Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26865158›Full record

ArticleHealth research policy and systems2016

Research ethics committees in the regulation of clinical research: comparison of Finland to England, Canada, and the United States.

Elina Hemminki

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health research policy and systems, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
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

15 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Bioethics committee approvals in multicentre laryngology research across Europe: the European Laryngological Society's consensus on legal basis and quality assurance.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026
    Article
  2. Observational
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  5. Ethics Committees: Structure, Roles, and Issues.Journal of Korean medical science · 2023
    Review
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  13. Rethinking the Career Landscape for Nicotine and Tobacco Trainees and Early Career Professionals.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2019
    Article
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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

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Elina HemminkiTHL (National Institute for Health and Welfare), P.O. Box 30, 00271, Helsinki, Finland. elina.hemminki@thl.fi.
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare · FI

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe aim of this paper is to compare common features and variation in the work of research ethics committees (RECs) in Finland to three other countries - England, Canada, the United States of America (USA) - in the late 2000s.

methodsSeveral approaches and data sources were used, including semi- or unstructured interviews of experts, documents, previous reports, presentations in meetings and observations. A theoretical framework was created and data from various sources synthesized.

resultsIn Finland, RECs were regulated by a medical research law, whereas in the other countries many related laws and rules guided RECs; drug trials had specific additional rules. In England and the USA, there was a REC control body. In all countries, members were voluntary and included lay-persons, and payment arrangements varied. Patient protection was the main ethics criteria, but other criteria (research advancement, availability of results, payments, detailed fulfilment of legislation) varied. In all countries, RECs had been given administrative duties. Variations by country included the mandate, practical arrangements, handling of multi-site research, explicitness of proportionate handlings, judging scientific quality, time-limits for decisions, following of projects, role in institute protection, handling conflicts of interests, handling of projects without informed consent, and quality assurance research. The division of work between REC members and secretariats varied in checking of formalities. In England, quality assurance of REC work was thorough, fairly thorough in the USA, and not performed in Finland.

conclusionsThe work of RECs in the four countries varied notably. Various deficiencies in the system require action, for which international comparison can provide useful insights.

Indexed as

Biomedical ResearchClinical Trials as TopicCross-Cultural ComparisonEthics Committees, ResearchHumansInformation DisseminationInterviews as TopicMulticenter Studies as TopicPatient SafetyQuality ControlTime Factors

Identifiers

PMID26865158
PMCPMC4750216
OpenAlexW2275558578

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.