Moral and/or ethical issues in research ethics committees

Abstract

The objective of the study is to analyze moral and/or ethical issues experienced by members of research ethics committees when performing their activities and the strategies used to deal with those issues. This is a qualitative study with 39 individuals that participated in committees in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Data were collected in October 2020 using a self-administered online questionnaire developed using Google Forms. Results showed that participants underwent conflicts of interests and values, and also faced dilemmas, and the strategies used to deal with those issues were exchanging of experiences and sharing of ideas and opinions. It is concluded that members of such committees experience moral and/or ethical issues and seek to deal with them via strategies that favor the development of research according to appropriate ethical and methodological criteria.