CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03346720Data SharingUpdated Jun 20, 2018

Ethical Challenges of Consent in Data Sharing

An observational study in Data Sharing, sponsored by University of Oxford. Completed at 3 sites in Thailand. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-06-20.

Sponsored by University of Oxford · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
40
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

In recent years, Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) has coordinated some of the largest international studies involving many sites in low-income and hard-to-reach settings. It has been our policy for many years to support sharing of data across collaborative research networks in order to maximize their utility. However there is increasing support from research funders, regulatory agencies and journals for sharing individual-level data from genomic, medical and public health research beyond research collaborations. A number of potential advantages of sharing individual level data from clinical and public health research have been identified in the literature. These include maximizing the utility of data, allowing verification of research results, and minimizing the burdens and costs of unnecessary duplication of research. In low- and middle-income settings it may be particularly important to effectively share data to maximize its utility and enable timely responses to important public health issues such as resistance to antimalarial treatments. Many authors have called for data sharing to be carefully curated, to minimize potential harms including breaches of privacy, the publication of poor quality or biased secondary research, and insufficient acknowledgment of the contribution of researchers generating datasets. In low- and middle-income settings, the need for data sharing policies and processes to promote equitable use of data, including the development of sustainable capacity to both share and analyse datasets, has been recognized.

It is foreseeable that the impact of this policy will be significant both practically and ethically. In the practical sense, there have already been changes in our data management processes and resources, clinical trial agreements and negotiations with collaborators. Ethically, this policy has impact on the consent process which includes the increasing use of broad consent, the changes in the language of information sheets, study protocols and ethics application documents and the actual consent taking by research staff.

Now that that these new data-sharing mechanisms have been put in place there is a need to evaluate their impact on practice. The aim of this study is to identify and analyse ethical challenges related to consent following implementation of a new data sharing policy with the aim of refining the data sharing policy and its related consent processes

02

Conditions studied

  • Data Sharing

Keywords

  • Data Sharing
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Four groups of participants will be recruited.

Group 1. Participants recruited into biomedical research where data collected may be shared with the wider research community.

Group 2. Frontline research staff directly involved in obtaining consent from participants in the above studies e.g. study nurses, investigators.

Group 3. Research related staff and other stakeholders involved in the implementation of the data sharing policy e.g. study managers, data access committee members, ethics committee members, study nurses, investigators, research collaborators, data managers and other clinical trials support staff.

Group 4. Community advisory board members and other community members.

Inclusion criteria

  • Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study.
  • Male or female, aged 18 years or above.
  • Able to speak and understand Thai, English, Burmese or Karen

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Lack of relevant experience or expertise
04

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
40 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No

Groups and cohorts

  • Participants recruited into biomedical research

    Participants recruited into biomedical research where data collected may be shared with the wider research community.

    Other: Semi-structured interviews · Other: Focus group discussions (FGDs)

  • Frontline research staff

    Frontline research staff directly involved in obtaining consent from participants in the above studies e.g. study nurses, investigators

    Other: Semi-structured interviews · Other: Focus group discussions (FGDs)

  • Research related staff and other stakeholders

    Research related staff and other stakeholders involved in the implementation of the data sharing policy e.g. study managers, data access committee members, ethics committee members, study nurses, investigators, research collaborators, data managers and other clinical trials support staff.

    Other: Semi-structured interviews · Other: Focus group discussions (FGDs)

  • Community advisory board members

    Community advisory board members and other community members

    Other: Semi-structured interviews · Other: Focus group discussions (FGDs)

Interventions

  • OtherSemi-structured interviews

    These interviews will be conducted following an interview guide. Interviews will be conducted in English or Thai at a place convenient and familiar to the interviewee. It is estimated that each interview will last between 45 minutes to an hour.

  • OtherFocus group discussions (FGDs)

    These will be conducted following an interview guide. FGDs will be conducted in English or Thai. In addition, a note taker will be present to take notes. FGDs will take place at a place convenient and familiar to the participants. It is estimated that each FGD will last between 1 to 1.5 hours. FGDs will typically consist of homogenous groups e.g. study nurses.

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. The opinion of ethical challenges in consent process under a new data sharing policy

    Time frame: 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. The opinion of participants recruited in primary research with information presented to potential participations in future research studies about data sharing

    Time frame: 1 year

  2. The views of stakeholders with broad consent

    Time frame: 1 year

06

Study locations

3 sites
  • Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Mae Sot
    Mae Sot, Tak, Thailand
  • Hospital for tropical diseases, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University
    Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
  • Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) Office
    Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
07

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Data collected for this study will be de-identified and may be shared with other groups of researchers in accordance with the current MORU Data Sharing Policy.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03346720
Lead sponsor
University of Oxford
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 17, 2017
Start date
Feb 1, 2017
Primary completion
Aug 7, 2017
Completion
Aug 7, 2017
Last update
Jun 20, 2018

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion