IRB Advisor – March 1, 2021
March 1, 2021
View Archives Issues
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Study Shows Research Programs and IRBs Responded Quickly to the Pandemic
Human research protection programs and IRBs nationwide responded quickly and efficiently to changing processes and policies during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a recent study.
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Researchers and IRBs Reconsider Minimal Risk After Trial Results
A clinical trial that involved studying electronic health record alerts for acute kidney injury seemed to be minimal risk to both the researchers and the IRBs that approved it. However, when two hospitals involved in the study reported an increased mortality rate, the researchers and the IRBs reconsidered what is truly minimal risk in these types of studies.
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IRB Reduces Student Study Review Time from 65 Days to 8 Days
It is possible to shorten IRB review time dramatically, but it requires some resources and time. The IRB of Northcentral University serves a nontraditional population of students, some of whom want to complete a research study as part of their academic plan. The IRB’s streamlining process reduced the submission-to-approval time to eight days, down from an average of 65 days before the new process, according to new, unpublished data.
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IRB Improves and Simplifies Board Meeting Minutes Process
An IRB revised its board meeting minutes process from a clunky system of writing everything into an electronic document to one in which the minutes are automatically populated through the IRB’s electronic system, saving staff time and work. The old way of creating board meeting minutes sometimes took as long as a month for IRB staff to generate. Since the IRB revised its process, the staff can generate board meeting minutes within a week.
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Prominent Pastor, Scientists, Researchers Seek to Ease Vaccine Fears in Minority Populations
Minority populations are more likely to participate in clinical research activities when they are encouraged by trusted authority figures, such as family physicians or pastors. One such pastor and author, Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter’s House in Dallas, decided to use his popular YouTube channel to broadcast information about the COVID-19 vaccine to dispel myths and to encourage his followers to take the shots.