BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Awards for Excellence in Human Research Protection were announced today by Dr. Peter G. Goldschmidt, President and Founder of the Health Improvement Institute. Recipients of an Award of Excellence in best practice included:

• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Common Language for Risks and Events Database. This database assists study teams in writing and amending consent forms to include language considered acceptable by the DFCI Institutional Review Board. This tool can be used 1) to reduce confusion among study participants in understanding consent documents and 2) to limit the conditions for approval of research due to unsuitable lay language for risks and events in the consent form document.
• National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project. This comprehensive program maintains research compliance at two levels: 1) directed at institutional oversight procedures and 2) directed at ensuring patient-specific quality control practices for the signed and dated informed consent documents submitted by the participating sites at the time of patient entry.
• Washington University in St. Louis, Ethic Series. The Ethic Series elicits thought and discussion in areas pertinent to human subjects' research that do not have clear cut right and wrong choices or answers but that need to be considered in order to carry out human subjects' research as ethically as possible.

"The Award program offers a way to gain positive recognition for excellence in the field of human research protection," said Dr. Goldschmidt. "This year's awards continue the high standard in best practices that have been submitted for an Award since the program began."

Awards are given for demonstrated excellence in promoting the well being of people who participate in research. The Health Improvement Institute created this Award program. The Office of Human Research Protection was its founding sponsor. Judges and Committee and Award Advisory Board members are volunteers. This year's judges were drawn from provider, research review, compliance, legal, and consulting organizations.

About Health Improvement Institute:

Health Improvement Institute is a non-profit, tax exempt, 501(c)3, charitable organization dedicated to improving the quality and productivity of America's health care. The Institute's principal program objective is to provide information to enable people to make informed health care choices. The Institute has established expertise in evaluating the quality of health information on the Internet, conducts forms and workshops, and sponsors national awards programs to recognize excellence, including the Award for Excellence in Human Research Protection. For more information, visit www.hii.org.

The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) - together with the federal Food and Drug Administration - oversees programs for the protection of human subjects at more than 4,000 HHS-funded universities, hospitals, and other medical and behavioral research institutions and private research sites in the United States and abroad.

For information about the 2010 Award for Excellence in Human Research Protection, please contact the Award Coordinator at 301-320-0965 or by email at hii@hii.org.

CONTACT: Shristi Joshi
soj@hii.org
301-320-0965

SOURCE Health Improvement Institute

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