A team from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs Inc. (AAHRPP) will visit Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine on March 17, 2020 and March 18, 2020.
AAHRPP site visitors will evaluate the medical school’s Human Research Protection Program (HRPP). AAHRPP is an independent accrediting body that works to ensure the ethical and equitable treatment of all human subjects in research.
The medical school’s Human Research Protection Program was formed in 2016 to support human subjects research conducted at the medical school and its affiliated healthcare organizations, including Ascension Borgess Hospital and Bronson Methodist Hospital. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) works closely with the HRPP to provide oversight of active research projects involving human subjects.
AAHRPP’s accreditation process is based on self-assessment, peer review and education. During the site visit, AAHRPP will conduct interviews with medical school officials, IRB members, research study investigators and team members.
“It’s considered to be the gold standard of human research protection programs,” Maureen Owens, director of the medical school’s Human Research Protection Program, said of AAHRPP.
Once accredited, the medical school’s HRPP will be the first one in Southwest Michigan to have the distinction, Owens said.
“It puts us in a different category of program because (once accredited) we’ve demonstrated that we go above and beyond what the regulations require,” Owens said. “It raises the bar, so to speak, in terms of the quality of research review.”