EFSTH REC General overview for web pages
The Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) Research Ethics Committee (REC or Institutional Review Board, IRB) reviews and monitors all research conducted under the auspices of the hospital.
The over-riding responsibility of the REC is to protect the well-being of study participants.
The specific purposes of the REC are:
a) To review all research proposals that involve patients, their families and the broader community receiving care at the hospital, staff and others working under the auspices of the hospital
b) To protect research participants from possible harm or danger, to preserve their rights and to reassure the community and sponsoring organisations that this is being done
c) To maintain a register of all research undertaken under the auspices of the hospital
d) To ensure that procedures are carried out in accordance with the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) Good Clinical Practice (GCP) standards (1996)
The REC meets on the last Tuesday of every month to review research applications. Research projects include biomedical, behavioural, social science, and epidemiological research. These are submitted by hospital staff and also students mainly from the departments of Medicine and Nursing, University of The Gambia School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences and the Gambia College School of Nursing and Midwifery. We also review applications for external organisations and students (e.g. American International University West Africa) that wish to involve members of the hospital community.
We welcome observers to attend REC meetings. This must be arranged in advance with the REC Secretary, strict confidentiality must be maintained, and an observer must not be present when proposals that they are connected with in any way are reviewed.
Please note that for clinical trials or other intervention studies, approval is also required from the Joint Gambia Government/MRCG Research Ethics Committee: scientific-coordinating-committee
For any questions or for further information,
Please contact Ms. Mam Jarra Touray, Administrative Assistant [email protected] , the REC Chair, Prof Stephen Allen [email protected]
or Secretary, Mr Samba Bah [email protected]