National ethical guidelines for health research in Nepal 2022

Abstract

Foreword Message from the NHRC It is indeed a great pleasure and privilege for NHRC to be able to revise a document entitled 'National Ethical Guidelines for Health Research in Nepal.' NHRC is currently exploring new ideas to overcome the challenges confronting health research. We hope this guideline builds on these very initiatives. NHRC has always been at the forefront of setting standards for ethics in health research. The council published the Ethical Guidelines in 2001, which underwent further revisions in 2011, 2019, and 2022. National Ethical Guidelines for Health Research in Nepal 2022 is an outcome of in-depth discussions and debates with the experts, involving diverse stakeholders, NHRC Executive Committee, Ethical Review Board (ERB) Chairperson, former chairperson, and ERB members. 'This revised edition of the guideline has addressed many emerging ethical issues, keeping in view the social, economic, cultural, legal, and religious aspects of Nepal, the revised version also aims at sensitizing the government authority, health care institutions, policymakers, planners, research institutions and social scientists of Nepal on ethical obligations and best practices. We believe NHRC's revised ethical guidelines will be acknowledged and used as a reference by the researchers in Nepal and beyond. With the concerted efforts and collaboration of Government, private, public, and other relevant organizations, we believe that our goal of preparing National Ethical Guidelines will ultimately result in the development of sound ethical practices in Nepal. We expect that the researchers will be able to enhance clarity about ERB of NHRC requirements, understand clarity about ERB of NHRC requirements, understand the standard templates, checklists for submission, and monitoring compliance needs, among others. We are confident that the government, health care institutions, and individuals will contribute to the guideline's success. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the NHRC Executive Committee members, especially to Prof. Dr. Mohan Raj Sharma, Prof. Dr. Prakash Ghimire former ERB Chairperson (2018-2021), ERB Members, and the ERB secretariat. In addition, we would like to express gratefulness to everyone who has kindly contributed to the development and completion of the National Ethical Guidelines for Health Research in Nepal 2022. We would also like to thank USAID's Suaahara II Program for helping us edit the guideline.