2022 Volume 14 Issue 1 Pages 21-27
While many challenges exist, there has not been a nationwide survey on ethical review of nursing research. This study aimed to reveal opinions of ethics committee members about the actual state of ethical review processes, as well as what the ethical review process should entail. A questionnaire was administered to chairpersons and members of research ethics committees in 90 universities with nursing departments. A total of 231 responses were obtained. Results of the survey revealed that some committees have no outside members, which is against the guideline. Regarding applicants, there were issues such as the lack of research ethics in some applicants, and that some application forms are incomplete. As for committee members, there appeared to be a need to implement training. Regarding universities, efforts are required to improve ethical review processes. More than half of the respondents thought that ethical review should be conducted in a way that supports researchers in carrying out their studies, while many of them experienced difficulty in making decisions. Although ethics committees and review processes differ from university to university, it is recommended that the latest information on research ethics and how to operate ethics committees be shared among universities.
