CIHR Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People support community involvement
CIHR press release ...
CIHR Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People Are Now in Effect
2008-10-23 - The CIHR Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People were developed through extensive consultation with Aboriginal communities and researchers across Canada. These Guidelines are aimed at promoting and enabling health research that is in keeping with Aboriginal values and traditions. They do this by establishing clarity of expectations and responsibilities among all parties.
The Guidelines came into effect as policy for CIHR-funded research on July 1, 2008. In practice, this means that starting with the December 2008 launch of funding opportunities, researchers seeking CIHR funding for health research involving Aboriginal people must now adhere to the Guidelines.
The Guidelines will apply if:
- Being Aboriginal is relevant to the research question (e.g., people are recruited because they are Aboriginal);
- The analysis of data/biological sample will use membership in Aboriginal community as a variable;
- The findings of the research will have an impact on Aboriginal people or communities or will provide interpretation of Aboriginal history or culture.
In practice, applicants must now indicate on their forms whether the proposed research involves Aboriginal people and if so, they must show proof of community approval before funds can be released. This proof can be in the form of a signed research agreement, for which there is a template in the Guidelines document.
In cases where communities prefer not to establish a formal agreement, a letter of community approval and a statement of justification by the researcher will be accepted. It is recognised that for some types of Aboriginal health research, identifying a specific signing authority will not be possible, in which case the statement of justification is the main requirement. In all cases, the applicant should show familiarity with the spirit of the Guidelines.
To support the implementation of the Guidelines, the CIHR Ethics Office is currently developing training material aimed at researchers, REB members and Aboriginal communities. More information will be available through University Research Administration Offices and on the CIHR Ethics webpage in the coming months.
Click here to download the Guidelines in English, French and Inuktitut.
Enquiries can be sent to the Aboriginal Ethics Guidelines mailbox at: