ABSTRACT
Objective:Given the indispensable role played by medical ethics committees in protecting the rights and interests of subjects and researchers, such committees in China are found with weak organizational capacity. This study was designed to analyze the driving factors to improve their organizational capacity.Methods:Form July to September 2020, a survey and interview of 71 tertiary A hospitals in eastern China were conducd, and a total 60 valid samples were obtained. Through crisp-se qualitative comparative analysis(csQCA), the medical ethics committees of 60 tertiary hospitals were analyzed, and the factors affecting the organizational capabilities of the medical ethics committees and their combinations were explored.Results:Protection of rights and interests was key to medical ethics committee′s organizational capacity, while incompetency of the members and the irregular review process were sufficient reasons for the weak organizational capacity. There were six combinations of sufficient conditions for the medical ethics committee to be strong in organizational capacities, which could be explained by the three models of member capacity-orientation, system-process-orientation, and resource-system-orientation.Conclusions:The medical ethics committees are recommended to enhance members capacity, enhance team building; complete rules and regulations, and process mechanism; clarify organization structure, and optimize resource matching, in an effort to enhance the organizational capacity of these committees in China.