Hospital ethics committees in Quebec: an overview

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Health Policy

Background:

• Government documents acknowledge ethics committees' roles.
• Proposed establishment of a Canadian Advisory Council on Biomedical Ethics.
• Need for Quebec to clarify its position on ethics committees.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a comprehensive overview of ethics committees in Quebec.
• To inform stakeholders about available resources.
• To gather data for future in-depth research on ethics committees.

Main Methods:

• A research project was initiated in June 1989 by La Direction de la Sante physique (MSSS).
• Collaboration with Laval University's Groupe de recherche en Ethique Medicale (GREM).
• This overview represents the first stage of the research project.

Main Results:

• Presents general data on ethics committees.
• Describes committees by socio-sanitary region and type.
• Details principal bioethics resources in Quebec, Canada, and globally.

Conclusions:

• The overview serves as foundational data for future policy discussions.
• Establishes a baseline understanding of ethics committee landscape in Quebec.