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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NCJournal of empirical research on human research ethics : JERHRE

When Scientific Validity Overshadows Justice: An Analysis of a Liberian Institutional Review Board’s Minutes (2018-2019) using the Emanuel et al. Framework

  • Sienneh Zezay Tamba1
  • Marlyn Faure2
  • Heidi Matisonn1,3
  1. 1South African Research Ethics Training Initiative (SARETI), School of Social Sciences, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
  2. 2Ethox Centre, University of Oxford, England, UK.
  3. 3The EthicsLab, Department of Medicine and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
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Abstract

Post-Ebola Liberia experienced rapid growth in internationally sponsored health research, increasing demands on institutional review boards (IRBs) amid constrained oversight capacity. This qualitative single-case study analyzed meeting minutes from 2018-2019 from one Liberian IRB, coding 124 documented ethical concerns using Emanuel et al.'s eight-principle framework. Scientific validity accounted for nearly half of concerns, while fair participant selection and informed consent formed a second tier, and collaborative partnership and social value were rarely mentioned. These findings suggest that concerns tied to study design, risk-benefit assessment, and consent are raised more frequently than concerns that explicitly address partnership and social value. We interpret this pattern as a profile of documented deficiencies rather than a hierarchy of the committee's ethical commitments, since minutes capture objections and requests for change. The results highlight opportunities to strengthen attention to collaborative partnership, social value, and equity-oriented capacity-building in IRB procedures, and training in Liberia and aid-dependent settings.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{tamba2026when,
  title = {{When Scientific Validity Overshadows Justice: An Analysis of a Liberian Institutional Review Board’s Minutes (2018-2019) using the Emanuel et al. Framework}},
  author = {Sienneh Zezay Tamba and Marlyn Faure and Heidi Matisonn},
  journal = {Journal of empirical research on human research ethics : JERHRE},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1177/15562646261488591},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/15562646261488591},
  note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - When Scientific Validity Overshadows Justice: An Analysis of a Liberian Institutional Review Board’s Minutes (2018-2019) using the Emanuel et al. Framework
AU  - Sienneh Zezay Tamba
AU  - Marlyn Faure
AU  - Heidi Matisonn
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/29
JO  - Journal of empirical research on human research ethics : JERHRE
DO  - 10.1177/15562646261488591
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1177/15562646261488591
AB  - Post-Ebola Liberia experienced rapid growth in internationally sponsored health research, increasing demands on institutional review boards (IRBs) amid constrained oversight capacity. This qualitative single-case study analyzed meeting minutes from 2018-2019 from one Liberian IRB, coding 124 documented ethical concerns using Emanuel et al.'s eight-principle framework. Scientific validity accounted for nearly half of concerns, while fair participant selection and informed consent formed a second tier, and collaborative partnership and social value were rarely mentioned. These findings suggest that concerns tied to study design, risk-benefit assessment, and consent are raised more frequently than concerns that explicitly address partnership and social value. We interpret this pattern as a profile of documented deficiencies rather than a hierarchy of the committee's ethical commitments, since minutes capture objections and requests for change. The results highlight opportunities to strengthen attention to collaborative partnership, social value, and equity-oriented capacity-building in IRB procedures, and training in Liberia and aid-dependent settings.
SN  - 1556-2646
SN  - 1556-2654
ER  -