Title: Perceptions of Ethics Committee Secretaries on support provided for Ethics Committees’ administration & functioning: A Questionnaire based survey
Authors: Dr Bhete Sandeep B., Dr Paul Kumardeep B., Dr Mehta Manthan N., Dr Deshmukh Kiran R., Dr Satpute Sachin M., Dr Phalak Akshay, Dr Master Vidisha
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v4i10.63
Abstract
This questionnaire based study to explore the perceptions of Ethics Committees’ (EC) Member Secretaries (MS) on the support provided for proper administration & functioning was conducted over 2 months in Mumbai. 54 randomly selected ECs and the respective MS were sent a copy of the pre-validated questionnaire. Efforts were made to get the forms within 8 days. Only 38 ECs participated in the survey. Most (28/38) conduct meetings in a separate room, though 22 ECs have a separate area for archival of their documents with restricted access. 32 MS were content with their support staff and the logistics provided. Guidelines pertaining to the required EC-exclusive office, area for the same, necessary support staff and logistics to be provided should be issued without which the EC functioning would falter. A fully-equipped EC will definitely pave the way for a fully-functional EC.
Keywords: Member secretaries’ role, EC administrative burden, Frequency of EC meetings, Training of EC personal, Ethics Committee Functioning, EC Guidelines and SOPs.
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