Knowledge of the Nigerian Code of Health Research Ethics Among Biomedical Researchers in Southern Nigeria.
Responsibility for protection of research participants from harm and exploitation rests on Research Ethics Committees and principal investigators. The Nigerian National Code of Health Research Ethics defines responsibilities of stakeholders in research so its knowledge among researchers will likely aid ethical conduct of research. The levels of awareness and knowledge of the Code among biomedical researchers in southern Nigerian research institutions was assessed. Four institutions were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. Research participants were selected by purposive sampling and completed a pre-tested structured questionnaire. A total of 102 biomedical researchers completed the questionnaires. Thirty percent of the participants were aware of the National Code though 64% had attended at least one training seminar in research ethics. Twenty-five percent had a fairly acceptable knowledge (scores 50%-74%) and 10% had excellent knowledge of the code (score ≥75%). Ninety-five percent expressed intentions to learn more about the National Code and agreed that it is highly relevant to the ethical conduct of research. Awareness and knowledge of the Code were found to be very limited among biomedical researchers in southern Nigeria. There is need to improve awareness and knowledge through ethics seminars and training. Use of existing Nigeria-specific online training resources is also encouraged.
['Ogunrin|Olubunmi A|OA|', 'Daniel|Folasade|F|', 'Ansa|Victor|V|']
D000328:Adult D001364:Awareness D035843:Biomedical Research D032781:Codes of Ethics D028744:Ethics Committees, Research D032984:Ethics, Research D005260:Female D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009549:Nigeria D011361:Professional Competence D012108:Research Personnel D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D055815:Young Adult
code of health research ethics research ethics biomedical researchers Nigeria