Institutional review board barriers and solutions encountered in the Collaboration Among Pharmacists and Physicians...

To categorize institutional review board (IRB) challenges and solutions encountered in a multicenter practice-based research network (PBRN) study and to assess the impact of IRB requirements on the willingness of individual principal investigators (PIs) to participate in future PBRN studies.

Descriptive analysis of IRB challenges and solutions encountered in the Collaboration Among Pharmacists and Physicians to Improve Outcomes Now (CAPTION) trial, a multicenter prospective cluster-randomized study conducted by the National Interdisciplinary Primary Care PBRN, and a correlational analysis from a survey of individual site PIs.

IRB barriers encountered and solutions were categorized for study sites. A survey of study-site PIs was conducted with a correlational analysis assessing the impact of various IRB requirements and the willingness of individual PIs to participate in future PBRN studies; of 31 study sites participating in the CAPTION study, 28 study-site PIs were surveyed. IRBs posed a number of challenges including bias regarding the source of the application, issues regarding study design, study instruments, access to patient records, study procedures, Spanish-only speaking subjects, role of clinic physicians, interdepartmental concerns, and updates at continuing review. Responses from the PI survey (21 of 28 PIs surveyed [75% response rate]) indicated that the willingness of an individual to serve as a PI in the future was inversely related to the perceived difficulty of obtaining initial (rS  = -0.599, p=0.004) and continuing (rS  = -0.464, p=0.034) IRB approval.

Significant time and resources were required to address various challenges associated with IRB approval, which had a negative impact on an individual PI's willingness to participate in future PBRN projects. A revision of current rules and regulations regarding the protection of human subjects for practice-based studies, improvement in IRB processes, and support from coordinating centers may decrease the burden associated with IRB approval and increase participation in practice-based research.