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Activity Report, Washington State Institutional Review Board, Fiscal Year 2004

Executive Summary

This report provides an overview of the Washington State Institutional Review Board. It Summarizes the Board's authority and functions, outlines the human research review process, and describes major activities during fiscal year 2004. It also includes a log of all research projects which were reviewed during this period.

Under Federalwide Assurances with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Washington State Institutional Review Board reviews and approves research (except exempted categories) sponsored by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), the Department of Health (DOH), or the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I),
conducted by or under the direction of any employee of agent of these state agencies, using any DSHS, DOH, or L&I property or facility, or using any non-public information held by these state agencies to identify or contact human research subjects or prospective subjects.

The review process is intended to protect the rights and welfare of subjects participating in the research, and to assure that the research is sound and is likely to produce benefits which are greater than the risks to subjects. The review also protects the departments from liability resulting from improperly conducted research.

The Washington State Institutional Review Board is comprised of professionals working both within and outside these three state agencies. Each Board has scientist members, and members whose primary interests are in non-scientific areas. Board members volunteer a substantial amount of their time to review proposals submitted by researchers. The membership of Review Board A and Review Board B is shown on pages v and vii.

The Review Board receives administrative support from the Human Research Review Section in the Department of Social and Health Services. Staff in the Section also serve as the Executive Secretary and Associate Executive Secretary of the Board.

More information about the departments' human research review policies and procedures, and copies of the Washington State Agency Policy on Protection of Human Research Subjects (revised April 14, 2003), the Washington State Institutional Review Board Procedures Manual (April 2004), and the departments' Research Application forms, are available on the Review Section's website: http://www.dshs.wa.gov/rda/hrrs/. You may contact the Review Section at (360) 902-8075 or by email at: wsirb@dshs.wa.gov.

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