COVID-19

COVID-19 Resources: Clinical trials and research involving humans

Guidelines to obtain approval for COVID-19 clinical trials

• COVID-19: Canada's response; For clinical trial sponsors (Health Canada) provides contact information for regulatory offices to accelerate and expedite authorization of clinical trials
• Management of clinical trials (Health Canada) has collated information for instigation and regulation of clinical trials
• Several provincial bodies have created websites to assist conduct of COVID-19 clinical trials. Research Ethics BC are collecting and developing a range of resources, including training modules to condense training time for research support personnel, and guidance notes for informed consent in a pandemic. Clinical Trials Ontario are collecting updates on clinical trial regulations, and sharing public resources for researchers

Best practices in clinical trials and ethical research involving humans

• Good Clinical Practices provides clear details for how oversight and regulation for clinical trials are conducted in Canada. Updated information is also being collected for management of ongoing clinical trials during the pandemic, as well as information on expediting clinical trial review for COVID-19 related trials
• Why sex and gender need to be considered in COVID-19 research: A guide for applicants and reviewers offers guidance from CIHR on how to integrate sex, gender and other identity factors in COVID-19 research
• REB Guidance during COVID-19 Outbreak (Canadian Association of Research Ethic Boards) offers a collection of guidelines from research ethics boards from Canadian universities, regarding: responsible conduct of research while observing social distancing; ethics guidelines for submission & conduct of COVID-19  related projects
• NCCHP Public Health Ethics & COVID-19 is collecting Canadian and international resources for proper conduct of COVID-19 research, and healthcare decision making, particularly in areas of: ethics frameworks for public health emergencies; SGBA+ and equity in research; Indigenous health; allocation of resources; research and surveillance; global health and justice
• Yellowhead Institute is developing information summaries, fact sheets and policy briefs on issues relevant to Indigenous communities. This includes a brief on Research, Responsibility, & Infrastructure Inequality in healthcare responses to the pandemic
• NCCDH Equity-Informed Responses to COVID-19 is developing lists of resources and information to help ensure equity is maintained in research and healthcare policy decision making in response to COVID-19
• The Nuffield Council on Bioethics provides a comprehensive list of news, opinion, and informational resources which cover emerging ethical issues in the COVID-19 pandemic

Access to clinical trial data

• The Data Access Support Hub (DASH, launched by the SPOR Canadian Data Platform) are providing access to transparent and reliable data for Canadian COVID-19 patient data
• Living map & living network meta-analysis of COVID-19 (Cochrane) collects data on COVID-19 clinical trials, and performs network meta-analysis to reveal potential relationships between these studies, and uncover possible bias. Also shares results from clinical trials
• Global research on coronavirus disease (WHO) has developed a registry for international clinical trials, wherein data can be shared and downloaded
• ClinicalTrials.gov (NIH) collects data from >2000 (as of June 16, 2020) international COVID-19 clinical trials. This includes the Canadian arm of the SOLIDARITY study
• COVID-19 by Scientist.com (Trial Insights) is a digital reporting system that aggregates content from multiple public data sources, including ClinicalTrials.gov. It also features a dashboard for tracking COVID-19 clinical trials
• Dimensions COVID-19 database is part of the Dimensions AI COVID-19 response. It collects publications and data, including clinical trials. Updated daily

Date modified:

2020-07-23