Characterization of risks in search of an ethics committee in research protocols: bioethical analysis

Abstract

A descriptive study in order to learn how researchers described risks and protective/preventive measures of their researches submitted to analyzes by an ethics committee in research. 175 research protocols submitted to a research ethics committee were included. As a result, only 38 (24.7%) described the risks in the forms and 36 (23.5%) in the informed consent. However, 110 (62.9%) described preventive measures in the forms and 143 (93.5%) in the informed consent. It was concluded that, although researchers have identified preventive measures, they have not described the risks to which the measures were targeted. It is possible that they find it hard to describe risks since they relate them to injuries.