LESSONS FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. EXPERIENCE OF AN ETHICAL-SCIENTIFIC UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE

Abstract

This presentation communicates the lessons learned by the COVID-19 epidemic during the op­eration of the Human Research Ethics Committee,Faculty of Medicine,University of Chile during the first three years of the pandemic. Between 2020 and 2022 we received 806 projects,which meant an increase of 20% compared to the 672 projects of the pre-pandemic triennium (2017­2019). Additionally, it was necessary to keep the committee operating completely telematically to avoid contagion and giving priority to COVID-19 projects,without affecting the rigor of its analysis. To this end, the length and frequency of the sessions were increased,adapting instru­ments and procedures. Among the lessons learned from this operation,the following stand out: 1) Management of digital document, telematic and recorded sessions, approval certificates and proceedings of sessions sent by email and use of electronic signatures. 2) Adaptation of procedures to prevent contagion: application of remote informed consent, dispatch of docu­ments via the internet, replacement of visits by video-calls, use of individualized transport and personal protection elements in face-to-face activities. 3) Improvement in computer capacity and security, to safeguard the confidentiality of meetings, resolutions and communications. 4) Increase of the memory of the computers,to increase the storage capacity of the committee. 5) Implementation of an electronic platform for the management of processed projects. Most of these changes implemented in pandemic are durable and can be expected to become mastered over the course of their repeated application.