Search

Objective: Health-related research in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has grown over the years. However, concerns have been raised about the state of research ethics committees (RECs). This scoping review examines the literature on RECs for health-related research in SSA and identifies strategies that have been applied to strengthen the RECs. It focuses on three aspects of RECs: regulatory governance and leadership, administrative and financial capacity and technical capacity of members., Design: A scoping review of published literature, including grey literature, was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute approach., Data Sources: BioOne, CINAHL, Embase (via Ovid), Education Abstracts, Global Health, Google Scholar, Jstor, OpenEdition (French), Philosopher's Index, PsycINFO, PubMed, Science Citation and Expanded Index (Web of Science), reference lists of included studies and specific grey literature sources., Eligibility Criteria: We included empirical studies on RECs for health-related research in SSA, covering topics on REC leadership and governance, administrative and financial capacity and the technical capacity of REC members. We included studies published between 01 January 2000 and 18 February 2022 and written in English, French, Portuguese or Swahili., Data Extraction and Synthesis: Two independent reviewers screened the records. Data were extracted by one reviewer and cross-checked by another. Owing to the heterogeneity of included studies, thematic analysis was used., Results: We included 54 studies. The findings show that most RECs in SSA work under significant administrative and financial constraints, with few opportunities for capacity building for committee members. This has an impact on the quality of reviews and the overall performance of RECs. Although most countries have national governance systems for RECs, they lack regulations on accountability, transparency and monitoring of RECs., Conclusions: This review provides a comprehensive overview of the literature on RECs for health-related research in SSA and contributes to our understanding of how RECs can be strengthened., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Introduction: Health research in low-income and middle-income countries, which face the greatest burden of disease, is a vital component of efforts to combat global health inequality. With increased research, there has also been concern about ethical and regulatory issues and the state of research ethics committees, with various attempts to strengthen them. This scoping review examines the literature on ethics committees for health-related research in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on regulatory governance and leadership, administrative and financial capacity, and conduct of ethical reviews., Methods and Analysis: We will use the methodological approach proposed by Arksey and O'Malley and adapted by Levac et al and the Joanna Briggs Institute. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are based on the 'Population-Concept-Context' framework. Literature (from January 2000 to December 2020) will be searched in multiple databases including Embase and PubMed and websites of relevant organisations. All records will be screened by applying the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Review flowchart: two reviewers will independently screen titles and abstracts, and full text of included records. Using an inductive approach, we will synthesise the literature, identify best practice and gaps in evidence on strengthening research ethics committees., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval is not required as the review will include only published literature. The findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at stakeholder meetings and conferences., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)