• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.1-2
• /
• 2022

With the rising attention dedicated to research ethics, the responsibility of researchers to comply with research ethics is also highlighted. Among a number of research ethics obligations that researchers should abide by, an institutional review board (IRB) review is the most essential step to be taken before launching research. As the health service research field grapples with human subjects, it closely aligns with IRB deliberation. However, it seems that researchers still do not fully understand their obligations of IRB reviews. Due to the nature of health services research, there are many cases that are exempt from IRB reviews, which often elicits confusion in the research field. On that note, we aim to explore the issues regarding IRB reviews that health service researchers need to know.