Strengthening Research Ethics Committee Capacity: A Focused PubMed-Based Review with Implications for Maternity Hospitals

HRMARS - Research Ethics Committees (RECs) need organizational capacity, not only ethics training, to conduct timely and context-sensitive review. This focused PubMed-based literature review examined REC capacity building in healthcare institutions and considered implications for maternity hospitals. PubMed was searched for "research ethics committee" AND "capacity building" on 22 May 2026. Thirty-nine records published from 2017 to 2026 were screened; 21 articles were included, comprising six direct REC or human-research-ethics governance articles and 15 transferable healthcare capacity-building articles. Articles were appraised for methodological credibility and thematic relevance, then synthesized by evidence tier. Five domains were identified: governance and administration, reviewer competence, training and mentoring, organizational learning, and protection of vulnerable populations. The findings were organized into an evidence-informed summary of REC capacity-building domains. Maternity-hospital recommendations remain contextual because no included study tested REC capacity-building interventions in maternity hospitals.