Participant recruitment guidance

Covenant is a research-friendly organization that values the benefits research opportunities can bring to patients. The Covenant Health Research Centre (CHRC) supports the conduct of high-quality research projects in all Covenant facilities.

On first visit, prior to recruitment for research purposes, a researcher must present to clinical staff:

1. Ethics approval letter from an Alberta Health Information Act (HIA) approved Ethics Board (Health Research Ethics Board HREB, Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (CHREB) or Health Research Ethics Board of Alberta (HREBA). See the CHRC Ethics page for more information.
2. Operational/administrative approval letter from CHRC.

Note: An orientation meeting with appropriate clinical unit staff and research staff is recommended to discuss project and clinical expectations and procedures.

Best practice for participant recruitment

According to the HIA Sections 54(1)d & 55, and International Council Harmonisation-Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GC) E6(R2) 4.8.3 Informed Consent, obtaining permission to approach a patient for research purposes is necessary to ensure that the study is conducted in an ethical and responsible manner, and so the patient does not feel any obligation to participate. Therefore, Covenant staff must first act as an intermediary to determine if a patient is willing to be approached by a researcher for potential participation in a study or trial. This must be done prior to any direct patient contact or access to health records/data.

Guidance for Covenant staff

To comply with ethical and regulatory guidelines, these processes must be followed for participant recruitment:

1. Covenant staff are required to act as the first point of contact for the patient. Therefore, it is the role of the Covenant staff member to ensure that the patient:

• Is willing to be approached by a research team member.
• Understands that they will receive the best available care whether they choose to participate in research.
• Understands that they can talk to their care team about their research experience or if they have any questions or concerns.

If you are unsure as to the status of a research project or have concerns how research is conducted, please contact research@covenanthealth.ca.

Guidance for researchers

Researchers will demonstrate compliance with the CHRC Research Policy and will refrain from pursuing any research activities until all required reviews and approvals are in place. Researchers and designates will carry out their work with integrity by conducting research in an honest, responsible and accountable manner that reflects the Covenant Health Values and Code of Conduct.

Key messages

1. All proper reviews and approvals must be in place prior to recruitment.
2. A Covenant staff member must act as an intermediary to identify if a patient is willing to be contacted by a member of the research team for research purposes.
3. All researchers must comply with all Covenant policies and any restrictions while on site, and as well as the CHRC Research Policy.
4. All researchers must conduct themselves in a responsible and ethical manner.