If you are a researcher who is focused on healthcare quality improvement, project design and evaluation (PDE), we have a process that can help you to access an ethics review in a very timely manner. Through this initiative, we offer:
- Fast review times for QI/PDE projects
- Research Ethics Board (REB) documentation that is useful for publication purposes
- Advice on available resources for your project
- A process by which you can propose your QI/PDE project ideas here at Women’s College Hospital (WCH)
Located within the portfolio of Quality, Safety, and Patient Experience, APQIP reviews and approvals are external to the WCH Research Ethics Board. To determine if you are eligible for the APQIP evaluation, please email apqip@wchospital.ca. Attach all relevant materials, including the Submission Form and ARRECI Tool, in your email.
- For questions about APQIP and APQIP review at Women’s College Hospital, or to submit a project for review, please contact the APQIP office at apqip@wchospital.ca
- APQIP Submissions will be reviewed in order of their delivery
- All correspondence to the APQIP Team should be sent via email to apqip@wchospital.ca, clearly identifying the Project lead, APQIP project number, project title, and the purpose of correspondence
- WCH REB SOP IV: REB Administrative Review Procedures
- Guiding Questions To Determine Whether Your Research Requires Ethics Approval (Ryerson University)
- Guidelines for Differentiating Among Research, Program Evaluation, and Quality Improvement (University of Alberta)
- Research Versus Quality Initiative Screening Tool (McGill)
- Screening Guide to Determine Whether Ethics Review is Required at the University of Toronto
All queries and submissions should be made to the APQIP office inbox at apqip@wchospital.ca.
APQIP Review Lead
Nicholas Joachimides RN, BScN, IIWCC, CHE, MClSc, MSc, NSWOC,CpedN(c).
Director, Quality, Safety, and Patient Experience
Marie Pinard, MSc, BScN
APQIP Assistant
Oswa Shafei, HBA
FAQs
Please submit your application to the WCH APQIP Office inbox at apqip@wchospital.ca. Hard copies and/or handwritten copies will not be accepted.
- For new APQIP Projects, the following documents will be required:
- WCH APQIP Submission Form
- WCH APQIP Submission Checklist
- ARECCI Tool (https://arecci.albertainnovates.ca/)
- [If applicable] WCH APQIP Informed Consent Checklist
- For APQIP amendments, the following documents will be required:
- WCH APQIP Amendment Form
- Tracked change and clean versions of all affected documents
- For APQIP annual renewals, the following documents will be required:
- WCH APQIP Annual Renewal Form
- [If applicable] Tracked change and clean versions of all affected documents
- For APQIP change in personnel applications, the following documents will be required:
- WCH APQIP Change in Personnel Form
- Tracked change and clean versions of all affected documents
All APQIP Forms for submission can be downloaded above
A Project Lead for a quality improvement project at WCH must be a staff member of the hospital.
The final determination of review type ultimately lies with the REB office. If there is ambiguity about the level of review required, the APQIP office will elevate the submission accordingly for review by the REB Chair. This process may lead to unforeseen delays; it is therefore recommended that researchers and staff consult the APQIP Office for delays if there is confusion about the review type required. You may also use the following resource, the ARECCI screening tool, to determine if your study falls under research or quality improvement: https://arecci.albertainnovates.ca/
If your project will run longer than one year from approval, you may use the APQIP annual renewal form to renew your project’s approval.
Yes, you may still publish your project results if APQIP approval is obtained. Many journals ask for REB or institutional ethics approval as a condition of publication; language is included in the APQIP project approval letter that may be used in lieu of REB approval.
There are no specific requirements at this time for APQIP personnel, as the project undertaken is not classified as research. However, all staff involved should be up-to-date on institutional training modules, including Privacy training, and requirements for regular practice.
It is extremely important to ensure that your APQIP application clearly outlines your project’s background, rationale, intervention, measures, and analysis plan. Vague or incomplete project applications will be returned with requests for more detail.
Please be advised that all submissions made to the APQIP office should clearly identify the project activities undertaken as quality improvement or program evaluation work, and not research. The terms “research study,” “research participant,” and “principal investigator,” should be replaced with terms such as “project,” “project participant,” and “project lead.” If there are other questions about acceptable vocabulary for APQIP submissions, please contact apqip@wchospital.ca.
You can connect with the APQIP office at apqip@wchospital.ca.
The APQIP team will aim to respond to your application within 1 to 2 weeks.