Hi, Gaia:

New Zealand has developed what I belive one of the best systems in the
world with ethics committee and patients' rights protection. For instance,
the regional ethics committees were distinctive in their constitution, half
of the committee members were to be lay, with a requirement for the
chairperson to also be a lay member and to have two Maori (native New
Zealanders) representatives.
They are independent from any medical institution.

Also, feminism played a crucial role in the birth of bioehtics and the
legalization of patients' rights in New Zealand.My colleague Lynley
Anderson and I co-authored on a historical and sociological review
of bioethics in New Zealand. It has been published in The Annals of
Bioethics: Regional Perspectives in Bioethics (Swets & Zeitlinger, 20003,
pp. 341-361). I can email you a copy if you are interested in it.

All the best.

Jing-Bao


At 07:25 p.m. 13/02/2004 +0100, gaia wrote:
>Dear all,
>I'am coordinator of a research group on Rights & Ethics in Medicine, I am
>organizing in Italy a series of meeting on this issues "the role of member
>of community in the ethics committees -IRB-"
>Little is known about the roles and experiences of them and what
>contributions they are making to IRBs.
>I think community representation is one of the most important issues in the
>discussion on medical research.
>I would like to receive from you ideas, experiences, documents...papers and
>so on...
>can you help me?
>Thanks a lot in advance!!!
>Gaia
>
>Gaia Marsico
>REM coordinator
>Research group on Rights & Ethics in Medicine
>Segreteria-Coordinamento c/o:
>Centro Studi SIFO/Lab.di Epidemiologia Assistenziale e Sistemi Informatici
>Consorzio Mario Negri Sud - via Nazionale - 66030 Santa Maria Imbaro
>(Chieti)
>Tel. 0872.570256
>E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>SITO INTERNET:   http://easi.negrisud.it/etica