As per DOST Administrative Order 001 s. 2007, which requires for the review of all health researches involving human subjects/participants, some 60 participants coming from different colleges and universities, and other government institutions all over the Zamboanga Peninsula attended the 1st Health Research Ethics Review Training conducted by the Zamboanga Consortium for Health Research and Development (ZCHRD) last November 10 & 11, 2011 at the Marcian Garden Hotel Poolside Restaurant in Zamboanga City.
Dr. Marita V.T. Reyes, Clinical Professor at the UP Manila College of Medicine and Co-chair of the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB) talked about the “Guidelines & Principles in the Ethical Conduct of Health Research, Risk-Benefit Assessment, and the Accreditation of Ethics Review Committees” (per DOST Administrative Order 001 s. 2008).
Professor Edlyn Jimenez-Santos, research professor at the UP-National Institutes of Health spoke about the “Guidelines in conducting research among vulnerable persons, ethical conduct of investigations & sponsors, and addressing conflict of interest in ethical review”.
The said event was primarily aimed at training the participants to determine the adherence/violations of research proposals to ethical principles; make appropriate recommendations as needed to adhere to ethical principles; and to analyze decisions/actions to be taken by members of health research ethics review committees given hypothetical situations. The training is essential for the institutionalization of the ethics review process for all researches to be undertaken by the consortium and its member institutions.
ZCHRD is an organization created to optimize the use of research to help alleviate the health and nutrition problems of the people in Region IX, with financial and technical support of the DOST’s Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD). The consortium is chaired by Dr. Teresita Montano of Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU) while DOST IX serves as consortium secretariat.
