ASPREE and Ethics
The primary role of an ethics committee is to protect the welfare and rights of research participants. Australian Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) are generally comprised of people with and without a health research background who, as a group, will only approve a study if it is conducted with integrity and respects the welfare of participants. Because ASPREE involves the collaboration of multiple universities, health care services and more than 2,100 GPs in Australia, the study and sub-studies have been reviewed and approved by multiple Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs).
All aspects of the ASPREE study have been ethically reviewed and are monitored in accordance with the Australian Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007). In addition, the study and sub-studies have been designed, and are conducted, in accordance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2007). This means that our work must have research merit and be conducted with integrity, justice, beneficence and respect.
ASPREE must also comply with state-based Privacy Acts, such as the Victorian Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and the Victorian Health Records Act 2001.
We also provide regular ongoing reports to the multiple ethics committees overseeing the project. These reports describe study progress, participant safety, data security, complaints and any other issues of ethical relevance.