title: Using the IRB Researcher Assessment Tool to Guide Quality Improvement.
abstract: Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are intended to protect those who participate in research. However, because there is no established measure of IRB quality, it is unclear whether these committees achieve their goal. The IRB Researcher Assessment Tool is a previously validated, internally normed, proxy measure of IRB quality that assesses 45 distinct IRB activities and functions. We administered this instrument to a sample of investigators and IRB members at a large urban VA Medical Center. We describe a systematic approach to analyze and interpret survey responses that can identify the IRB activities and functions most in need of quality improvement. The proposed approach to empirical data analysis and presentation could inform local initiatives to improve the quality of IRB review.
authors.affiliation: VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, PA, USA University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA hallde@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, PA, USA University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Hanusa
authors.affiliation: VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, PA, USA University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.affiliation: VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, PA, USA University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Roslyn A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.affiliation: VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, PA, USA University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Galen E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Switzer
authors.affiliation: VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, PA, USA University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Arnold
mesh_terms: D028744:Ethics Committees, Research / Q000592:standards*; D006040:Goals; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012106:Research; D012108:Research Personnel; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014768:Virginia
keywords: Institutional Review Board; engineering; quality improvement; research ethics committee