Trust in the system by Adam Hedgecoe Des Fitzgerald Amy Hinterberger

Author:Adam Hedgecoe, Des Fitzgerald, Amy Hinterberger [Adam Hedgecoe, Des Fitzgerald, Amy Hinterberger]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Science & Nature, Science
ISBN: 9781526152909
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Published: 2020-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

Celia then asks Ben, the committee’s administrator, about the process that led the original application going to the first REC: ‘How did it go to [other REC]? Did COREC [Central Office for Research Ethics Committees] decide that he had to apply outside his home turf?’ Ben: ‘Probably our slots were full’ (this does turn out to be the explanation).47 Celia’s suggestion – that representatives of the DH in the form of COREC required Mark Jones to apply to a different committee – highlights members’ awareness of their relationship to him, their knowledge of his overall programme of research, how that shapes their understanding of his work (and its risks), their willingness to trust him, and how this all might be seen from the outside.

This familiarity with Jones’ work – this local knowledge – crops up in all assessments of his (frequent) applications, such as the one a couple of months later. Louise leads the review, starting by introducing the study in the light of everything the REC knows about his research, pointing out that the committee has approved multiple studies for two of the compounds in question, although none of these studies was a clinical trial; they were only looking at the physiological impact. The study under review gives both compounds together to see if they inhibit specific physiological processes. Louise reiterates that ‘This is very similar to studies we have seen before’, describing the similarities: ‘It uses healthy volunteers, they get screened … We’ve questioned him on this before and we’ve been satisfied with his response. They will do a pregnancy test. There is also a full-page reassurance on how the compounds are made.’ When it comes to the PIS, Abigail is full of praise – ‘He’s got it down to a fine art’ – as was Louise: ‘All my comments in the margin were “good” and “cool”.’

One mechanism for getting to know applicants is, as Sarah Dyer has noted, via members’ experience of working alongside researchers:

departments that are particularly research active are likely to be required to carry a proportionate responsibility. This dynamic ought to lead to local committees weighted toward the research specialism of that area. (Meaning also LRECs are more likely to know researchers more directly.)48

However, while there is clearly a relationship between Mark Jones and the St Swithin’s LREC, in this case it is the result of frequent applications rather than being based in the same department. Although Hilary, an expert member, ‘feel[s]‌ I have a relationship with him coming here’, in institutional terms she is ‘not actually involved in any of their work … [Despite this] … They do, I feel, tend to take things on board, and it would be hard to say that there’s ever been a time when you felt that they hadn’t, that there was an issue.’ However members are aware of how the way in which they treat these applications might be seen by the outside world; as we saw there is concern (probably misplaced) that COREC even re-allocated this application first time round to an alternative REC.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.