Expanding Ethics Review Processes to Include Community-Level Protections: A Case Study from Flint, Michigan

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Bioethics
• Community-Based Participatory Research

Background:

• The Flint water crisis highlighted significant distrust between the community and scientific/governmental authorities.
• Rebuilding trust is essential for future community engagement in research and public health initiatives.
• Existing ethical review processes primarily focus on individual participants, often overlooking community-level risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the necessity and implementation of community-level ethical protections in research.
• To demonstrate how community ethics review can help reestablish trust in scientific and governmental institutions.
• To provide a framework for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to engage communities in research protocols.

Main Methods:

• Case study analysis of the Flint water crisis and its impact on community trust.
• Exploration of community ethics review as a complementary process to Institutional Review Board (IRB) review.
• Examination of principles for engaging community members in research design and oversight.

Main Results:

• Community-level ethical protections are vital for ensuring research does not cause further harm.
• A community ethics review process can effectively identify and address community-specific concerns.
• Engaging community members in research protocols is key to rebuilding trust and ensuring equitable benefits.

Conclusions:

• Community ethics review is a necessary addition to traditional IRB review for research involving community risks.
• Implementing community-level protections can foster a more collaborative and trustworthy relationship between researchers and communities.
• IRBs must actively consider community engagement and concerns when reviewing research protocols that impact communities.