Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) Awareness Index of The Project Leaders in Medical Research

Introduction: Ethics committee is supposed to play a great role in safe human research. It is mandatory that all research projects related to health sciences with involvement of patients/human subjects should be approved by IEC before commencement. Available data reflects low IEC awareness index amongst routine project investigators. Being inclined mainly towards teaching and research not being a mandatory part, IEC awareness index of faculty members is also not expected up to the mark. Indian Council of Medical Research has launched development of Multidisciplinary Research Unit (MRU) for igniting research component in medical colleges of India. Objectives: A study was designed to check the awareness about the composition, review procedures and functioning of IEC collectively known as IEC awareness index amongst the project leaders in government medical colleges of Punjab. Methods: Information was compiled in questionnaire from 50 participants who were either part of a research project or submitted a research project for funding. Results: The study reflects that the average 32% participants were not aware about its composition and 86% felt need of extensive training before becoming a member of IEC. A stunning number of 14% participants were not at all aware about role of SOP in IEC review procedure. A few participants despite being member of IEC demonstrated a very poor IEC awareness index. Conclusions: Data indicates need of serious efforts for training of faculty along with need to inculcate the IEC-ICH guideline in curriculum of post-graduate medical students