“When will the IRB run out of policies to update?” you may be asking yourself by now. Well, pretty much never – regulations, best practices, and accreditation standards keep changing, and we need to keep on keeping up. The latest revised and updated policies are: 2.3, Use of Single/Central IRBs. As we keep learning more […]
When privacy and technology collide
The IRB has had some heated discussions about genetic testing done now, and also the potential for future testing of stored biological specimens. This article from the Los Angeles Times delves into issues we’ve discussed before on the blog – the use of genetic information made available by people who voluntarily use publicly available genetic […]
New Marshallese and Spanish short form consent templates now available
We are thrilled to announce we have posted Marshallese and Spanish language versions of our new short form consent templates. Arkansas has sizeable populations of people whose primary language is Marshallese or Spanish, and having these forms readily available will make it easier to discuss research participation with members of these groups. Note that the […]
Revised IRB Policy 15.2 now posted
An updated version of IRB Policy 15.2, titled Consent Exceptions – Planned Emergency Research, is now posted on the IRB’s website. We’ve updated the language to delete a reference to a policy that has been archived, and changed the formatting to fit our current style. The policy’s main idea hasn’t changed – the UAMS IRB still does […]
Updated IRB Policy 2.4 now available
As we work our way through updating the IRB policies, we’ve now reached IRB Policy 2.4, describing the relationship between the IRB and the UAMS Office of Research Compliance. The changes primarily relate to formatting, with minimal content change. The two offices maintain their status as independent from each other, with each reporting to a […]
Tension between clinical care and research
The New York Times Magazine published a riveting piece in its August 9 edition about the tensions that can develop between clinicians and researchers when unapproved drugs are considered for patient treatment, as we have seen with Covid-19. Rather than trying to summarize the article, we strongly encourage everyone to give it a close read. […]
New “consenting subjects who don’t speak English” policy now available
The IRB has updated its policy 15.4, titled Non English-speaking research subjects and when the short form of consent is allowed, and it is now available on the IRB’s website. We hope the research community finds the revised version’s discussion of this potentially confusing subject a bit clearer. Some of the high points of the new […]
Revised IRB Policy 6.3 on meeting minutes now posted
The IRB office has updated its policy on meeting minutes, IRB Policy 6.3. This policy recaps the regulatory requirements and best practices for what has to be documented when the IRB reviews a study. While the changes are minimal from the previous iteration of this policy, it’s important to note the IRB takes these policy […]
Fresh new look throughout IRB policy section 14, Recruitment Practices
Revised versions of all five of the IRB’s policies pertaining to recruitment practices are now posted on the IRB’s website. This section describes considerations in recruiting, selecting, and compensating subjects. These issues are critically important to the protection of human subjects and the promotion of subjects’ rights, safety, and welfare. Research teams and the IRB […]
Updated “Special Populations” Policies now available
We’ve updated the following policies in the IRB’s “Special Populations” policy section, and the new policies are now posted: 17.2, Persons with Diminished Functional Capacity (renamed from “Cognitively Impaired Persons”) 17.4, Subjects in Long Term Care 17.8, Pregnant Women, Human Fetuses, and Neonates Involved in Research 17.10, Students, Employees, and Healthy Volunteers Many of the […]