Ethical Conduct of Research

All research conducted in preparation for, or as part of, the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging abides by the requirements of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and relevant institutions for ethical conduct and privacy protection in health research.

The CIHR Advisory Committee on Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI) for the CLSA has been established under the authority of CIHR, as part of a broader CLSA governance structure, to uphold the accountability, transparency and integrity of the CLSA. The committee's mandate, roles and responsibilities can be found on the CIHR ELSI website.

CIHR requirements for the ethical conduct of research can be found in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS).

CIHR's best practices for protecting privacy can be found in the Best Practices for Protecting Privacy in Health Research.

Research Ethics Board Review Process

To ensure the safety and well-being of study participants, the CLSA participates in an ethical review process at all sites taking part in the study. This process involves local research ethics boards reviewing and approving all aspects of the CLSA. Research ethics boards are responsible for ensuring compliance with national, provincial and institutional policies on research involving human subjects.

The protocol of the CLSA has been reviewed and approved by 13 research ethics boards across Canada. As part of this ongoing process, any changes to the CLSA protocol are reviewed annually.