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APPENDIX B Background In 2002, AcademyHealth’s Board of Directors approved the formation of an advisory committee to assess how we might assist our members as they confront ethical issues in the conducting of health services research and health policy analysis. The Ethical Guidelines Committee’s charge was to explore/affirm the need for AcademyHealth to develop a set of ethical guidelines, make recommendations on the scope of such guidelines, and prepare a draft report for the full Board approval and broad dissemination. November 2002: The Committee agreed on the scope of the project—financial and non-financial conflicts of interest, rather than a broader range of ethical issues. They identified dimensions that influence potential conflicts of interest and discussed examples of conflicts of interest that could be used to help inform the guidelines. February 2003: The Committee refined the sources and character of conflict in health services research, which are influenced by types of research organizations, types of research sponsors, types of research financing, and types of dissemination strategies. May 2003: The Committee reviewed an outline of the report and refined the guiding values and examples of conflicts. June 2003: Members of the Committee conducted a special session at AcademyHealth’s Annual Research Meeting. They sought input from the membership on how best to respond to specific ethical dilemmas and examples of real-world cases that individuals or institutions have confronted. Committee Members made presentations at AcademyHealth’s Center Directors’ Meeting and Meeting of AcademyHealth Members on progress to date. July 2003: A call for information was sent out to AcademyHealth’s Center Directors for insights into the ethical dilemmas that they face or about which they may be aware. September 2003: Drawing on suggestions by Committee members and insights from AcademyHealth’s members, Chairman Zeke Emanuel prepared an initial draft report. The report was distributed to Committee members for critical review. October 2003: The Committee reviewed the draft report, with emphasis on a list of ethical guidelines. November 2003: The report drafting and review process continued among Committee members. December 2003: Chairman Zeke Emanuel presented the draft report to AcademyHealth’s Board of Directors for its review. Winter 2003: Board members offered substantive comments on the draft report for consideration by the Committee. April 2004: Draft report was distributed to AcademyHealth members for comment. The Committee reviewed comments and provided final edits on the draft report. June 2004: At a June 7 meeting of AcademyHealth members during the Annual Research Meeting in San Diego, a summary of comments to date was provided and additional comments invited. A final report was presented to the Board for its approval at its June 8 meeting. In addition to the Board’s review and approval of the final report, they provided guidance on a dissemination strategy for the ethical guidelines. ___________________________________________
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