Answer 3 for NUR 550 Discuss the role of the Institutional Review Board

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Answer 3 for NUR 550 Discuss the role of the Institutional Review Board

Research involving subjects may pose significant risks to participants, hence the need for adequate control. Besides, individuals may participate in unbeneficial studies, and their protection is among the cardinal roles of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). In the research context, IRBs are federally mandated boards that review research with human participants to ensure it meets the appropriate ethical guidelines (White, 2020). Under the FDA’s authorization, an IRB can approve, request modifications, or disapprove research. The decisions are made after the IRB’s group process of reviewing research protocols and materials (U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 2019). Generally, the advance and periodic review of research ensures adequate protection of human subjects’ rights and welfare.

Before proposing or commencing population health research, researchers should understand and adhere to its ethical considerations. The basic ethical considerations include respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. Respect for persons obligates researchers to promote autonomy and protect individuals with diminished autonomy (Gordon, 2020; White, 2020). Informed consent ensures autonomous decision-making and voluntary participation in research. Beneficence involves not harming participants and maximizing potential benefits (Mondragón Barrios et al., 2022). Justice is accomplished by fair participation and distribution of research benefits and burdens.

Before commencing research, the researchers and participants should look forward to studies benefitting patients, populations, and the broader society. One way of accomplishing this objective is balancing respect for the persons, potential research benefits and burdens, and research. For instance, after obtaining informed consent from participants in a study on mHealth apps and diabetes self-care, researchers should carefully examine who should receive the research benefits and bear its burdens. To ensure justice, the National Commission proposes equal share and distribution of benefits according to individual needs, effort, and societal contribution (White, 2020). Merit should also be a critical consideration when distributing research benefits and burdens.

References

Gordon, B. G. (2020). Vulnerability in Research: Basic ethical concepts and general approach to review. Ochsner Journal, 20(1), 34–38. https://doi.org/10.31486/toj.19.0079

Mondragón Barrios, L., Martínez Levy, G. A., Díaz-Anzaldúa, A., & Estrada Camarena, E. (2022). Rethinking benefits in health research, reflections of an ethics committee. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 95(3), 389–398. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9511940/

U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2019). Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and protection of human subjects in clinical trials. https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/center-drug-evaluation-and-research-cder/institutional-review-boards-irbs-and-protection-human-subjects-clinical-trials

White, M. G. (2020). Why human subjects research protection is important. Ochsner Journal, 20(1), 16-33. https://doi.org/10.31486/toj.20.5012

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