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.
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.
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.
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 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.