IRB Question: Safeguarding The Privacy And Protection

IRB QUESTION Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation IRB QUESTION There are a number of barriers that can limit the Institutional Review Board (IRB) from safeguarding the privacy, protection, or confidentiality of information collected from individuals who participate in a research program. One of the barriers is lack of consistency when it comes to reviewing the progress of the IRB system in protecting the rights of human beings. Evidence suggests that most complainants argue that IRB is burdensome and consumes a lot of time yet it does not offer a clear evidence of the way it will protect its human subjects (Grady, 2015). Although people have presented numerous proposals to reform the IRB system, evidence indicates that the alternative models are yet to be effective in enhancing the confidentiality of private information. It is important to note that reviews of people’s information should be centralized to ensure that there is sufficient and adequate protection of the welfare and rights of people who participate in the research studies. Community-based participatory research is also faced with numerous challenges, especially when it comes to environmental toxins which human beings are exposed to. A study done by Brown et al (2010) showed that institutional review boards are usually reluctant to interact with research participants and thus violate the principles of justice and beneficence yet they are required to uphold these values. Evidence indicates that a community-based participatory research (CBPR) should adhere to rules and principles that ensure that the information of individuals that is collected during a research study is protected and only used for research purposes. However, the inability of officials to uphold the confidentiality of this information puts participants at risk of having their confidential data leaked to the general public. Some of the challenges are associated with the duty of fu...