PAHO Ethics Review Committee (PAHOERC)
PAHOERC ensures that all research carried out with PAHO support, whether technical or financial, follows international standards for research with human participants. All research with human participants must also receive approval from an independent Ethics Review Committee (ERC) in the country where the study will take place. PAHOERC is the entity responsible for determining whether a proposal meets the definition of "research involving human participants." For more information, consult the PAHOERC Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
PAHOERC is made up of a group of professionals from different disciplines, observers from key departments, and a Secretariat that is part of the Regional Bioethics Program, within the Science and Knowledge for Impact Unit of the Department of Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health (EIH/SK). Current PAHOERC members and observers are listed here.
Submitting a proposal to PAHOERC
Proposals for review or consultation (see FAQs below) must be submitted through ProEthos, PAHOERC's portal for ethics review. After creating an account in ProEthos, follow the instructions in the platform to submit the proposal. Questions can be directed to PAHOERC@paho.org.
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PAHOERC VIDEOS
Information Session
What needs ethics review during the pandemic?
Videos on Research Ethics
When does health research need ethics review?
What do Research Ethics Committees review?
External Resources
- Qualitative research and evaluation methods: integrating theory and practice, 4th Edition (Sage Publishing)
- Qualitative research methods for the social sciences 9th Edition (Amazon)
- Online courses on methods in social sciences (NEW)