Transcript Which Interests Conflict: Venal or Virtuous?

What Conflicts of Interests
Do HRECs need to Address?
Professor Colin J. H. Thomson
Professorial Fellow, Faculty of Law
University of Wollongong
Consultant in Health Ethics
National Health and Medical Research Council
7/21/2015
Conflict of interest
Researcher participating in competitive
funding review of research proposals
including her own.
7/21/2015
NHMRC Conference May 2005
Why Are Conflicting Interests
Objectionable?
Some say undermining judgment by
– bias
– unreliability
– corruption of will, but
• illness, stress can have same effects but not
conflicting interests, and
• effects vary according to personal strength.
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NHMRC Conference May 2005
Result of Acting with Conflicting
Interest
At individual level • may offend accepted standards of personal/
professional morality
• may damage personal/professional
reputation.
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NHMRC Conference May 2005
Effect of Conflicting Interest
At institutional level - decision, decision
processes cannot stand, because
• institutional goals, to find most deserving
proposal, not achieved, because
• conflict distorts individual’s role in
decision, and
• prevents fulfilment of her responsibilities.
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NHMRC Conference May 2005
Effect of Conflicting Interest
At institutional level:• researcher’s role is impartial expert,
• responsibility to apply expertise,
• to fulfil institutional goal of funding best
proposal
7/21/2015
NHMRC Conference May 2005
Effect of Conflicting Interest
At institutional level (continued):
Personal conflicting interest of researcher:
• distorts role of expert to that of advocate,
• applies greed not expertise,
• prevents achievement of institution’s goal to
identify and be seen to identify & fund
most deserving proposal.
7/21/2015
NHMRC Conference May 2005
What Interests Conflict?
Those that:
• distort individual role in institutional process,
• deform performance of individual role
responsibilities, and
• prevent fulfilment of institutional goals.
May also be those that:• offend accepted standards personal morality, and
• damage personal/professional reputation.
7/21/2015
NHMRC Conference May 2005
What Interests Do HRECs Need
to Address?
What processes involve HRECs?
What are the goals of those processes?
Who are participants in those processes?
What roles & responsibilities do those
participants have in those processes?
(Conflicting interests will be those that
distort those roles and responsibilities &
prevent achievement of those goals).
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NHMRC Conference May 2005
Processes & roles of HRECs
What are institutional
processes that involve
HRECs?
What are the goals?
Who are participants
in those processes?
What are roles &
responsibilities of
participants?
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Ethical review of
proposed of research
involving humans
Sound review
Researchers, HREC
members, institution
Research integrity
HREC disinterest
Quality institution
NHMRC Conference May 2005
Conflicting Interests for HRECs
What interests would:
• distort those roles or responsibilities and
• prevent achievement of that goal?
7/21/2015
NHMRC Conference May 2005
Conflicting Interests for HRECs
HREC member participates in the ethical
review and approval of her own proposal
Competing researcher advises HREC
Distorts HREC member/expert roles
Prevents achievement of sound review
goal.
7/21/2015
NHMRC Conference May 2005
Processes & roles of HRECs
What are institutional
processes that involve
HRECs?
What are the goals?
Who are participants
in those processes?
What are roles &
responsibilities of
participants?
7/21/2015
Ethical review of
proposed of research
involving humans
Protect participants
Researchers, HREC
members, institution
Research integrity
HREC responsibility
Quality institution
NHMRC Conference May 2005
Conflicting Interests for HRECs
What interests would:
• distort those roles or responsibilities and
• prevent achievement of that goal?
7/21/2015
NHMRC Conference May 2005
Conflicting Interests for HRECs
Doctor recruiting own patients in
competitive site establishment for research
on drug H for capitation fee paid (or who
has patent interest in outcome)
• distorts researcher role.
• prevents achievement of protection goal.
• does it prevent achievement of sound
review goal?
7/21/2015
NHMRC Conference May 2005
Conflicting Interests for HRECs
• Conflicts that prevent achievement of sound
review goal - for institutions
• Conflicts that prevent achievement of
protection goal - for HRECs
• Sponsor contractual restraint on researcher
disclosure?
– of results to public/peers
– of risks to participants
7/21/2015
NHMRC Conference May 2005
7/21/2015
NHMRC Conference May 2005