Research ethics committees in the regulation of clinical research: comparison of Finland to England, Canada, and the United States

Table 1 Rules regulating research ethics committees (RECs) and their work in clinical research, Finland compared to England, Canada (Ontario), and the USA, around 2010

	Finland	England	Canada	USA
Type of research handled	Medical	Within NHS; specific types^a	Human and health care	Human and health care
Specific research law	Yes, medical research	No	No	Yes, general
Main basis	Law	Health Ministry rules	Requirements from national grant agency	Government rules
Special law for drug trials	EU clinical trials directive, national laws	EU clinical trials directive, national laws	Drug and devices law	Drug, devices and food law
Leading document	No single	No single	Tri-Council statement^b	Common rule
Helsinki declaration	Separate document	Separate document	Some parts integrated in leading document	Some parts integrated in leading document
International Committee on Harmonization (drug trials) Good Clinical Practice guidelines	Separate document for drug trials	Integrated to rules	Integrated in leading document	Integrated in leading document

^aRegardless of place, a certain type of research, such as investigational drugs and devices, adults lacking capacity to consent, exposure to ionizing radiation.
^bTri-Council statements, tri-council policy statement: ethical conduct for research involving humans.

ISSN: 1478-4505