Naslov
Ethics Committees in Croatia in the healthcare institutions: structure, functions and some reflections on the major issues and problems

Autori
Borovečki, Ana

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Ocjenski radovi, magistarski rad

Fakultet
Faculty of Medicine

Mjesto
Leuven, Belgija

Datum
06.03

Godina
2004

Stranica
24

Mentor
Prof.dr.Stella Reiter -Theil, prof.dr.Henk tenHave, prof.dr.Paul Schotsmans, prof.dr.Renzo Pergoraro

Neposredni voditelj
Prof. dr.Stjepan Orešković

Ključne riječi
Croatia; ethics committees; HEC; IRB; National Bioethics Committee

Sažetak
Objectives: Ethics committees are an important component of the healthcare worldwide and their structure and function has been analyzed through number of papers. In Croatia, ethics committees are legally required in all healthcare institutions by the Law on the Health Protection. Until now, there was no investigation into the structure and function of ethics committees in the healthcare institutions in Croatia. This paper aims to fill in this gap. Design: Cross-sectional survey of the healthcare institutions (excluding pharmacies and homecare institutions) to identify all ethics committees. Setting: Croatia six years after the implementation of the Law on the Health Protection. Main measurements: Structure and function of ethic committees in the healthcare institutions. Results: 46% of the healthcare institutions in Croatia (excluding pharmacies and homecare institutions) have ethics committee. 89% of ethics committees in healthcare institutions have 5 members 3 of whom are from medical professions and 2 come from other fields. 49% of those committees stated that their main function is the analysis of the research protocol although their functions combine both the function of an IRB (institutional review board) and HEC (healthcare ethics committee). Only a small fraction of those ethics committees sent in standing orders, working guidelines or other documents that are connected with their work. Conclusions: Although there are legal provisions for ethics committees in the healthcare institutions in Croatia, there is an evidence of discrepancies between the practice and the Law on the Health Protection, suggesting the need for revision of the law. There is a need for creating separate networks of HEC-s and IRB-s in Croatia. In comparison with other countries, the development of ethics committees in Croatia has some similarities with other transitional societies in Europe. More research should be undertaken in the work of ethics committees in Croatia, in order to understand committees’ group dynamics, attitudes, and knowledge.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

POVEZANOST RADA