ABP AMERICANBIOETHICS PROJECT

Overview

In June 2000, the US Department of Health and Human Services established the Office for Human Research Protections after federal oversight of human-subject research had grown beyond the earlier NIH Office for Protection from Research Risks. The move placed responsibility for these protections at a higher level within HHS.

OHRP administers assurance and institutional review board registration programs, oversees compliance, and issues guidance and education on federal human-subject protections. Such administrative work gives research-ethics rules a continuing means of implementation.

Historical Role

Earlier commissions articulated principles and recommendations; OHRP belongs to the later federal infrastructure responsible for their ongoing regulatory administration. Its direct organizational predecessor was OPRR, not the National Commission.

Historical Significance

A federal office through which oversight of human-subject protections became a continuing HHS responsibility.