Establishing Training Programs for Research Ethics Committees

Abstract

Over the last few years there has been an increase in research activity, including clinical trials, in many of the countries in the Arab region (Ahmad 2003). Such activity warrants a corresponding increase in the establishment of Research Ethics Committees (RECs) to ensure that the ethical aspects of research comply with international standards. There have been concerns, however, regarding the lack of regulatory and oversight mechanisms for RECs in low and middle income countries, including many countries in the Arab region (Ahmad 2003; Bhutta 2002; Hyder et al. 2004), as many of these RECs continue to face challenges in their capacity to review research. One challenge emanates from members with insufficient training. In a recent survey involving 15 research ethics committees in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Abou-Zeid and colleagues found that only 25% of the members and 20% of the chairs of the RECs received training in research ethics (Abou-Zeid et al. 2009). Other studies involving RECs in Egypt revealed that among the main barriers to effective REC functioning included insufficient member training and lack of continuing education in research ethics (Matar and Silverman 2013; Sleem et al. 2010).