Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26149410›Full record

ArticleBMC medical ethics2015

A risk screening tool for ethical appraisal of evidence-generating initiatives.

Nancy K Ondrusek, Donald J Willison, Vinita Haroun, Jennifer A H Bell, Catherine C Bornbaum

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical ethics, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Nancy K OndrusekPublic Health Ontario | Santé publique Ontario, 480 University Avenue, Suite 300, Toronto, ON, M5G 1 V2, Canada. Nancy.Ondrusek@oahpp.ca.
Donald J WillisonInstitute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Suite 425, Toronto, ON, M5T 3 M6, Canada. Don.Willison@utoronto.ca.
Vinita HarounOntario Long Term Care Association, 425 University Avenue, Suite 500, Markham, M5G 1 T6, Canada. VHaroun@oltca.com.
Jennifer A H BellUniversity Health Network, Bioethics Programme and Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Princess Margaret Hospital, 610 University Ave., Toronto, ON, M5T 2 M9, Canada. Jennifer.Bell2@uhn.ca.
Catherine C BornbaumPublic Health Ontario | Santé publique Ontario, 480 University Avenue, Suite 300, Toronto, ON, M5G 1 V2, Canada. Catherine.Bornbaum@oahpp.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe boundaries between health-related research and practice have become blurred as initiatives traditionally considered to be practice (e.g., quality improvement, program evaluation) increasingly use the same methodology as research. Further, the application of different ethical requirements based on this distinction raises concerns because many initiatives commonly labelled as "non-research" are associated with risks to patients, participants, and other stakeholders, yet may not be subject to any ethical oversight. Accordingly, we sought to develop a tool to facilitate the systematic identification of risks to human participants and determination of risk level across a broad range of projects (e.g., clinical research, laboratory-based projects, population-based surveillance, and program evaluation) and health-related contexts. This paper describes the development of the Public Health Ontario (PHO) Risk Screening Tool.

methodDevelopment of the PHO Risk Screening Tool included: (1) preparation of a draft risk tool (n = 47 items); (2) expert appraisal; (3) internal stakeholder validation; (4) external validation; (5) pilot testing and evalution of the draft tool; and (6) revision after 1 year of testing.

resultsA risk screening tool was generated consisting of 20 items organized into five risk domains: Sensitivity; Participant Selection, Recruitment and Consent; Data/Sample Collection; Identifiability and Privacy Risk; and Commercial Interests. The PHO Risk Screening Tool is an electronic tool, designed to identify potential project-associated risks to participants and communities and to determine what level of ethics review is required, if any. The tool features an easy to use checklist format that generates a risk score (0-3) associated with a suggested level of ethics review once all items have been completed. The final score is based on a threshold approach to ensure that the final score represents the highest level of risk identified in any of the domains of the tool.

conclusionsThe PHO Risk Screening Tool offers a practical solution to the problem of how to maintain accountability and appropriate risk oversight that transcends the boundaries of research and practice. We hope that the PHO Risk Screening Tool will prove useful in minimizing the problems of over and under protection across a wide range of disciplines and jurisdictions.

Indexed as

Ethical ReviewEthics, ResearchBiomedical ResearchHealth Services ResearchHumansPopulation SurveillanceProgram EvaluationPublic HealthRisk AssessmentSocial Responsibility

Identifiers

PMID26149410
PMCPMC4494793

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.