Dear members,

Since its first beginnings, TRREE has been cited in the literature and stands as a reference among research ethics training and evaluation resources.

TRREE is recognized as an initiative aiming to build capacity in health research ethics through education and empowerment. The collaboration between TRREE and institutional bodies of bioethics in Africa as the West African Bioethics (WAB) and International or Western countries institutes has been cited as an example of partnership to strengthen stakeholders’ capacities especially in Africa.1,2

The online and open access model of the training platform make of TRREE an inspiration for knowledge sharing.3,4 An article published in the “African Health Sciences” journal considered TRREE as being part of the reputable web-based training platforms for the promotion of continuous education on ethics.5 The University of Botswana also reported an evaluation of online ethics courses and TRREE was found to meet the highest score for relevance to its context.6 Students participating in the evaluation unanimously stated that TRREE was the most attractive and appealing program, especially because of its adaptability to the cultural and contextual demands of their country and the free access to training contents.

Access to national supplements with adapted local requirements is an appreciated feature of TRREE to study and compare ethical and regulatory frameworks between countries.7,8 The publication of Jantina de Vries et al. in the “BMC Medical Ethics” is a good illustration of these opportunities, where TRREE is used as one of the resources to examine ethics regulatory landscape around research and biobanking in 22 African countries.8

Today, with more than 45 citations to our knowledge, we are profoundly moved to see that highlighted facts about TRREE in the literature are the ones that grounded its conception.

Best Regards,
TRREE Team

1. Adewole I, Martin DN, Williams MJ, Adebamowo C, Bhatia K, Berling C, et al. Building capacity for sustainable research programmes for cancer in Africa. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2014 May;11(5):251–9.
2. Fayemi AK, Macaulay-Adeyelure OC. Decolonizing Bioethics in Africa. BEOnline. 2016;3(4):68–90.
3. Treffry-Goatley A, Moletsane R, de Oliveira T, Seeley J, Lessells R. Using the Emanuel Framework to Explore the Ethical Issues Raised in a Participatory Visual Research Project in Rural South Africa. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2021 Feb;16(1–2):3–14.
4. Sellers C, Samuel G, Derrick G. Reasoning “Uncharted Territory”: Notions of Expertise Within Ethics Review Panels Assessing Research Use of Social Media. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2020 Feb;15(1–2):28–39.
5. Mwaka ES. Responsible conduct of research: enhancing local opportunities. Afr Health Sci. 2017 Jun;17(2):584–90.
6. Ntseane DM, Ali J, Hallez K, Mokgweetsi B, Kasule M, Kass NE. The features and qualities of online training modules in research ethics: a case study evaluating their institutional application for the University of Botswana. Glob Bioeth. 2020; 31(1):133–54.
7. Sambiéni NE. Differences and structural weaknesses of institutional mechanisms for health research ethics: Burkina Faso, Palestine, Peru, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. BMC Med Ethics. 2018 Jun 15;19(Suppl 1):47.
8. de Vries J, Munung SN, Matimba A, McCurdy S, Ouwe Missi Oukem-Boyer O, Staunton C, et al. Regulation of genomic and biobanking research in Africa: a content analysis of ethics guidelines, policies and procedures from 22 African countries. BMC Med Ethics. 2017 Feb 2;18:8.