Research Ethics Training Programs Research Articles

Knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported practices regarding plagiarism among health researchers in Egypt and Lebanon: a multicenter questionnaire study

To enhance efforts against plagiarism, a deeper understanding of its various aspects is essential. This cross-sectional questionnaire study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, and self-reported plagiarism practices among health researchers in Egypt and Lebanon. A validated questionnaire was distributed to postgraduate students and faculty members across 15 universities through personal emails and health researcher-specific social media platforms. Out of 283 respondents, the mean knowledge score was 14.8 ± 3.7 out of a possible 27.0, indicating moderate knowledge of plagiarism. Attitudes toward plagiarism were moderately permissive, with an average score of 62.2 ± 10.9, out of a maximum of 90.0. Subjective norms received a moderate score of 33.6 ± 6.7, where a favorable score should be low (10–23) suggesting that participants perceive society as disapproving of plagiarism and believe its prevalence is low. The mean self-reported Plagiarism Severity Score (PSS) was 4.1 ± 3.6, reflecting a low level of self-reported plagiarism, with a maximum possible score of 18. Multivariable analysis revealed a negative correlation between subjective norms and the PSS (β = −0.194, CI [−0.196: −0.010]). This finding is counterintuitive, as one would typically expect that a lower subjective norms score (indicating stronger disapproval of plagiarism), would correlate with fewer acts of plagiarism. One possible explanation for this result is the presence of negative perceptions of organizational justice—such as feelings of being unfairly treated—which might lead to higher rates of self-reported research misconduct. We recommend that universities in the Arab Middle East region develop research ethics training programs that include responsible conduct in research. However, it is essential for academic leaders to assess and address the research integrity climate within their institutions, as organizational injustice could undermine the effectiveness of these educational efforts.

Awareness and Perception About Research Ethics and Misconduct Among the Teaching Staff of Health Colleges, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia.

Despite adopting biomedical research ethics rules, regulations, and statements, unethical behavior is pervasive and frequently reported. This study assessed the perception and awareness of research Ethics and Misconduct among the Teaching Staff of Health Colleges at Jazan University, southwest Saudi Arabia. This research aimed to assess the awareness and perception of research ethics and misconduct among the teaching staff of the health colleges at Jazan University in southwest Saudi Arabia. Observational cross-sectional study targeted 424 faculty members randomly chosen from health-related colleges at Jazan University. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data using a web-based survey. The overall level of knowledge about medical ethics indicated that more than half of respondents (57.8%) had a good level of knowledge, 23.4% had a fair level of knowledge, and only 18.4% had poor knowledge. The Saudi National Committee on Bioethics was only known by 49.5% of the study participants. In addition, just 48.3% of respondents knew Saudi Arabia's national standards of ethics and principles for conducting scientific research. The knowledge of research ethics was found to be significantly (P<0.05) higher in participants with higher academic positions, such as professors, MD degree holders, and participants with more extensive work experience. About 48.2% reported that the severity of penalties for scientific misconduct would highly affect scientific integrity, and 74.3% found that their understanding of rules and procedures related to scientific misconduct has a very high effect on scientific integrity. Poor knowledge of research ethics is typically associated with an individual's academic job title, as "lecturer" showed a lower level of knowledge in comparison to other job titles. Even though about 50% of participants in the study had a good understanding of research ethics, it's crucial to ensure that all faculty members have a universal understanding. Therefore, it's essential to implement an appropriate research ethics training program.

Establishment of a collaborative research ethics training program to prepare the next generation of ethics researchers in Mali

Background: Despite an increase in health research conducted in Africa, there are still inadequate human resources with research ethics training and lack of local long-term training opportunities in research ethics. A research ethics training program named United States-Mali Research Ethics Training Program (US-Mali RETP) was established through a partnership between the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (GWSPH), USA and University of Sciences, Techniques & Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), to address the critical need for improved bioethics training, leadership, and policy in Mali. Methods: The aims of the capacity building programme are achieved by leveraging US and Africa-based expertise to strengthen research ethics education and capacity through: (1) intensive faculty development to design ethics training curricula; (2) development of a research ethics specialization within the existing Masters of Public Health program (MPH); and (3) establishing professional development courses through short-term training workshops and webinars to address research and professional needs in ethics. Results: The program will strengthen USTTB’s capacity of research ethics by training at least 15 MPH students over 5 years to prepare the next generation of ethics researchers. During the first two years of the program, a new ethics training curricula was developed, two cohorts of Master’s students were enrolled, and a series of webinars and workshops were conducted with participation of Malian and international researchers. Conclusions: US-Mali RETP will promote a sustainable bioethics enterprise at USTTB, and enable dissemination of research ethics training to increase health research capacity in Mali.

Current status of approaches of Universities in fostering research ethics in Thailand

ABSTRACT Research ethics and integrity are essential topics that researchers should always be concerned about and are emphasized by academic communities around the world. However, there is currently little information about the mechanisms to regulate research ethics and integrity in Thailand. Therefore, the aims of this study were to determine the approaches that universities used to support research ethics and integrity in Thailand and also to identify the barriers that may obstruct the development. A questionnaire was used to explore the strategies about research ethics of 44 Thai universities. It was found that the first three mechanisms used to foster research ethics and integrity were establishment of institutional regulatory research committees (84%), conduction of research ethics training programs (77%), and policy adoption (68%). Interestingly, there was a significant association between the sizes of universities and establishment of institutional regulatory research committees. The medium and small universities might need more support to develop their own research ethics regulatory mechanisms. The results here indicated good signs for Thailand about preparing basic structures for fostering research ethics and integrity. The recognition of this current status could provide the useful information for future development of research integrity in Thailand.

Research ethics training programs in middle and low income countries

Research ethics training programs in middle and low income countries

Teaching Vulnerability in Research: A Study of Approaches Utilized by a Sample of Research Ethics Training Programs.

This article reports the outcomes of qualitative research on the teaching of "vulnerability in research" undertaken with principal investigators of international bioethics training programs funded by the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States. To properly contextualize this research, we begin with an overview of the various ways in which vulnerability has been conceptualized both by writers and by ethical guidance from low-, middle-, and high-income countries. We conclude with some preliminary suggestions for best practice and recommendations for further research. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time research of this kind has been carried out.

CIRTification: Training in Human Research Protections for Community-Engaged Research Partners.

Human research ethics training should provide relevant, meaningful information and build skills. Compliance should not be the only goal; training should also enhance knowledge, skills, and capacity. However, most currently available human research ethics training programs are geared toward learners who already have some research experience and working knowledge of research methods (e.g., graduate students, junior researchers); many community partners, however, have little or no prior exposure to research. More important, standard training programs do not adequately address the unique context of community-engaged research (CEnR). This article describes the development process, final curricular materials, and suggestions for successful implementation of CIRTification, a human research ethics training program designed specifically for community research partners who will be working on the "frontlines" of research. Development of CIRTification involved an extensive literature review, consultation with stakeholders including community partners, academic researchers, and human research protection program personnel. The curriculum, as well as information and materials to help potential users promote acceptance of the curriculum by their local institutional review boards (IRBs), are freely available online at www.go.uic.edu/CIRT. Ideally, community research partners who complete CIRTification will not only learn about the importance of protecting research participants but also be empowered to substantially contribute to the ethical practices of their respective research collaborations.

Building research capacity with members of underserved American Indian/Alaskan Native communities: training in research ethics and the protection of human subjects.

To develop a research ethics training course for American Indian/Alaskan Native health clinic staff and community researchers who would be conducting human subjects research. Community-based participatory research methods were used in facilitated discussions of research ethics centered around topics included in the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative research ethics course. The community-based participatory research approach allowed all partners to jointly develop a research ethics training program that was relevant for American Indian/Alaskan Native communities. All community and clinic partners were able to pass the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative course they were required to pass so that they could be certified to conduct research with human subjects on federally funded projects. In addition, the training sessions provided a foundation for increased community oversight of research. By using a collaborative process to engage community partners in research ethics discussions, rather than either an asynchronous online or a lecture/presentation format, resulted in significant mutual learning about research ethics and community concerns about research. This approach requires university researchers to invest time in learning about the communities in which they will be working prior to the training.

Research ethics capacity building in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of NIH Fogarty-funded programs 2000–2012.

The last fifteen years have witnessed a significant increase in investment in research ethics capacity development throughout the world. We examine nine research ethics training programs that are focused on Sub-Saharan Africa and supported by the US National Institutes of Health. We collected data from grants awards' documents and annual reports supplemented by questionnaires completed by the training program directors. Together, these programs provided long-term training in research ethics to 275 African professionals, strengthened research ethics committees in 19 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and created research ethics curricula at many institutions and bioethics centers within Africa. Trainees' leadership resulted in new national systems and policies on research ethics, human tissue storage and export, and methods of monitoring compliance with research ethics guidelines. Training programs adapted to challenges that arose due to varied trainees' background knowledge in ethics, duration of time available for training, spoken and written English language skills, administrative obstacles, and the need to sustain post-training research ethics activities. Our report showcases the development of awareness of research ethics and building/strengthening of basic research ethics infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless, the increasing amount and complexity of health research being conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa suggests the need for continued investment in research ethics capacity development in this region. This paper is part of a collection of papers analyzing the Fogarty International Center's International Research Ethics Education and Curriculum Development program.

Curricular aspects of the Fogarty bioethics international training programs.

The curriculum design, faculty characteristics, and experience of implementing masters' level international research ethics training programs supported by the Fogarty International Center was investigated. Multiple pedagogical approaches were employed to adapt to the learning needs of the trainees. While no generally agreed set of core competencies exists for advanced research ethics training, more than 75% of the curricula examined included international issues in research ethics, responsible conduct of research, human rights, philosophical foundations of research ethics, and research regulation and ethical review process. Common skills taught included critical thinking, research methodology and statistics, writing, and presentation proficiency. Curricula also addressed the cultural, social, and religious context of the trainees related to research ethics. Programs surveyed noted trainee interest in Western concepts of research ethics and the value of the transnational exchange of ideas. Similar faculty expertise profiles existed in all programs. Approximately 40% of faculty were female. Collaboration between faculty from low- and middleincome countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs) occurred in most programs and at least 50% of HIC faculty had previous LMIC experience. This paper is part of a collection of papers analyzing the Fogarty International Research Ethics Education and Curriculum Development program.

Fogarty research ethics training programs in the Asia-Pacific: the merging of cultures.

In-depth interviews were undertaken with nine principal investigators and 16 former trainees from eight FIC programs recruiting trainees from the Asia-Pacific to assess the impact of training. Incorporation of new knowledge into teaching, research, and medical practice; advanced training; and ethics committee participation were the most common outcomes identified. When attempting to implement ethics activities posttraining, trainees often had to contend with opposition from more senior staff. Approaches that enhanced the cultural relevance of program content were identified as necessary, including comparing/contrasting non-Western principles and religions with Western bioethics, using region-specific case studies, and integrating clinical and research ethics. Best practices associated with program and trainee success included selecting more senior trainees clustered within Asia-Pacific institutions, offering a variety of degree and nondegree options, and post-training mentorship and networking support. This paper is part of a collection of papers analyzing the Fogarty International Center's International Research Ethics Education and Curriculum Development program.

Evaluating international research ethics capacity development: an empirical approach.

The US national institutes of health, Fogarty International Center (NIH-FIC) has, for the past 13 years, been a leading funder of international research ethics education for resource-limited settings. Nearly half of the NIH-FIC funding in this area has gone to training programs that train individuals from sub-Saharan Africa. Identifying the impact of training investments, as well as the potential predictors of post-training success, can support curricular decisionmaking, help establish funding priorities, and recognize the ultimate outcomes of trainees and training programs. Comprehensive evaluation frameworks and targeted evaluation tools for bioethics training programs generally, and for international research ethics programs in particular, are largely absent from published literature. This paper shares an original conceptual framework, data collection tool, and detailed methods for evaluating the inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes of research ethics training programs serving individuals in resource-limited settings. This paper is part of a collection of papers analyzing the Fogarty International Center's International Research Ethics Education and Curriculum Development program.

Mentoring International Research Ethics Trainees: Identifying Best Practices

Mentoring is an important component of training in the basic and clinical sciences due to the increasing complexities associated with establishing a career. Data relating to 466 long-term trainees in research ethics training programs were obtained from the Fogarty International Center's database. Data were supplemented with survey data (n = 17) and telephone interviews (n = 10) of the 21 principal investigators whose programs offered long-term training. The programs most successful with mentoring involved (1) the provision of an orientation for the trainees at the commencement of training; (2) a highly structured process of mentoring that required regular meetings and task achievement timelines; (3) intensive, frequent contact with the PI; and (4) support with personal issues that were troublesome to trainees. This paper is part of a collection of papers analyzing the Fogarty International Center's International Research Ethics Education and Curriculum Development program.

The Development and Assessment of an NIH-Funded Research Ethics Training Program

In an effort to increase the number of researchers with skills "in identifying and addressing the ethical, legal, and social implications of their research," the National Institutes of Health (NIH) solicited training grant proposals from 1999 to 2004 and subsequently funded approved programs. The authors describe the content, format, and outcomes of one such training program that ran from 2002 to 2006 and share key lessons learned about program formats and assessment methods. Jointly developed by the Saint Louis University Center for Health Care Ethics and the Missouri Institute of Mental Health Continuing Education department, the training program focused on mental health research and adopted a train-the-trainer model. It was offered in on-site and distance-learning formats. Key outcomes of the program included educational products (such as 70 case studies posted on the course Web site, a textbook, and an instructional DVD) and program completion by 40 trainees. Assessment involved pre- and posttesting focused on knowledge of research ethics, ethical problem-solving skills, and levels of confidence in addressing ethical issues in mental health research. The program succeeded in increasing participants' knowledge of ethical issues and their beliefs that they could identify issues, identify problem-solving resources, and solve ethical problems. However, scores on the case-based problem-solving assessment dropped in posttesting, apparently because of diminished confidence about the right course of action in the specific dilemma presented; the implications of this finding for ethics assessment are discussed. Overall satisfaction was high, and dropout rates were low but three times higher for distance-learners than for on-site participants.

A Case Study of Research Ethics Capacity Development in Africa

Debates about cross-cultural research have sparked growing interest in international research ethics and have initiated collaborative efforts addressing international ethical concerns. This is a case study describing the attempt of the Johns Hopkins Fogarty African Research Ethics Training Program (JHF), recipient of a National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center (FIC) award, to strengthen research ethics capacity in Africa. The aim of this article is to identify critical elements of an effective research ethics capacity development process through a case study of this particular training program. More specifically, this article describes the JHF program in detail, assesses its outputs during four years, and analyzes its implications of the current model for further growth of this and similar FIC programs. This article assesses the JHF program using materials produced in the first four years of its existence (2001-2004): curriculum materials; application records; informal progress notes and evaluations; transcripts from the trainees' coursework; resumes; and formal progress reports submitted by trainees. The framework used to assess the program is a systems approach, which explores inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes of the program. The nature and types of inputs changed over time as experience was gained in the program and a continuous improvement in specific processes was implemented. The JHF program has been successful in providing research ethics education and motivating trainees to contribute in the field of research ethics in their countries. How this translates to changes in research ethics in Africa remains to be seen.

Institutional Review Board Guidance on Pediatric Research: Missed Opportunities

To examine whether and how institutional review boards (IRBs) are using their web-sites to provide guidance to investigators conducting pediatric research. We studied guidance on pediatric research from IRB web-sites at the 25 US medical schools, plus affiliated hospitals, research centers, and public health schools, and the top National Institutes of Health-funded (>5 million dollars) children's hospitals with separate IRBs. We also included 1 IRB that was not otherwise eligible because other IRBs use its web-based research ethics training program. Our final study population was 39 IRB web-sites. IRB web-sites generally provide basic information about pediatric research. However, few IRBs discuss important ethical issues on which the regulations are silent. Moreover, some IRBs provide incorrect advice about the regulations. More detailed IRB guidance may help pediatric investigators think through ethical issues and protect children in clinical research. Helpful approaches we identified include checklists and "points to consider," concrete examples to illustrate regulatory requirements, and discussion of areas of controversy. Few IRBs present the kind of detailed guidance that investigators might need to ensure ethically designed protocols. IRBs should revise their web-sites to ensure that they provide accurate, comprehensive, and sufficiently detailed guidance.