Ethics Review in Alberta

Conducting research in compliance with regulatory standards ensures that human participants rights and welfare are respected. The Canadian policy standard for the ethical conduct of research is the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2). The role of Research Ethics Boards is to review research proposals and ensure that researchers have met the standards advanced in the TCPS2, Health Information Act, Good Clinical Practice Guidelines, etc.

In Alberta, there are Research Ethics Boards (REBs) associated with Alberta Innovates and with most post secondary educational institutions. There are three research ethics boards authorized to review research protocols that seek access to personal health information (i.e., diagnostic, treatment, care information held by healthcare data custodians such as Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health):

• University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (CHREB)
• University of Alberta Human Research Ethics Board (HREB) – REB 3: HREB Health Panel, REB 4: Biomedical Panel, and
• Alberta Innovates Health Research Board of Alberta (HREBA – Cancer Committee, Community Health Committee, and Clinical Trials Committee).

These three REBs have specific jurisdictions. The CHREB oversees projects conducted by researchers from the University of Calgary, Faculties of Nursing, Kinesiology and Cumming School of Medicine, and research projects using personal health information. HREB oversees research conducted by University of Alberta researchers and is the board of record for Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health (province-wide), University of Lethbridge and Concordia University. HREBA oversees all cancer and cancer-related research regardless of the PI’s academic affiliation, non-cancer clinical trials conducted by community-based investigators and other research conducted by community-based researchers.

Quality Improvement, Quality Assurance, Quality Improvement, and Performance Reviews

Not all projects require REB oversight. Article 2.5 of the TCPS2(2022) states,

“Quality assurance and quality improvement studies, program evaluation activities, and performance reviews, or testing within normal educational requirements when used exclusively for assessment, management or improvement purposes, do not constitute research for the purposes of this Policy, and do not fall within the scope of REB review.”

It is important to be clear about purpose, scope and stakeholders of your project as the intent has implications for the type of review that might be required.

For more information please visit Guidelines for Differentiating among Research, Program Evaluation, and Quality Improvement or visit the ARECCI Ethics Screening Tool to assess the risk level of your project.

Research should consult their REBs prior to project planning/implementation about the applicability of the TCPS2 to their studies. QA/QI/PE projects may be exempted from research ethics require requirements. Exemptions are granted by the REB, the onus is on the project lead to consult in advance of project implementation. Research ethics approval cannot be granted for work already undertaken.

• For University of Alberta projects and their affiliates, please Request an ethics review determination for your project (UAlberta Login Required).
• For University of Calgary projects and their affiliates, please visit University of Calgary Resources on Ethics and Compliance.
• For cancer, cancer-related projects, clinical trials, and community-based project, please visit HREBA.
• For quality improvement and project evaluation projects, please visit www.arecci.albertainnovates.ca or email arecci@albertainnovates.ca.