SEMINAR. A digital seminar on ethical review of human research with the Swedish Ethical Review Authority was held on May 30, and was well attended and much appreciated. The seminar was jointly arranged by the Research Support Office and the Council for Research Ethics at the Sahlgrenska Academy, and Gothia Forum, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland. The seminar was recorded, and will be available to watch shortly.
The video (in Swedish) will be available for approximately three months on the Gothia Forum website: www.gothiaforum.com
The seminar was attended by more than 150 people, who also asked many questions. Gunnar Göthberg, Scientific Secretary at the Swedish Ethical Review Authority in Gothenburg and former Associate Professor, pediatric surgeon, and consultant at Queen Silvia’s Children’s Hospital in Gothenburg, began with an overview of the Swedish Ethical Review Act. The Authority’s two administrators, Sara Thomasdotter Berggren and Charlotte Holdar, then gave a step-by-step tour of the Ethix application system.
Ethix can be accessed via the Authority’s website, where anyone who needs ethical approval for clinical research can submit an application. Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology Christina Bergh explained that the new application system is very easy to use:
“This is a fantastic system, with a wealth of easily accessible information. The website provides useful answers to common questions, and the application process is now faster than before.”
Christina spoke in her capacity as both a former assessor of ethical review applications and a researcher with extensive experience of drafting applications.
BY: ELIN LINDSTRÖM
