Ethics review of multisite studies: The difficult case of community-based Indigenous health research

Abstract

• Researchers have longstanding concerns about the logistical and administrative burdens posed by ethics review of multisite studies involving human participants. • Centralised ethics review, in which approval by one committee has authority across multiple sites, is widely touted as a strategy for streamlining the process. The Harmonisation of Multi-centre Ethical Review (HoMER) project is currently developing such a system for Australia. • It is unclear how centralised review will work for multisite Indigenous health research, where the views of local stakeholders are important and community consultation is mandatory. • Our recent experience in conducting the National Indigenous Eye Health ..