Research Ethics at BCPHR

BCPHR requires that all manuscripts based on research involving human or animal subjects respect the rights, welfare, and dignity of those subjects. Research must have been approved by an institutional review board (IRB), research ethics committee, or equivalent body before data collection began. BCPHR follows the Declaration of Helsinki for human subjects research, the Animal Welfare Act for animal research, and the ICMJE Recommendations for ethical oversight.

Declaration of Helsinki Compliance

The World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki sets the ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. BCPHR requires that all human subjects research has been conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Manuscripts must include the following at submission:

Informed Consent

For research involving human subjects, all participants must have undergone an informed consent process appropriate to the research. Documentation of consent must be retained by the corresponding author and may be requested by BCPHR editors. For research involving identifiable individuals (such as photographs, case reports, or quotations attributed by name), authors must obtain and retain written consent for publication. Copies of consent forms may be requested prior to publication.

Vulnerable Populations

Research involving vulnerable populations (children, prisoners, individuals with cognitive impairments, individuals in dependent relationships with researchers) requires additional ethical safeguards. BCPHR expects manuscripts to describe how researchers protected the rights and welfare of vulnerable participants and how voluntary participation was ensured.

Community-Engaged and Indigenous Research

BCPHR encourages research conducted in partnership with affected communities and Indigenous nations. Manuscripts based on community-engaged or Indigenous research should describe community consent processes, data sovereignty agreements, and benefit-sharing arrangements. Where applicable, research should follow OCAP (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) principles or equivalent frameworks.

Animal Welfare Act Compliance

Research involving animals must align with the Animal Welfare Act and the guidance provided by the Foundation for Biomedical Research. Manuscripts must include the following at submission:

How BCPHR Verifies Ethical Approval

Research conducted without required ethical approvals is treated as unethical research practice and is referred to the BCPHR Advisory Board through the Allegations of Misconduct process.