The 10th R&D&I ICT Health and Social Care Conference ended with a session on data protection in research projects

The webinar, which focused on the evaluation of Data Protection in research projects, ended the cycle of 4 webinars of the 10th R&D&I ICT Health and Social Care Conference, held remotely, as could not have been otherwise in the current situation, and served to reflect on the digital transformation of the health and social care system in the face of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In yesterday’s session, which at times was being followed by more than 330 viewers, with a total of 520 registered attendees, was used, on the one hand, to reflect on data protection in research projects and, at the same time, to present a Guide for the evaluation of the aspects deriving from the Data Protection regulations in research projects.

This guide, which can now be consulted and downloaded, aims to facilitate the task of evaluation by members of the CEI or CEIm, as well as to inform sponsors and researchers of the aspects that must be included in the documentation submitted to ethics committees, in order to respect and comply with data protection regulations.

The debate drew attention to the need to manage the different projects that use technological tools for obtaining results, such as health research to incorporate references that allow researchers and scientists to calibrate the parameters in which they can carry out their projects. These references are established in two specific areas: the area of personal data protection through the application of the regulations implemented by the GDPR, the LOPDGDD, and the specific research regulations. And, the area of research ethics with the assessment of the causes, effects and repercussions that research can generate.

Knowledge of the parameters, conditions and limits in which data protection and ethics must be applied to health research can contribute to reducing the uncertainties that digital transformation may provoke among the general public, generating confidence in processes that are already a reality today.

The full session is available below: