Research During the Pandemic: Views from Both Sides of the Fence.

ABSTRACT

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has affected practically every aspect of life across the globe for the past year or more; the practice of clinical research not the least. Clinician scientists attempting to start or continue work both related and unrelated to the disease itself have faced ethical, oversight, or regulatory challenges. No aspect of the clinical trial enterprise was unaffected. These narratives detail some of the barriers encountered and how the investigators coped (or didn't cope). Common themes emerged, ranging from a need to contribute, which drove the researchers to frustration with real and perceived obstructions (both old and new). The narratives disclose common ethical issues related to research during a pandemic issues both qualitatively and quantitatively different from other human subject research; challenges both new and novel, as well as those previously seen, but writ large in the face of the crisis. The narratives also offer words of advice from the trenches and speak to successes, both large and small, and to the value of teamwork and focus on a common goal.