Membership Recruitment and
Selection Process
1.0 Background
In June 2012 Public Health Ontario’s (PHO) Board of Directors approved the policy on research involving human subjects. The policy granted the President and CEO authority to establish an Ethics Review Board (ERB) with the mandate to review the ethical acceptability of research and other evidence-generating initiatives including evaluation, surveillance and quality improvement. The ERB will play a vital role in helping to ensure that research and other initiatives conducted under the auspices of PHO and eligible health units are conducted in a manner that is consistent with the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans, Second edition (TCPS 2) as well as other relevant regulations, policies and guidelines.
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the recruitment and selection process to establish the inaugural membership for the ERB. A timeline of key milestones is provided in Figure 1.
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2.0 ERB Positions and Criteria
ERB membership positions are based on TCPS 2 composition requirements and include three different categories of membership: chair, regular and community members (see Appendix A). Composition criteria for each category were established to include the necessary background, expertise and
perspectives for the ethics review of public health initiatives. Below is a brief outline of the composition criteria for each membership category. For information about the roles and responsibilities of
members, please see our draft Terms of Reference.
REGULAR MEMBERS
Regular members should have expertise in the broad scope of public health disciplines, fields, and methodology as represented in content areas outlined in the Ontario Public Health Standards Program Standards. In addition, one individual should have expertise in ethics of research involving humans and another individual should have expertise in relevant law. Health equity expertise, prior research ethics board experience, or experience in ethics in public health practice or institutional review processes is an asset for membership. Regular membership composition should include a mixture of early and later-stage career members, and representation from a variety of public health professions and geographical locales (provincial representation).
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Community members should represent the perspective of the study participant and reflect the broad-based values of the relevant community. These members should have experience in any of a wide range of community or social service or participation in a school or other applied setting. They must also exhibit a critical mind or openness to a variety of perspectives and have sufficient time to dedicate to ERB responsibilities.
CHAIR
In addition to qualifications outlined for regular membership, the chair should have expertise, training or knowledge of ethics legislation, guidelines and standards, regulations and policies. He or she must also demonstrate strong leadership capabilities in research ethics or ethics in public health practice and preferably should have experience in public health research.
3.0 Application Screening and Selection Process
A broad call for ERB members was launched by PHO in July 2012 to solicit applications for the three categories of ERB membership. PHO’s Research and Ethics team pre-screened all applications for eligibility based on public health expertise and TCPS 2 composition criteria. A selection committee was established to review applications and provide recommendations regarding ERB composition and membership to the President and CEO. The committee was composed of PHO’s Director of Knowledge Services, Scientific Advisor for Ethics and the Research and Ethics team along with one colleague from External Relations and one external (non-PHO) member with experience in research ethics
administration and review For an overview of the application screening and selection process, see Figure 2.
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REGULAR AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Ninety-five regular and community member applications were distributed to selection committee members for independent review. Committee members independently rated each application on a five-point scale according to assessment criteria of relevant expertise, training, experience and commitment. They were then asked to indicate if they would or would not recommend the applicant for ERB
membership or if they were unsure. Thirty-six applications that included at least one member’s recommendation moved forward for further review and discussion at the ERB selection committee meeting in September.
Figure 2. Application Screening and Selection Flow Diagram
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The selection committee short-listed eighteen regular and three community member candidates for recommendation to the President and CEO who best collectively covered the breadth of public health expertise and methodologies desired. Selected candidates represent a range of career stages,
geographical locations across the province, and public health professions. However, because a few gaps in skills and expertise related to required composition remained, the selection committee also
recommended approaching additional individuals with specific expertise in health law, epidemiology, and laboratory methods to act as ad hoc advisors on the ERB. Ad hoc advisors can be consulted in the event that the ERB lacks the specific expertise or knowledge to review the ethical acceptability of a research proposal (TCPS Article 6.5).
Reference checks were then conducted by the Research and Ethics team in order to confirm community member candidates’ qualities and attributes and to ensure a good match for the position.
CHAIR
Five chair applications were independently reviewed by a sub-set of the selection committee, which included PHO’s Director, Knowledge Services and Scientific Advisor, Ethics. In addition to the
assessment criteria of relevant expertise, training, experience and commitment, chair applicants were evaluated on their leadership experience and knowledge of ethics legislation, guidelines and standards, and professional development. Three short-listed chair applicants were further reviewed and discussed at a meeting of the sub-set of the selection committee also in September.
The sub-set of the selection committee recommended the top two chair candidates to the President and CEO who best exemplified the full range of qualities, expertise and experience desired. Moreover, recommended candidates had significant experience in relationship building and education of ERB members, which is critical for the ERB’s early stages of implementation.
4.0 Appointed Members
PHO’s President and CEO validated the final list of candidates recommended for ERB membership and appointed them to the ERB in October. Table 1 lists the inaugural membership of the ERB.
Table 1. List of Members
Name Affiliation Role on ERB
Dr. Judith Friedland University of Toronto Chair
Dr. Jennifer Asanin Dean University of Toronto Alternate
Maureen Cava Toronto Public Health Regular
Dr. Denise Grafton St. Joseph’s Health Care London Regular
Dr. Nasim Haque Wellesley Institute Regular
Elizabeth Haugh Windsor-Essex County Health Regular
Blair Henry Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Regular
Karin Hohenadel Public Health Ontario Regular
Dr. Ian Johnson Public Health Ontario Regular
David Lemire Community Resource Connections of Toronto Community
Malka Lewittes Community Lawyer Regular
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Name Affiliation Role on ERB
Gaela Mintz Toronto District School Board Community
Dr. Jennifer Mitton Hamilton Public Health Regular
Meghan Puskarich Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health Regular
Nancy Ramuscak Peel Public Health Regular
Nicole Ritchie Simcoe Muskoka Public Health Alternate
Daniela Seskar-Hencic University of Waterloo Regular
Tammy Simon Community Member Community
Maxwell Smith University of Toronto Alternate
Ido Vettoretti Sudbury and District Health Unit Alternate
Dr. John Williams Ottawa Public Health Regular
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Appendix A.
Membership pre-screening and selection was informed by the ERB composition requirements as outlined in the TCPS 2:
a) Members knowledgeable in relevant law (n ≥ 1) b) Members knowledgeable in ethics (n ≥ 1)
c) Members with expertise in relevant research disciplines, fields and methodologies (n ≥ 2) d) Community member (n ≥ 1)
