Experiences on the path to achieving SIDCER recognition of an Ethics Committee

Abstract

Ethics Committees (ECs) are endowed with the responsibility of ensuring ethical conduct of biomedical research and human research participants’ protection. Although mandating its registration with central regulatory agency/agencies like Department of Health Research or Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation helps to improve its quality of functioning, further progress in achieving highest standards of ethical review is facilitated by undergoing various recognition/accreditation programs. One such is the Strategic Initiative for Developing Capacity in Ethical Review (SIDCER) recognition program, which was established under the World Health Organization–Tropical Disease Research (WHO-TDR) as a public-private partnership project in the year 2005. An EC is recognized by SIDCER after assessing five standards namely its structure and composition; adherence to specific policies; completeness of its review process; after review process; and documentation and archiving. This review describes the experiences of an EC of Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital (SMVMCH), on the path to receiving SIDCER recognition and way beyond.