A survey of national ethics and bioethics committees.
Bull World Health Organ
; 99(2): 138-147, 2021 Feb 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1063300
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To assess the current state of national ethics committees and the challenges they face.METHODS:
We surveyed national ethics committees between 30 January and 21 February 2018.FINDINGS:
In total, representatives of 87 of 146 national ethics committees (59.6%) participated. The 84 countries covered were in all World Bank income categories and all World Health Organization regions. Many national ethics committees lack resources and face challenges in several domains, like independence, funding or efficacy. Only 40.2% (35/87) of committees expressed no concerns about independence. Almost a quarter (21/87) of committees did not make any ethics recommendations to their governments in 2017, and the median number of reports, opinions or recommendations issued was only two per committee Seventy-two (82.7%) national ethics committees included a philosopher or a bioethicist.CONCLUSION:
National ethics (or bioethics) committees provide recommendations and guidance to governments and the public, thereby ensuring that public policies are informed by ethical concerns. Although the task is seemingly straightforward, implementation reveals numerous difficulties. Particularly in times of great uncertainty, such as during the current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, governments would be well advised to base their actions not only on technical considerations but also on the ethical guidance provided by a national ethics committee. We found that, if the advice of national ethics committees is to matter, they must be legally mandated, independent, diverse in membership, transparent and sufficiently funded to be effective and visible.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bioethics
/
Surveys and Questionnaires
/
Ethics Committees
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Bull World Health Organ
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
BLT.19.243907
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