A Survey on the Observance rate of Research Ethics Principles in Approved Proposals at Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran

Introduction: Considering the ever-increasing developments in medical research, especially the use of human subjects in research projects, the implementation of such research according to the ethical principles and criteria of creditable national and international declarations is of great significance. The present study aimed to investigate the rate of observance of research ethics in proposals approved at Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran,  from 2010 to 2016.   Materials & Methods: This descriptive-retrospective study evaluated 489 research proposals that had been approved between 2010 and 2016. Following that, the required information was extracted using six checklists prepared using the standard questionnaires of the Ethics Review Committee in World Health Organization (WHO/ERC) and other related studies. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software.   Findings: According to the results, 402 (82.2%) proposals observed the ethical consideration section. However, only 20 (4%) proposals were referred to the Research Ethics Committee and approved by the Research Ethics Committee. Furthermore, in 163 (57.8%) proposals, the subjects were informed of their participation in the study, and in 177 (36.2%) proposals, informed consent was included. In the proposals with human subjects, the confidentiality of the subjects' information in the research was predicted in 257 (52.6%) proposals.   Discussions & Conclusions: The ultimate goal of national/regional Research Ethics Committees is the improvement of the current situation and getting closer to the related standards, which totally showed a progressive trend. Holding educational workshops for honorable members of scientific boards as well as students, and careful supervision of ethics committees, especially in clinical trials and animal studies, is presented as a proposed optimization strategy to improve the ethical environment.