By ChiomaOBINNA & Olayinka LATONA
Nigerian researchers have been tasked to observe strict compliance of professional ethics with a view to ensuring better research outcomes in the country. Participants at the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR)/ AMANET Research ethics symposium series tagged:

“Research Ethics Review: Reviewers and Investigators Perspective” were updated on strengthening of health research ethics in Nigeria in order to minimise the risk and problem of unethical research practices.

Dr. Philip Agomo who represented the Director General, Prof. Innocent Ujah, said the objective was to address ethical issues at the designing stage of health research to ensure that research works are of international standard.

In his paper entitled, Research Ethics: Reviewers Perspective,” Dr. Babatunde Adewale of the Public Health Department of NIMR said researchers must comply with informed consent of the subject of the research and conditions of participation. He said the research must ensure confidentiality adding that participants’ privacy must be respected.

“The reviewers should also ensure that research work is of an international standard. Research must ensure that the study is socially beneficial and participants are also beneficiaries of the research.

In his own paper entitled; “Health Research Ethics: Investigators Perspective,” Dr. Sam Awolola of the NIMR Public Health Department stressed the need for online review proposals, identification of inconsistency in guidelines for submission of research proposals. He said  most research works are not followed up and are often back dated.