Ethical Aspects of Research

General

All research supported by the Heart Foundation that involves human participants or animals must conform to the following ethical principles.

The Heart Foundation expects investigators to conduct and report their work with objectivity and scientific honesty, including the limitations of the research design. As part of the obligation to the research participants and the public at large, investigators must ensure that the results of the research and an account of the methods employed are adequately disseminated. They must refrain from making claims or advancing conclusions that are not supported by evidence. Investigators must also recognise the boundaries of their professional competence and must not undertake research of any kind that they are not qualified to carry out.

Ethics Approval

In any submitted research project, the Applicant must provide an approval by an appropriate independent ethics review committee or indicate that this process is in progress. A copy of the ethics committee's approval must be forwarded with the application. Grants will not be activated without this approval.

Research protocols must not be modified subsequently without an amendment approved or a new approval being obtained.

All Applicants must agree (by selecting 'I Agree' in the Applicant Agreement section of an online Application form) that the research conforms to the ethical standards of the Heart Foundation, as outlined in this section.

Research Involving Human Participants

The Declaration of Helsinki should guide research that involves human participants. Applicants should also consult with the relevant ethics committee for specific requirements needed in submitting a request for ethics committee approval.

Research funded by the Heart Foundation must conform with the approval provided by the ethics committee. Grants may be terminated at any time, should the Heart Foundation Scientific Advisory Group judge that the approval and any conditions have not been observed.

Obtaining and use of Privileged Information

All information that can be related to an identified individual must be treated as confidential.

The transfer of confidential medical information between members of the medical profession is an accepted practice in certain contexts. The Heart Foundation accepts that non-medically qualified investigators do, at times, have access to such information and must ensure that their studies are reviewed by a properly constituted ethics committee. Particular care should be taken to ensure confidentiality of material passed between investigators during the course of their research.

The results of investigations must never be presented in such a way that identification of individual participants might be possible.

Research Involving Animals

Researchers making application to the Heart Foundation for grant funding should use alternatives to live animals wherever possible.

Any funding applications for research projects involving animals must conform with relevant legislation and be accompanied with an approval by a properly established ethics committee.

An Applicant proposing to use animals must follow the approved code of ethical conduct and comply with the Animal Welfare Act 1999.

The Heart Foundation supports the ethical principles of animal research (the 3Rs) to replace animals as subjects for research as much as possible, reduce the number of animals used in research, and to refine techniques used in any research to make sure welfare standards are as high as possible.

Research funded by the Heart Foundation must conform with the approval provided by the ethics committee. Grants may be terminated at any time, should the Heart Foundation Scientific Advisory Group judge that the approval and any conditions have not been observed.

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