Education & Training

Research Ethics & Compliance provides a variety of instructions resources to help members of the Island Health research community confidently engage in ethical research involving human participants. 

Minimum requirement to conduct research at Island Health:

For Regulatory training requirements please go to Research Compliance.

For reviewer training please go to Operational Review and Institutional Approvals.

Additional Considerations
  • Your research may have privacy implications - if you have questions about privacy considerations for your research study please visit Research Privacy at Island Health BEFORE submitting to the REB.
  • Researchers must obtain institutional approval from Island Health prior to commencing any human participant research studies taking place at Island Health which use patient or other client populations, access medical or other records, or impact Island Health clinical or other service resources in any way. See our Institutional Approvals page for more details.
  • Researchers who do not hold an Island Health appointment must appoint an individual who holds an Island Health appointment as site lead or co-investigator for the research.
Consultations

Research Ethics & Compliance Office Personnel are available for consultations about research proposals at any time in the ethical review process. 

Please contact E. Sarah Bennett, Manager, Research Ethics & Compliance for information regarding:

  • compliance with local, national and international policies and legislation
  • activities, procedures and direction of Research Ethics administration
  • ethics or integrity queries or concerns

For clinical research and REB questions and submissions contact the Clinical REB Coordinator, Karen Medler
 
For health research and REB questions and submissions contact the Health REB Coordinator, Victoria Philibert

Presentations

Onsite lectures and workshops are available by request. Please contact Research Ethics & Compliance if you are interested.

NOTE: If you are interested in a lecture, seminar or workshop on research ethics, please submit a request at least two weeks prior to the date of the event. Thank you!

Educational Opportunities

Research Ethics & Compliance, the two Island Health REBs, and the Island Health research community have access to multiple additional resources and training events to gain further understanding of issues and policies relating to human research ethics. 

Educational and Professional Resources

The Research Ethics Application Database (TREAD)

An open access, online repository of approved ethics application forms and consent statements hosted by the University of Otago.  Although the site is hosted in New Zealand, the repository includes ethics applications from researchers in various parts of the world (NZ, Australia, Canada, USA, etc.). It provides an opportunity to learn how researchers have articulated ethical principles in their subject area or methodology. You can search the repository by topic and methodology (e.g. "cancer" or "autoethnography").

Panel on Research Ethics (PRE)

Promotes the ethical conduct of research involving human participants. Responsible for addressing the evolving needs of Canada’s three federal research agencies: CIHR, SSHRC, and NSERC. Develops, interprets and implements the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2).

Ethics Office of Canadian Institutes of Health Research 

Responsible for developing and implementing policies and guidelines to fulfill the ethical and legal responsibilities that CIHR holds as a research sponsor.

Professional Associations

Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards (CAREB)

A grassroots national organization intended to represent the interests of all Canadian REBs and to reflect REB perspectives and concerns.

Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research (PRIM&R)

Advances the highest ethical standards in the conduct of biomedical, social science, behavioral, and educational research.

The Canadian Association of Research Administrators

A national organization supporting professional development with a diverse and comprehensive approach to education for research administrators. 

Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA)

A non-profit, professional organization dedicated to the continuing education and development of clinical research professionals. Provides training, continuing education, and an internationally recognized certification program that promote quality clinical research to protect the welfare of research participants and improve global health.

Additional Resources

Policies & SOPs