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. 2022 Nov 19;23(1):116.
doi: 10.1186/s12910-022-00857-x.

Knowledge, opinions and experiences of researchers regarding ethical regulation of biomedical research in Benin: a cross-sectional study

Flore Gangbo  1   2 , Grâce Quenum  3 , Fernand Aimé Guédou  4   5 , Martial Boko  2   6
Affiliations

Knowledge, opinions and experiences of researchers regarding ethical regulation of biomedical research in Benin: a cross-sectional study

Flore Gangbo et al. BMC Med Ethics. .

Abstract

Background: Ethics in biomedical research is still a fairly new concept in Africa. This work aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and experiences of Beninese researchers with regard to the national ethical regulatory framework of biomedical research in Benin.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study, involving all the researchers fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview using a questionnaire and analysed. Proportions and means were calculated with their confidence intervals and standard deviations, respectively.

Results: Of the 110 participants included in the study, 40.9% were medical lecturers and 71.1% had been involved in more than 10 biomedical research as researcher. Less than three quarters (69.1%) were able to correctly quote the basic principles from Belmont report. The quarter (25.45%) of them knew the attributions of the National Ethics Committee for Health Research (CNERS in French) and 38.2%, the content of the legislation on health research ethics in Benin. The common ethical rules were known by 69.1% of the participants. A quarter (25.5%) of participants said they always present the study's briefing note to their study participants and 62.7% said they systematically request informed consent. For those who do not present the briefing note to participants, the main reasons provided were the researchers' difficulties in writing the note in plain language and the participants' limitation in understanding it.

Conclusions: The foundations of a good ethical framework for health research exist in Benin. However, the deployment and use of the various legal texts deserve to be improved.

Keywords: Benin; Biomedical research; Ethical regulation; Experiences; Knowledge; Researchers.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of participants according to the number of cited ethics principles (from Belmont report) (N = 110). NA No answers
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Distribution of participants according to their opinions on the CNERS procedures for protocol approval (N = 110)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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