REMOTELY ACCESSING, COLLECTING, AND USING CONFIDENTIAL RESEARCH DATA WHILE PRESERVING PRIVACY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

In response to the state of public health emergency declared in the Province of Québec due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday March 13, 2020, McGill University has requested that all non- essential research activities ramp down until further notice to restrict the presence of research staff and research participants on site.

In order to minimise the risks to participants’ privacy and ensure participants’ continued protection, the following document provides guidance that research personnel must follow if they wish to access, collect, and/or use confidential research data remotely as a result of COVID-19. Research teams should in addition remain up-to-date with the guidelines on working remote that are issued by the institution.

The present guidelines apply to the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) research activities, whether the MUHC Research Ethics Board (REB) is the evaluating REB or not.

These guidelines apply to all research activities being conducted remotely, whether deemed essential or not.

These guidelines will continue to evolve to reflect the most up to date information. It is the researcher’s responsibility to consult the most recent version of the document.

Download the guidelines (PDF)