title: Challenges faced by research ethics committees in El Salvador: results from a focus group study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify perceived barriers to capacity building for local research ethics oversight in El Salvador, and to set an agenda for international collaborative capacity building.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focus groups were formed in El Salvador which included 17 local clinical investigators and members of newly formed research ethics committees. Information about the proposed research was presented to participants during an international bioethics colloquium sponsored and organized by the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in collaboration with the National Ethics Committee of El Salvador and the University of El Salvador. Interviews with the focus group participants were qualitatively analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants expressed the need to tailor the informed consent process and documentation to the local culture; for example, allowing family members to participate in decision-making, and employing shorter consent forms. Participants indicated that economic barriers often impede efforts in local capacity building. Participants valued international collaboration for mutual capacity building in research ethics oversight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Research ethics committees in El Salvador possess a basic knowledge of locally relevant ethical principles, though they need more training to optimize the application of bioethical principles and models to their particular contexts. Challenges increase the value of collaborative exchanges with ethics committee members in the United States. Further research on facilitating communication between host country and sponsor country ethics committees can maximize local research ethics expertise, and thus raise the standard of protecting human participants involved in international research.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 332 North Lauderdale St., Memphis, TN 38105-2794, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Camp
authors.forename: Raymond C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Barfield
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Amanda J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Ruthbeth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Finerman
authors.forename: Miguela A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Caniza
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004544:El Salvador; D028744:Ethics Committees, Research / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D032984:Ethics, Research / Q000193:education; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006805:Human Experimentation / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics*; D007391:International Cooperation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014481:United States