Research Ethics Consultation in Nursing Studies

Despite the importance and acceptance of research ethics consultation as an entity in many medical research areas, little is known about its status in nursing research. Focusing on inquiries from nurse researchers, we retrospectively analyzed records of integrated clinical research consultation, provided by members of the Clinical Research Center independently of the research ethics committee, at a Japanese university hospital during 2018–2019. Among various consultations in nursing studies ( n = 101), 43 were related to research ethics. The main issues in research ethics consultation were compatibility with guidelines ( n = 28; 65%) and application of ethics review ( n = 12; 28%). Future studies should investigate international settings and address the relevance of research ethics consultation to promote proper nursing studies.

A Proposed Model of Core Competencies for Research Ethics Consultants

Research ethics consultation services (RECS), which function as an advisory service to facilitate the resolution of complex ethical issues in clinical research, have been proliferating over the last decade. However, the qualification of an individual who provides RECS, or “a research ethics consultant,” has not been thoroughly investigated, in contrast to healthcare ethics consultants, whose core competencies have been discussed and clarified to a great extent. In this study, we investigated core competencies necessary for research ethics consultants, referring to the core competency models of ethics consultants developed in the healthcare practice context, and propose a competency model for research ethics consultants.

Research Ethics Consultation

This chapter provides a history of the development of research ethics consultation (REC) and an evaluation of its role in the conduct of research with human participants. It provides a brief overview of how and where REC is currently practiced. It also reviews and engages current debates on the appropriate methods and purpose of REC. Controversies are addressed, including the relationship of REC to research review committees, competency requirements for REC, the appropriate level of confidentiality of REC recommendations, who should have access to RECs, and handling of divergence between ethics guidance and the law. Finally, it explores the question of appropriate breadth of REC.