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Institutional Review Board

IRB MEMBERS

  • Gary Blasi – Professor of Law Emeritus at UCLA, active public interest lawyer and advocate (IRB chair)
  • Jan Breidenbach – Adjunct Associate Professor of Planning, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
  • Ruthie Gilmore – Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
  • ____ – (open seat)
  • Madeline Wander (Outside Member) – PhD Candidate, UCLA Urban Planning.  Formerly Senior Data Analyst, USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute (ERI)

Guiding Documents

 


Training for Protecting Human Research Participants:

Since March 2008, the NIH Office of Extramural Research has offered the online tutorial Protecting Human Research Participants (PHRP), which the Economic Roundtable uses to train staff researchers and IRB members who review staff projects.

“This course is designed to prepare investigators involved in the design and/or conduct of research involving human subjects to understand their obligations to protect the rights and welfare of subjects in research. The course material presents basic concepts, principles, and issues related to the protection of research participants.”

“The information presented is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and does not replace or supersede local, state, or Federal regulations applicable to human research or any institutional policies regarding the protection of human subjects. This course offers one option for fulfilling the obligation for education in the area of humans, data managers, and statisticians.” (Source HHS)

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Note: “The current U.S. system of protection for human research subjects is heavily influenced by the Belmont Report, written in 1979 by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. The Belmont Report outlines the basic ethical principles in research involving human subjects.” (Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Human Research Protections)

 


Current and Past Projects Subject to Review:

Grocery Industry Equity Study 2021-2022

This proposed project will investigate the condition of workers at Kroger grocery stores in Southern California, Northern Washington and Colorado. The purpose is to assess fairness, safety and sustainability for grocery workers. Information is being gathered through meetings, a survey of workers, and analyses of government data and records. Documents regarding the IRB review of this project include:

  1. Transmittal Letter to IRB Requesting Approval
  2. Research Protocol for Protection of Human Subjects
  3. IRB Approval of Research Protocol

Port Automation Study 2021-2022

This proposed project will investigate the the economic benefits generated by the wages earned by dockworkers and assess the trade-offs between these local benefits and the labor-reducing impacts automating terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Documents regarding the IRB review of this project include:

  1. Research Protocol for Protection of Human Subjects
  2. IRB Approval of Research Protocol

Homeless Employment Project 2020-2023

This proposed pilot project will demonstrate and evaluate the feasibility of preventing persistent homelessness by empowering high-risk unemployed workers and young adults to earn a living-wage and claim a permanent right to housing. It will address chronic homelessness as a problem of racial injustice as well as a problem of inadequate income by providing comprehensive services and skill development for jobs paying wages that cover rent for adults on a path to chronic homelessness. Two predictive screening tools developed by the Roundtable are used to identify individuals who are likely to be persistently homeless. . Documents regarding the IRB review of this project include:

  1. Transmittal Letter to IRB Requesting Approval
  2. Research Protocol for Protection of Human Subjects
  3. IRB Approval of Research Protocol

USC Service Workers Research Study 2019-2020

This proposed project will investigate Investigate economic outcomes for frontline workers who provide food and housing services at the University of Southern California (USC). Documents regarding the IRB review of this project include:

  1. Transmittal Letter to IRB Requesting Approval
  2. Research Protocol for Protection of Human Subjects
  3. IRB Approval of Research Protocol

Los Angeles County Record Linkage Project, 2007-2018:

This proposed project will support operational progress in strengthening welfare outcomes for families, focusing on Los Angeles County. Planning began by asking stakeholders what kind of information they need about welfare recipients. One hundred twelve individuals responded with recommendations about research topics, and these recommendations were used to develop the research plan.  Documents regarding the IRB review of this project include:

  1. Request for submitted by the project research team to the Economic Roundtable IRB:
  2. Human Participants Protection Education for Research Teams, Certificates of Completion:
  3. Economic Roundtable-Los Angeles County MOU (206 KB)
  4. CDSS Confidential Data Policy & Agreement (69 KB)

Approved: Yolanda Arias, IRB chair, notified the Economic Roundtable’s Board of Directors at it’s October 2007 meeting that the Family Centered Welfare Research Project was approved by the IRB.IRB Approval of FCWRP (44 KB)

Pilot Project to Screen and House High-Cost, High-Need Single Homeless Adults, 2010-2013:

Objectives:

  1. Refine screening tool by adding fields for medical diagnosis and frequency and type of medical services.
  2. Validate the screening tool by using it to identify approximately 30 high-cost, high-need hospital inpatients, emergency room patients, and jail inmates.
  3. Develop a pilot screening, referral, advocacy, and housing network to move high-cost, high-need homeless individuals through screening, into temporary housing, and then into permanent supportive housing.
  4. Develop a network of community-based integrated health service teams which include community-based FQHC clinics and housing providers to provide a more humane and cost effective alternative to inappropriate use of emergency health services and jail recidivism.
  5. Assess the viability of each component of the pilot system for identifying, housing and serving high-cost, high-need individuals.

Review materials for this project include:

Approved:    Yolanda Arias, IRB chair, notified the Economic Roundtable’s staff that the Pilot Project to Screen and House High-Cost, High-Need Single Homeless Adults was approved by the IRB. IRB Approval Letter (42 KB)

Homeless Cost Avoidance Study, 2008-2009:

Goal of the Study: Profile the characteristics of and county costs for chronically homeless, mentally ill residents. Study has been approved by LAHSA and several county agencies as well as developers of permanent supportive housing for homeless residents. The Roundtable team includes L.A. County CEO’s Services Integration Branch, which will produce the data linkages services for this project, drawing in records for homeless individuals with data from the departments of Health, Public Health, Mental Health, Sheriff, and Public Social Services. Documents regarding the IRB review of this project include:

  1. Request submitted by the project research team to the Economic Roundtable IRB:
  2. Homeless Housing Advocates participating in this research:
  3. Human Participants Protection Education for Research Teams, Certificates of Completion:

The Skid Row Collaborative study is governed by the following eight policies, protocols and agreements that specify standards and procedures for safeguarding the confidentiality of information about individuals who are subjects of the study:

  1. Economic Roundtable policy on protection of human subjects
  2. Economic Roundtable confidential data policy
  3. Research protocol for the Skid Row Collaborative study submitted to and approved by the Economic Roundtable Institutional Review Board
  4. Informed consent document prepared and approved by Los Angeles County Counsel
  5. Contract with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
  6. Subcontract with the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office
  7. Memorandum of Agreement among Los Angeles County departments providing data for the study
  8. Memorandum of Agreement among Skid Row Housing Trust, Lamp Community, JWCH Institute, Inc. , and the Economic Roundtable for conducting this study

Feasibility of Data Linkages Using De-identified Records

The study procedure for data linkages for without disclosing the identities of individuals who have not signed informed consents is explained in this description of the SAS DataFlux software used linking client records:

The research protocol for this study has been approved by the Economic Roundtable’s IRB.

Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) Study, 2007-2008:

The Economic Roundtable is carrying out “An Economic Study of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) and the Local Housing Market” for the City of Los Angeles in from June 2007 through June 2008.  Read more about the RSO Study.  Documents regarding the IRB review of this project include:

  1. ERT IRB Research Protocol for Protecting Human Subjects in Tenant and Landlord Surveys LAHD 2007 (48 KB)

 


Human Subjects Resources from Federal Offices

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