Who ensures high ethical standards?
Tri-Council Policy Statement
Ethical Conduct of Research
All research conducted in preparation for, or as part of, the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) abides by the requirements of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and relevant institutions for ethical conduct and privacy protection in health research.
CIHR requirements for the ethical conduct of research can be found in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS)
CIHR best practices for protecting privacy can be found in Best Practices for Protecting Privacy in Health Research
Privacy and confidentiality
The CLSA is committed to respecting personal privacy, safeguarding the confidentiality of personal information in our custody, and ensuring a secure environment for electronic and physical records containing personal information.
The CLSA will meet this commitment by:
- Establishing clear principles and policies for the protection of personal information, emphasizing high standards of organizational, technical and physical security practices and protocols;
- Communicating privacy protection policies and practices to CLSA staff, affiliates and stakeholders;
- Restricting access to personal information to those members of the CLSA who have authorized access for research purposes;
- Submitting research protocols involving personal information to external research ethics boards;
- Designating a person to oversee the study’s privacy protection policies and practices;
- Ensuring that all staff are trained in the principles and practices of personal information protection and requiring all staff to annually commit, in writing, to respect the CLSA's principles, policies and practices in the protection of personal information;
- Ensuring that the CLSA’s policies and practices are consistent with the best national and international standards of privacy protection in health research and legislative requirements.
Privacy Policy
The CLSA will implement policies and procedures consistent with the principles described in the CIHR Best Practices for Protecting Privacy in Health Research, Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans and the Canadian Standards Association Privacy Code. A draft CLSA Privacy Policy has been developed in collaboration with the ELSI committee.
Collaborative Research Ethics Board Review Process
In the fall of 2009, Hamilton Health Sciences/Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, under the leadership of Dr. Jack Holland (Chair), agreed to explore the possibility of creating a forum for ethics boards whereby those asked to review and approve applications from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) could provide a single unified response to CLSA applications.
A process was initiated in January 2010 related to the approval of CLSA amendments to the Tracking Cohort Protocol. Among the ethics boards, who had previously approved the full Tracking Protocol and who participated in the collaborative amendment approval process, were: Dalhousie University, McGill University, McMaster University Memorial University of Newfoundland, Université de Sherbrooke, University of Manitoba, and University of Victoria.
The CLSA has undertaking a collaborative review process for the submission of the Comprehensive Cohort Protocol. In addition to the universities identified above, the Comprehensive Cohort Protocol will also be submitted to: Simon Fraser University, University of Ottawa, University of Calgary, and the University of British Columbia
Questions?
If you have questions about CLSA’s research ethics or privacy and security policies and procedures, please contact:
Name: Dr. Parminder Raina
Telephone: (905) 525-9140, ex ext. 22197
Email: praina@mcmaster.ca