Special Issue, 2015 No. 1

Review Paper on Research Ethics in Ethiopia: Experiences and Lessons Learnt from Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences 2007-2012

Yeweyenhareg Feleke | Bio
Addis Ababa university College of Health Sciences
Adamu Addissie | Bio
School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences , Addis Ababa University
Biruk L Wamisho | Bio
4. Department of Orthopedic, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Gail Davey | Bio
3. Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK;
Share:
  • Articles
  • Submited: February 3, 2015
  • Published: February 4, 2015

Abstract

Abstract

 

Health research in Ethiopia is increasing both in volume and type, accompanied with expansion of higher education and research since the past few years. This calls for a proportional competence in the governance of medical research ethics in Ethiopia in the respective research and higher learning institutes.

 

The paper highlights the evolution and progress of the ethics review at Addis Ababa University- College of Health Sciences (AAU-CHS) in the given context of health research review system in Ethiopia. Reflections are made on the key lessons to be drawn from the formative experiences of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and their implications to the Ethiopian health research review system. This article is a review paper based on review of published and un published documents on research ethics in Ethiopia and the AAU-CHS (2007-2012). Thematic summaries of review findings are presented in thematic areas - formation of ethics review and key factors in the evolution of ethics review and implications.

 

The IRB at AAU-CHS has been pivotal in providing review and follow-up for important clinical studies in Ethiopia. It has been one of the first IRBs to get international accreditations. Important factors in the successes of the IRB among others included leadership commitment, its placement in institutional structure, and continued capacity building. Financial challenges and sustainability issues need to be addressed for the sustained gains registered so far. Similar factors are considered important for the new and younger IRBs within the emergent Universities and research centers in the country.

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. ESTC, National Health Research Ethics Review Guideline, E.S.a.T.C. (ESTC), Editor 2005, Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission (ESTC) - National Health Science and Technology Council: Addis Ababa.
  2. Petros, B., Ethical review of health-related biotechnology research in Africa: a role for the Pan African Bioethics Initiative (PABIN). Afr. J. Med. Sci, 2007. 36 (Suppl): p. 43-7.
  3. Teka, T. and S. Lulseged, Living by the code in clinical research. Ethiop Med J., 2005. 43(2): p. 1.
  4. EHNRI. Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute. 2014 [cited 2014 January 10,]; Available from: http://www.ehnri.gov.et/.
  5. AHRI. Armauer Hansent Research Institute, . 2014 [cited 2014 January 10, ]; Available from: http://eaccr.org/sites/ahri/.
  6. Lancet, Abyssinia in Sanitary and Medical Aspects The Lancet, 1868. 91(2317): p. 140–141.
  7. Gaym, A., Health Research in Ethioia - Past, Present and Suggestion on the Way Forward Ethiop Med J., 2008. 46(3): p. 287-.
  8. ESTC, Health Research Ethics Training Module 42005, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission (ESTC).
  9. Franzen, S., et al., Understanding the investigators: a qualitative study investigating the barriers and enablers to the implementation of local investigator-initiated clinical trials in Ethiopia. BMJ Open, 2013. 3: p. e003616.
  10. Biluts, H., D. Mariam, and T. Teka, Evaluation of standards of informed consent formats in research proposals approved by Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University. Ethiop Med J., 2009. 47(3): p. 227-32.
  11. Addissie, A. and M. Tesfaye, Ethiopia, in Handbook of Global Bioethics, H.A.M.J. Ten Have and B. Gordijin, Editors. 2014, Springler: Dordrecht. p. 1121-1139
  12. Beyene, Y., Medical disclosure and refugees-Telling bad news to Ethiopian patients, In: Cross-cultural Medicine-A Decade Later [Special Issue]. West J Med, 1992. 157: p. 328-332.
  13. Tekola, F., et al., Tailoring consent to context: designing an appropriate consent process for a biomedical study in a low income setting. PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2009a. 3(7): p. e482.
  14. Tekola, F., et al., Impact of social stigma on the process of obtaining informed consent for genetic research on podoconiosis: a qualitative study BMC Medical Ethics, 2009b. 10(13): p. 1-10.
  15. Addissie, A., et al., A mixed-methods study on perceptions towards use of Rapid Ethical Assessment to improve informed consent processes for health research in a low-income setting. BMC Med Ethics, 2014 15(35): p. 1-22.
  16. Ravinetto, R., et al., Participation in medical research as a resource-seeking strategy in socio-economically vulnerable communities: call for research and action. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 2014. 2(15): p. 35.
  17. Kumbi, S. and A. Addissie, Ethics in Reproductive Health Research in Ethiopia, in Text Book of Reproductive and Child Health with Focus on Ethiopia and other Developing Countries, M. Fantahun, Y. Berhane, and A. Tsu, Editors. 2013, AAU, JHU and EPHA: Addis Ababa.
  18. AAU. Available from: http://www.aau.edu.et/.
  19. AAU. Addis Ababa University. 2014 [cited 2014 January 10, ]; Available from: http://www.aau.edu.et/.
  20. FERCAP/SIDCCER. Available from: http://www.fercap-sidcer.org/recog.php.
  21. Addis Ababa University-Faculty of Medicine, Faculty Institutional Review Board (IRB) Standard Operating Procedures, F.o. Medicine, Editor 2007, AAU Press: Addis Ababa.
  22. World Health Organization (WHO), Standards and Operational Guidance for Ethics Review of Health-Related Research with Human Participants, WHO, Editor 2011: Geneva.
  23. Bankert, E. and R. Amdur, Institutional Review Board: Management and Function?2006, University of Michigan: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
  24. HRPP Policy, Institutional Responsibilities for IRB Administration No. 201.
  25. Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission (ESTC), National Health Research ethics Review Guideline, ESTC, Editor 2005: Addis Ababa.
  26. Hunter, D., Bad Sceience Equals Poor, Not Necessarily Bad, Ethics, in Ethics, Law and Society, J. Gunning and S. Holm, Editors. 2013, Ashgate Publishing: Hampshire
How to Cite
Feleke, Y., Addissie, A., L Wamisho, B., & Davey, G. (2015). Review Paper on Research Ethics in Ethiopia: Experiences and Lessons Learnt from Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences 2007-2012. Ethiopian Medical Journal, 53. Retrieved from https://emjema.org/index.php/EMJ/article/view/45

Send mail to Author


Send Cancel