Reducing Unnecessary IRB Oversight

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Description of the Research
There are three ways to advance practice through projects: evidence-based practice (EBP) change, performance improvement, or research. There is considerable debate over where to draw the line between projects that require IRB oversight and those that don't. This presentation will describe tested methods to decrease unnecessary IRB oversight for low risk EBP and principal investigator (PI) projects while clarifying which EBP and PI projects might benefit from IRB oversight. A terminology guide is provided to support project leaders when writing a manuscript with the results of a project that has not been conducted with IRB oversight to distinguish it clearly from human subject's research. Templated communication with the IRB to secure a deferral from oversight is presented. The Squire guidelines and EBPQA guidelines for publishing PI and EBP projects without IRB oversight are reviewed. In one organization, unnecessary IRB oversight was reduced by 84% in employee-initiated research using these methods. This process has been tested and adopted by several large organizations throughout Southern California. Work tools to guide application to practice will be available for dissemination.