Do I Need Ethical Approval?
For all EU-funded activities, ethics is an integral part of research from beginning to end. Ethical compliance is essential for achieving research excellence and maintaining public trust in research.
A thorough ethical assessment should be carried out at the proposal stage, not only to ensure compliance with applicable legislation and regulations, but also to strengthen the quality and integrity of the research. Ethical research conduct requires the application of fundamental ethical principles and relevant legislation across all areas of research. It also includes adherence to the highest standards of research integrity, as set out in the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity.
Ethical approval is most commonly required when research involves patients, human participants, health data, biological samples, or interventions. For further guidance on activities that require ethical review in Sweden, visit https://etikprovningsmyndigheten.se/vad-ska-etikprovas/
Who to contact at the university for help?
School of Medical Sciences, Ethical review – Inforum
School of Health Sciences, Ethical review – Inforum
Research Ethics and Good Research practice at ORU – INFORUM
Who to contact at RÖL for help?
For guidance on ethical review, ethics applications, and the application process, please visit
If your project involves the collection and storage of biological samples, Örebro Biobank should be contacted before submitting an ethics application. This allows the biobank to review the planned study and assess whether additional requirements under the Biobank Act need to be considered. Further information is available here: Örebro Biobank: Biobank • regionorebrolan.se
Good to know:
- Support with ethics applications: RÖL's Unit for Clinical Studies can provide support with ethics applications, even for projects that are not clinical trials. Information and contact details are available here, Ansökan till Etikprövningsmyndigheten, regionorebrolan.se and Kliniska prövningar, regionorebrolan.se
- Joint ethics applications involving ORU and RÖL: Both Örebro University (ORU) and Region Örebro County (RÖL) should be named as research principals (forskningshuvudmän) if any RÖL researchers involved in the project are affiliated with ORU, hold an adjunct appointment, have a joint employment, or are doctoral students at ORU. Ansökan till Etikprövningsmyndigheten, regionorebrolan.se and Kliniska prövningar, regionorebrolan.se