UKHSA statement on the findings of the Ethox Centre report
Published 17 April 2025
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As part of its mission to protect lives and to respond to emergencies, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is committed to undertaking and helping enable research that meets priorities, is ethical, lawful and quality assured, and is conducted with integrity. This means involving patients and the public in its design and conduct, both as an organisation and in the wider national and international research ecosystems,
This report by the was commissioned by UKHSA to identify the key ethical considerations that arise when integrating research in public health emergency response strategies and to provide practical recommendations for future emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.
The report highlights a strong ethical obligation to improve the existing evidence base for interventions and reduce uncertainty through high quality research. While the challenging context of an emergency may lead to the need to act initially on partial evidence and expert opinion, research is then needed to rapidly generate evidence. This must must be undertaken with key ethical requirements upheld, including respect for participant and citizen welfare, scientific rigour and transparency.
The report also highlights the need for policy makers to ensure emergency preparedness research is adequately resourced and supported, so that well-designed studies addressing evidence gaps can begin quickly. Regulatory and ethical pathways to support rapid and effective research for a new emergency are important, alongside the infrastructure to facilitate research. Transparency is needed around how evidence gaps have been prioritised, how evidence has been incorporated into decisions and what values have steered policy and operational choices.
The UKHSA Science Strategy outlines the processes that identify evidence gaps and guide research prioritisation. Collaborations with experts have been established to guarantee access to the best scientific expertise and ensure priorities are addressed in a timely manner.
The UKHSA Research Ethics and Governance Group provides ethical oversight of UKHSA-led research and scientific work, and the Ministry of Defence Research Ethics Committee can also review UKHSA-led research if extra capacity is needed.
The report underlines the need for community engagement and transparency around data sharing. To ensure that the public will receive the maximum benefit from emergency research, public and patient involvement is at the heart of all the scientific work and research undertaken by UKHSA, so that the impact of policies on inequalities and negative unintended consequences can be assessed.
Regarding data access, UKHSA collects, analyses and shares critical health data to improve public health outcomes and collaborates with diverse stakeholders within the UK and internationally. However, some data collected by UKHSA is protected by law and transparency around sharing this data must be balanced with regulatory compliance so that the public can have confidence and trust in the management of their data.