Ethics

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Ethics
Youth Science Foundation Canada Fondation
sciences jeunesse Canada

• Human Participation
• Use of Animals
• Patrick Whippey

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Lt.-Gen. Roméo Dallaire
Business in Canada must have a conscience and
ethics London ON, May 12 2004
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Goals

• To present the information that Regional Fair
  Committees need to understand the ethical issues.
• To define clearly the rules that participants
  must follow
• To make it easy for participants to follow the
  rules.

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Why a New Policy?

• Not revised for many years.
• Old Rules Hard to understand.
• Recent new insights into Ethics

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RSF Ethics Committee

• 1 to 3 people
• Ideally
• Nurse
• Occupational Therapist
• Doctor
• Veterinarian
• Role is Education and Support

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RSF Ethics Committee

• Be familiar with ethical issues.
• Review all non-trivial risk projects before
  experiments begin.
• Identify the Adult Supervisor.
• Identify the Scientific Supervisor.

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Adult Supervisor

• Required
• Parent, teacher, or scientist
• Ensures student understands ethical issues at an
  appropriate level.
• Ensures YSF rules are followed.

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Scientific Supervisor

• Involved if there is more than trivial risk.
• Often located in University or Industrial
  Laboratory setting.
• Usually has professional qualifications.
• May be the Adult Supervisor.

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Human Participation Low Risk Projects

• Surveys of
• skills
• attitudes
• beliefs
• Skill tests,
• Observations of behaviour

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One Minute Moment

• Give 2 examples of a low risk survey.
• Give 2 examples of a survey with significant risk

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Form for Low Risk Projects

• 4.1A Approval of Low Risk Projects involving
  Human Participation
• Simple declaration that the rules have been
  followed.
• Signed by Adult Supervisor.

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Human Participation High Risk Projects

• Everything Else

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Form for High Risk ProjectsBeforehand
4.1B Application For Review of Research with
Human Participants Involving Significant Risk

• Required before experiments begin.
• Projects often done in a research laboratory.
• Reviewed by RSF Ethics Committee.
• Most RSFs wont see such a project.
• Required for CWSF.

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Form for High Risk ProjectsAfterwards

• 4.1C Human Animal Research Approval
• Required after project is completed.
• Signed by
• Student Researcher
• Adult Supervisor
• Scientific Supervisor
• Certifies that all rules have been followed.
• Required for CWSF

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Informed Consent Low High Risk projects.

• The right to be informed of risks
• The right to remain anonymous
• The right to withdraw
• at any time
• for any reason.
• The right to be informed of the results.
• Informed Consent Form

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Non-Vertebrate Animals

• Allowed

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Vertebrate Animals

• Allowed only under four conditions.
• Observation
• Behavioural experiments with positive rewards if
  the animal is not stressed.
• Projects conducted in a registered
  institution/laboratory if the animal is not
  sacrificed specifically for the science fair
  project.
• Studies of embryos. No drugs frozen at 85 of
  incubation period.

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Form for Vertebrate Animals

• 4.1C Human Animal Research Approval
• Required after project is completed.
• Signed by
• Student Researcher
• Adult Supervisor
• Scientific Supervisor
• Certifies that all rules have been followed.
• Required for CWSF

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Difficult Cases

• Refer to YSF Canada
• Ethics Committee

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Case Study 1

• A students family grows grapes and makes wine.
• Will give family members increasing volumes of
  alcohol, and measure reaction time.
• Would this be allowed?
• If not, why not?

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Case Study 1 Issues

• Gives a substance known to cause harm.
• Will not produce new information.
• Not appropriate for a minor to encourage adults
  to drink alcohol.

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Case Study 2

• Student wants to give family members increasing
  amounts of tablets, available over the counter,
  and to measure its effect on clotting properties.
  Will be supervised by a Medical Doctor.
• Would this be allowed?
• If not, why not?

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What is a Drug?

• Drug includes any substance or mixture of
  substances manufactured, sold, or represented for
  use in
• the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or
  prevention of a disease, disorder, abnormal
  physical state, or its symptoms, in human beings
  or animals,
• Restoring, correcting, or modifying organic
  functions in human beings or animals,
• Disinfection in premises in which food is
  manufactured, prepared or kept.
• defined by Health Canada (2004)

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YSF Rules on Drugs

• Drugs may be used in any experiment exhibited at
  a Science Fair only if carried out in a Hospital,
  University, Medical or other similar Laboratory
  under the direction of a qualified Scientific
  Supervisor. (revised 2005)

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Case Study 3

• A student wants to know the minimum number of
  legs a flea needs to jump.
• Pulls successive legs off fleas. Observes for 5
  minutes each to see if they can still jump.
• Uses a population of 100 fleas.
• Would this be allowed?
• If not, why not?

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Resources

• Web Site Devoted to Ethics.
• http//www.physics.uwo.ca/sfair/ethics/
• These rules in detail
• Links to resources.
• Replacement, Reduction and Refinement
• Tri-Council Policy.
• Case Studies
• This presentation.

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YSF Rules

• This is the web address of the YSF Policy Manual
  the Official Rules.
• http//www.ysf-fsj/Members/policydirectory.aspx

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Summary

• Form an Ethics Committee
• Read the Ethics web site.
• Adopt the YSF Rules for your RSF

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Acknowledgements

• Carl von Baeyer Dept of Psychology, U. of
  Saskatchewan
• Tom Crawford, Dofasco Inc, Bay Area RSEF
• Bill Ross, Faculty of Medicine, U. of Ottawa
• Louis Silcox, Waterloo-Wellington RSF
• Fred Smith, Faculty of Science, Memorial
  University
• Judith Soon Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
  UBC
• Susan Sykes, Office of Human Research, U. of
  Waterloo

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Thanks for your Attention.

• Questions?