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Guidance on health and social care research projects for educational purposes - update

Guidance on health and social care research projects for educational purposes - update

13th August 2020

In March 2020 the Health Research Authority (HRA) and devolved administrations (DA's) announced the suspension of reviewing applications for individual undergraduate and master’s student projects until further notice, while the urgent review of COVID-19 studies took place.

This was also due to the significant pressure on the NHS/Health and Social Care (HSC), limiting its ability to participate in research studies unrelated to COVID-19.

As the lockdown eases, the HRA and DA's have released an update for students, supervisors and HEIs on their current position in relation to student research and ethics review.

For now, the existing position of not reviewing applications for individual undergraduate and master’s student projects will remain in place. This means that any student project requiring approvals will not be able to proceed. Any students with approved studies are reminded to check with the relevant NHS/HSC organisations locally about whether or not their projects may continue.

Proposed new guidelines for student research will be published in the autumn for consultation in use. Students, research supervisors and HEIs will be invited to share their opinions and help shape this framework.

You can find more information on the current position on the HRA website.

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