Is this ethical?

[westsidestoryz]

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I am conducting an oral hygiene survey in a medically underserved population. The whole point of this survey is to keep track of the patient's oral habits and instill preventative practices. Its not medicine, but I think its still important to create those types of habits, especially for dental care.

We, as a student, are giving a presentation on very basic oral care which we got it from online sources. Mostly on how to brush, floss, what food causes cavities, and emphasizing good habits.

The presentation itself is for information purposes only and the survey is voluntary (to keep track of habits).

So my question is, as students, are we allowed to do this? We are not forcing the patients to do anything. Just giving information, collecting data for Excel input, and handing out free floss.

Thanks!

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

IRB Determination Tool

 

[westsidestoryz]

IRB Determination Tool

Wow! Thank you!!

 

[LizzyM]

Is it meant to generate generalizable new knowledge or merely a means of collecting data that you will use to direct follow-up with the individual? There is a chance that this isn't even research, never mind human subjects research.

Doing health education generally doesn't doesn't require any special license or training (although it doesn't hurt to be trained).

 

[westsidestoryz]

Is it meant to generate generalizable new knowledge or merely a means of collecting data that you will use to direct follow-up with the individual? There is a chance that this isn't even research, never mind human subjects research.

Doing health education generally doesn't doesn't require any special license or training (although it doesn't hurt to be trained).

It is for our own record to follow-up on patients to see if our method of educating those individuals are effective.

And I forgot to mention, but we are not strictly sticking with oral care. We mean to collect bp, glucose levels, weights, and other general info while conducting a educational session for said topics.

This is not research, it is to keep a record to see trends and how effective our methods are, and to adjust if those methods are ineffective. We have also put a disclaimer and its purely voluntary. I just wanted to be 100% safe since we are dealing with confidential information.

 

[LizzyM]

Is your work sponsored by an organization? That organization might be covered by HIPAA. If it is, what you are generating might be personal health information (PHI). In any case, you should take every precaution to prevent the identifiable information from being lost or stolen.