Certificates of confidentiality in research: rationale and usage

Genetic Testing
Zachary N CooperLainie Friedman Ross

Abstract

Certificates of confidentiality (COCs) are a tool to protect researchers from being compelled to release identifying information about their subjects. Whereas institutional review board (IRB) review and informed consent procedures are mandatory tools to protect human subjects, COCs are voluntary. There are limited data about who procures COCs and why, and whether they are useful. Three Institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided data on 114 research projects that had received COCs. Eighty-three researchers had procured a single COC and 11 researchers had procured 31 COCs. One hundred and four (91%) of the COCs were obtained by researchers at academic sites, and 17 institutions collectively accounted for 82 COCs. The most commonly cited sources of information about COCs came from colleagues (n = 18, 35%) and previous experience (n = 17, 33%). The most common reasons for procuring a COC were that the research involved genetics (n = 28, 54%), the research could lead to social stigmatization or discrimination (n = 22, 42%), or the research could damage an individual's financial standing, employability, or reputation (n = 21, 40%). These findings show that COCs are often congregated within institutions and by part...Continue Reading

References

Sep 7, 1979·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·B J Montgomery
Nov 22, 1997·Journal of Clinical Epidemiology·D A AschN A Christakis

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Citations

Mar 20, 2010·Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics : JERHRE·Lainie Friedman RossSarah Gehlert
Jan 19, 2008·American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part a·Josh W JosephLainie Friedman Ross
Sep 16, 2011·The New England Journal of Medicine·Kathy L Hudson
Jan 22, 2008·American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part a·Alon B NeidichLainie Friedman Ross

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