Than Mo Mo, Htike Hein, Silverman Henry J
Department of Biochemistry, Defence Services Medical Academy, Yangon, Myanmar.
University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA.
Asian Bioeth Rev. 2020 Sep 26;12(4):379-398. doi: 10.1007/s41649-020-00148-w. eCollection 2020 Dec.
Health research has increased during the last decade, which has enhanced the importance of research ethics. However, little is known regarding the knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and practices of investigators in Myanmar. To assess awareness, knowledge, and attitudes of post-graduates regarding research ethics and research ethics committees (RECs) and their informed consent practices and to determine the association between their responses and certain independent factors. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire that was distributed to a convenience sample of post-graduates at the Defence Services Medical Academy in Myanmar. We used descriptive, test, and chi-square statistics to analyze the data. Significance was set at < 0.05. We obtained surveys from 204 participants, which included 177 MSc and 27 PhDs of whom 63.6% had performed research and 86.5% had prior ethics training. Regarding awareness, 92.2% were aware of an REC at their academy, but only 47.1% were "fully aware" of the functions of an REC and only 52.9% stated they were familiar with ethical principles that govern human subject research. More than 90% thought that research involving human subjects should be submitted to an REC and that post-graduates should have training on research ethics. However, several of their attitudes were sub-optimal; for example, 20.2% said that informed consent is only necessary from the community leader of a village rather than from the individual, 32.8% agreed it is acceptable to fabricate research data, and 33.0% believed that ethical review of research should be restricted to international collaborative research. Calculated mean total attitude scores were statistically significantly higher in post-graduates with PhDs compared with those with MSc and higher in those with knowledge of research ethics principles compared with those lacking such knowledge. Significant gaps exist among post-graduates regarding their knowledge, awareness, and attitudes regarding research ethics and RECs. We recommend that post-graduates receive further training in research ethics to ensure the ethical conduct of research. Further studies should be performed to determine the generalizability of our findings to other institutions in Myanmar.
在过去十年中，健康研究有所增加，这提升了研究伦理的重要性。然而，对于缅甸研究人员的知识、意识、态度和实践情况，人们却知之甚少。为了评估研究生对研究伦理和研究伦理委员会（RECs）的认识、知识和态度，以及他们的知情同意实践情况，并确定他们的回答与某些独立因素之间的关联。我们进行了一项横断面研究，使用问卷调查了缅甸国防军医学院的研究生便利样本。我们使用描述性统计、检验和卡方统计来分析数据。显著性水平设定为<0.05。我们获得了204名参与者的调查结果，其中包括177名硕士和27名博士，其中63.6%的人进行过研究，86.5%的人接受过先前的伦理培训。关于认识，92.2%的人知道他们学院有研究伦理委员会，但只有47.1%的人“完全了解”研究伦理委员会的职能，只有52.9%的人表示他们熟悉管理人类受试者研究的伦理原则。超过90%的人认为涉及人类受试者的研究应该提交给研究伦理委员会，并且研究生应该接受研究伦理培训。然而，他们的一些态度并不理想；例如，20.2%的人表示知情同意只需要从村庄的社区领袖那里获得，而不是从个人那里获得，32.8%的人同意伪造研究数据是可以接受的，33.0%的人认为研究的伦理审查应该仅限于国际合作研究。计算得出的平均总体态度得分在博士研究生中统计学上显著高于硕士研究生，在了解研究伦理原则的人中高于缺乏此类知识的人。研究生在研究伦理和研究伦理委员会的知识、认识和态度方面存在显著差距。我们建议研究生接受进一步的研究伦理培训，以确保研究的伦理 conduct。应该进行进一步的研究，以确定我们的研究结果对缅甸其他机构的可推广性。 （注：最后一句中“ethical conduct”可能有误，推测原文可能是“ethical conduct of research”，翻译为“研究的伦理行为” ）
