Capacity mapping of national ethics committee in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Capacity mapping of national ethics committee in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Abou-Zeid, Alaa
Afzal, Mohammad
Silverman, Henry J.

2009/00/00

English

20090000

Background: Ethics issues in the areas of science, technology and medicine have emerged during the last few decades. Many countries have responded by establishing ethics committees at the national level. Identification of National Ethics Committees (NECs) in the Eastern Mediterranean (EM) region and the extent of their functions and capacity would be helpful in developing capacity building programs that address the needs of these committees. Accordingly, we conducted a survey to determine the characteristics of existing NECs in the EM region. Methods: We developed a questionnaire to collect information on different aspects of NECs. The questionnaire was sent to the WHO country office in each of the 22 Member States in the EM region. We used descriptive statistics to analyze the data. Results: We obtained responses from 77% (17/22) of the EM countries

88% (15/17) of the countries stated they had NECs. Of these NECs, 40% (6/15) were involved in the ethics of science and technology, 73% (11/15) in medical ethics, and 93% (14/15) in medical research ethics; 10 NECs stated they reviewed research protocols. Of the respondent NECs, 25% (4/15) met at least on a monthly basis. Regarding training, 21% of the members from all of the NECs had received formal training in ethics; 53% (8/15) of the NECs had none of their members with formal training in ethics. Regarding support, 33% (5/15) received financial support and 60% (9/15) had administrative support. Conclusion:While many countries in the EM region report the existence of NECs, many meet infrequently, many have members without formal training in ethics, and many lack important financial and administrative resources. Further efforts should be directed towards capacity building programs that include ethics training and provision of important infrastructure resources for these committees.

2.4

2.4;21.1

advisory committees--[pri];ethics committees--[pri];international aspects--[pri];organization and administration--[pri]

Arab world;bioethical issues;committee membership;education;ethical review;evaluation studies;financial support;guidelines;human experimentation;Muslim world;questionnaires;research ethics committees;statistics;survey

Mediterranean Region--[pri]

Afghanistan;Bahrain;Djibouti;Egypt;Iran;Iraq;Jordan;Kuwait;Lebanon;Libya;Morocco;Oman;Pakistan;Palestine;Qatar;Saudi Arabia;Somalia;Sudan;Syria;Tunisia;United Arab Emirates;Yemen

BMC Medical Ethics 2009; 10: 8: 7 p.

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ja

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