesday 14th August, 9am – 12:30pm.

Spaces are still remaining, so if you’d like to enrol, get in touch with Research Ethics.

Good Clinical Practice refresher – Wednesday 14th August 2019

BU research, Clinical Governance, data management, NHS, Research Ethics, Research Training, Training

Are you currently undertaking research within the NHS, and your Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is due to expire? Or has it expired recently?

GCP certification lasts for two years, so if your training is due to expire, has expired, or you want to validate your learning, then take advantage of the upcoming refresher half day session, taking place at Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester on Wednesday 14th August, 9am – 12:30pm.

Spaces are still remaining, so if you’d like to enrol, get in touch with Research Ethics.

Reminder: Research Ethics Panel meetings in August

BU research, PG research, Research Ethics

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

There are NO Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as above minimal risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research ethics blog.

There are two central REPs:

Science, Technology & Health
Social Sciences & Humanities
Staff/PGR ‘above minimal risk’ projects are reviewed by full REP and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) are normally invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to Reviewer (Ethics champions) availability.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the Research Ethics Blog.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Reminder: Research Ethics Panel meetings in August

BU research, PG research, Research Ethics

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

There are no Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as above minimal risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research ethics blog.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff/PGR ‘above minimal risk’ projects are reviewed by full REP and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) are normally invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to Reviewer (Ethics champions) availability.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the Research Ethics Blog.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Health Research Authority #MakeItPublic Campaign

Clinical Governance, NHS, open access, Research Ethics, research integrity, Research news

You will hopefully have seen numerous blog posts regarding the Health Research Authority’s (HRA) commitment to research transparency. This was prompted in response to the  House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report last year on clinical trials transparency, which showed that nearly half of clinical trials fail to publish their results. In their report, the committee made a number of recommendations to the Health Research Authority in order to rectify the situation.

The HRA have recently launched a consultation on their new draft strategy for research transparency – #MakeItPublic. You can find out more about the campaign here on their website where there are also pages outlining their plans and visions for this area of improvement.

If you would like to have your say and be a part of the consultation, you can book onto one of their face-to-face workshops, or via their online survey.

Setting up clinical research – the ‘Organisation Information Document’

BU research, Clinical Governance, data management, NHS, Research Ethics, Research news

If you are currently conducting research within the NHS or Health & Social Care (HSC), then please bear in mind the following update if you wish/plan to add new NHS/HSC research sites to your study.

As of 5th June, the set-up procedure for clinical research projects involving NHS or HSC organisations changed (see blog post) –

  • If you applying for HRA/NHS REC approval you will be required to follow the new procedure using the Organisation Information Document (OID), as referenced in the above post;
  • If you are already conducting a study with HRA/NHS REC approval, in NHS/HSC organisations, and wish to involve new sites, then please be aware that the OID should be used, even if existing sites were set-up using the previous document, the Statement of Activities.

Further help and guidance

Guidance on the use of the new UK Local Information Pack has now been published in the Site Specific page of IRAS Help to help applicants with the change.

If you have any queries regarding any of the information provided above, information in the referenced blog post, or would like some guidance with regard to implementing your research in a healthcare setting – please get in touch with BU’s Research Ethics team.

You can also take a look at the Clinical Governance blog for documents, links and training opportunities.

Ethical Thinking and Decision-making in Practice

BU research, Events, Research Ethics, Research Training

Monday 17th June 09:30 – 16:30 Talbot Campus

An exciting day’s workshop for academics who are new or relatively new to research, who would like to enhance their understanding and confidence in the application of ethical considerations to their research activity.

The aims of the day are to:

  1. Increase your awareness of the need for ethics compliance in research
  2. Develop a good understanding of your responsibilities and when you may need further assistance
  3. Develop your skills in the following key areas, within the context of ethical research:
  • Planning and design
  • Gathering data and data analysis
  • Reporting, including presentation and dissemination
  • Consideration of ethical dilemmas, based on real-world examples and participants’ experience

More information and the link for bookings are on the staff intranet.

Dr. Helen Kara has been an independent research since 1999. She has a background of employment in the private, public, and voluntary sectors, and now undertakes commissioned research and evaluation, mainly for public and voluntary sector organisations and partnerships. Her research areas are social care, health, and the voluntary/third sector.

RKEDF events next week – spaces available

Events, Research communication, Research Ethics, Research Training, RKE development framework

 

There are spaces available at the following events next week:

Day Date Event and booking link Facilitator
Monday 17th June Ethical Decision making in Practice Dr Helen Kara
Tuesday 18th June Using Creative Research Methods Dr Helen Kara
Thursday 20th June Research Communication Day RDS & M&C

Please follow the links to find out more and to book. The workshops with Dr Helen Kara are now also open to PGRs, who do not need line manager approval to attend.

Book now so that appropriate catering can be arranged.

 

Workshop available – Ethical Thinking and Decision-making in Practice

BU research, data management, PG research, Research Ethics, research integrity, Research Training, Training

Are you new or relatively new to research? Are you interested in attending a workshop that will allow you to improve your understanding and confidence in the application of ethical considerations to your research activity? Then take advantage of the following opportunity!

Dr Helen Kara will be delivering a one-day workshop on Monday 17th June, 09:30 – 16:30 on Talbot Campus, entitled Ethical Thinking and Decision-making in Practice.

The aims & objectives of this sessions are to:

  • To increase their awareness of the need for ethics compliance in research and, by the end of the workshop, be aware of their responsibilities and when to seek further assistance
  • To develop their skills in the following key areas, within the context of ethical research:
    a. Planning and design
    b. Gathering data and data analysis
    c. Reporting, including presentation and dissemination
    d. Consideration of ethical dilemmas, based on real-world examples and participants’ experience

If you want to book onto this workshop and take advantage of this great opportunity, then please see the following page for instructions.
If you are a PGR, please email Organisation Development to book your place.

Setting up NHS / HSC research in the UK– changes from TODAY

BU research, Clinical Governance, data management, Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics, research integrity, Research news

The new ‘UK Local Information Pack‘  has been introduced today, 5th June to support the set-up of NHS / HSC research in the UK.

The ‘UK Local Information Pack’ is the set of documents that NHS / HSC organisations use to formally start preparing to deliver the study. You can find more information here, including what comprises the pack. All researchers wishing to set-up their study at an NHS/HSC site from today, 5th June, need to be aware of this change.

The Organisation Information Document

Researchers and research teams may be aware of a document called the ‘Statement of Activities’ – this is essentially a document that allows the sponsor to make clear to the research site, what activities will be undertaken locally. The document can also act as the agreement between the sponsor and site.

From today the Statement of Activities has been replaced by a document called the ‘Organisation Information Document‘. For non-commercially sponsored studies, that are not clinical trials or clinical investigations, the ‘Organisation Information Document’ should be used as the agreement between sponsor and participating NHS / HSC organisation.

A new delegation log template

Another feature of the new UK Local Information Pack is the inclusion of a delegation log template, which is intended to be used at participating NHS / HSC organisations. This will allow NHS/HSC organisations to locally record who will be working on the study and who is authorised to undertake study tasks. The delegation log can be found here and should be used for studies submitted for approvals from today.

Schedule of Events or Schedule and Events Cost Attribution Tool (SoECAT)

For non-commercially sponsored studies studies an IRAS Schedule of Events or a SoECAT will be a part of the IRAS Form submission and is used in the UK Local Information Pack as a way of providing clarity to participating NHS / HSC organisations on the cost attributions associated with a study.

Further help and guidance

Guidance on the use of the new UK Local Information Pack has now been published in the Site Specific page of IRAS Help to help applicants get ready for the change.

If you are making an IRAS Form submission or planning to set up research in an NHS / HSC organisation from today, 5th June 2019 please read the transition guidance so that you prepare the correct materials.

If you have any queries regarding any of the information provided above, or would like some guidance with regard to implementing your research in a healthcare setting – please get in touch with BU’s Research Ethics team.

You can also take a look at the Clinical Governance blog for documents, links and training opportunities.

Reminder: Research Ethics Panel meetings in August

BU research, PG research, Research Ethics

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

There are no Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in June and July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as above minimal risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research ethics blog.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff/PGR ‘above minimal risk’ projects are reviewed by full REP and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) are normally invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to Reviewer (Ethics champions) availability.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the Research Ethics Blog.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.