Because research is a search for truth, if it goes too far, it may overstep the bounds of "ethics", which is "the path that should be followed as a human being". Therefore, ethical considerations must be taken into account when conducting medical research, and the research plan must undergo ethical review and approval. The definition of ethics is strongly influenced by culture and climate, making it difficult to standardize. In the case of multicenter research, the research protocol is reviewed by the ethics committees of each research institution and is affected by the differences among these ethics committees. The Cognitive Genetics Collaborative Research Organization (COCORO) is a 39-institution organization that conducts research on the biology of psychiatric disorders using intermediate phenotypic data and biological samples. COCORO project has obtained ethical approval as genetic research, in collaboration with genetic studies and other studies that have already begun at other research institutions, allowing the sharing of information and samples among the collaborating institutions. The Effectiveness of Guidelines for Dissemination and Education in Psychiatric Treatment (EGUIDE) involves 240 medical institutions from 44 universities and is examining changes in prescribing behavior in medical institutions after a course on the guidelines was taken by psychiatrists across the country. EGUIDE uses the procedure of a central ethics review, and electromagnetic informed consent has also been introduced. We are expected to understand and comply with the essence of research ethics.
Author's abstract
Practice and Research Ethics of Multicenter Collaboration Research in the Field of Psychiatry
Department of Pathology of Mental Diseases, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry
Psychiatria et Neurologia Japonica
124: 472-478, 2022
<Keywords:COCORO, EGUIDE, multicenter collaboration research, central ethical review, research ethics>