Health Research Priority Setting: Do Grant Review Processes Reflect Ethical Principles?

Area of Science:

• Health research funding
• Grant allocation
• Research ethics

Background:

• Public and non-profit organizations fund health research primarily through grants.
• Grant review processes are critical for allocating limited research resources.
• Current grant review criteria may not align with ethical resource allocation principles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the criteria and processes used by major health research funders.
• To assess the alignment of grant review practices with ethical health resource allocation.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of grant application review criteria and processes.
• Examination of practices from ten large public and non-profit research funders.

Main Results:

• Funders rarely instruct reviewers to consider disease burden.
• Prioritization of research for sicker or more disadvantaged populations is uncommon.
• Review panels typically consist solely of scientists.

Conclusions:

• Current grant review practices may not effectively link research funding to health needs.
• The exclusion of non-scientist perspectives may impact equitable resource allocation.
• Revising review criteria could improve alignment with ethical health priorities.